Huskies get two points on two ties

Michigan Tech was able to get two points in the WCHA by tying Alaska-Anchorage twice last weekend. The teams skated twice to 2-2 ties. The Huskies are currently on their longest unbeaten streak of the year (2-0-2) and are 4-2-2 in the last eight WCHA games. With the two ties, Tech stays two points ahead of Anchorage in the standings, currently tied for seventh in the league.

Friday...

MTU started the scoring in the first when Brandon Schwartz took a pass from Nick Anderson and buried the puck past UAA netminder Nathan Lawson. UAA was lucky the first ended at 1-0, as Chris Conner (pictured above) had two early partial breaks broken up by the pads of Lawson.

The second goal was in the second and came off of a Taggart Desmet faceoff. He found Conner at the blue line, and Conner did the rest, beating a Seawolf defensman and then Lawson for a 2-0 lead. UAA was able to bring it to 2-1 on a power-play goal in the last five minutes of the second.

MTU gave up a second man-advantage goal in the third and that was all the scoring. MTU came out hot in the overtime, outshoting UAA 8-0 in the extra frame, but Lawson was again ready.

Michael Lee Teslak played a good game in net, making 29 saves on 31 shots.

Saturday...

UAA came out better on the second night and was able to get the first goal of the game. MTU answered later in the first when Schwartz passed it to Anderson, who was able to get a one-timer past Lawson.

Niether team was able to light the lamp in the second, but both had chances. Teslak, getting his fourth straight start, was up to the task making many outstanding saves.

In the third, MTU found themselves in penalty trouble and were trying to kill a 5-on-3 penalty when the Seawolves re-took the lead. MTU was able to tie it with 23 seconds to go. Teslak was on the bench when Conner was able to put home a rebound from a Tyler Shelast shot.

Again MTU was the dominant team in OT, but Lawson came up big and was able to hold off the Huskies. Teslak ended the night with 41 saves, while MTU put up 53 shots.

Notes...

Conner is moving up the all time scoring list for Michigan Tech. The Westland native is now tied for 19th with Chris Cichocki. Schwartz increased his point scoring streak to four. Teslak is the only goalie to have multiple starts in a row for the Huskies and should increase his streak to five in a row in the next series.

Up next...

MTU will have next weekend off, but travel to Mankato to take on Minnesota State Feb. 3-4.

Husky Talk: Teslak - Emerging as No. 1

It has been a long time since the last Husky Talk, but Michigan Tech beat writer Andy Bourdeau is back on track.

"I think it is a good idea for the fans to get a different perspective of players on Michigan Tech," stated Bourdeau.

This week, Andy was able to get a little time and ask the emerging No. 1 goalie of the Huskies some questions. Michael Lee Teslak (MLT) has six wins on the year, including a sweep at UMD last weekend and a record-setting performance at the Great Lakes Invitational last month.

(MCH) What is the biggest difference between juniors and NCAA?

(MLT) As a goaltender in this league, you have to make the big save a lot. Earlier, I wasn't doing that and I was getting scored on four or five times a game. Also, the speed of what's happening is much quicker than that of when I played in the BCHL. The speed of the players, the speed and releases of shots are all quicker.

(MCH) What has been the hardest and easiest goalie experiences in your first year?

(MLT) At times when things were not going so well, it was tough. We weren't scoring or winning and I wasn't as good as I would have liked it to be. Confidence was low and getting out of that slump was tough. The easiest experience was the start of the season. The first couple of games I played I was supported very well by my coaches and teammates.

(MCH) What has been your best memory so far?

(MLT) Playing at the Joe (Joe Louis Arena) has been my best memory so far. The games there were very intense and I really liked the atmosphere. For my whole career, winning the BCHL championship is the only major thing I've won, so that is my most memorable moment.

(MCH) You have emerged as the No. 1 goalie on the team. Is having a guy like (Robbie) Nolan there to push you a help in your continual improvement?

(MLT) From Junior A and on, I have always been a No. 1 goalie, but never played much more than the other goalie on the team. I've always had another good goalie on my team, so I think that has a lot to do with what I've accomplished. There was always a goalie there who could take the job away from me so to keep it. I had to keep getting better and playing well at all times. Definetely the push was there and helped me out down the line.

(MCH) What are your expected personal goals for the remainder of this year?

(MLT) I want to be very consistant from here on out. Getting up for games is one thing I want to keep going because lately I've become more excited for a game and it has helped out a lot. I would like to continue making the big save or saves to win a game for my team.

(MCH) What is a resonable expectation for the team this year?

(MLT) Finish off strong here for the last 12 games. We'd like to finish fifth in the WCHA and have home ice for playoffs.

(MCH) Who has been the best player that you have played against so far?

(MLT) There has been a few. Every team has their top player or players and they're all really good. Against me, I found Denvers' top line to be very good with (Gabe) Gauthier, (Paul) Stastny, and (Ryan) Dingle and also CCs' (Marty) Sertich, (Brett) Sterling, and (Joey) Crabb.

(MCH) Is there anyone on the team that is able to score on you on a regular basis?

(MLT) (laughing) Chris Conner always comes down on breakaways all practice on me and he used to score a lot, lately I've figured him out and have been stopping him.

Teslak will bring his modest two-game winning streak into this weekend's series against Alaska-Anchorage. MTU will need to keep the winning going to continue their path out of the basement of the WCHA. MTU (5-10-1) is currently tied for eighth, but only two points out of sixth.

Spartans shock No. 6 Wolverines, 2-0

A lucky bounce and a breakaway was all Michigan State needed to shutout No. 6 Michigan last night at Munn Ice Arena.

And oh yeah, it helps if MSU's goalie Jeff Lerg has been on a hot streak as of late. His 2-0 blanking of the Wolverines was his second shutout in three games and the freshman is also on a five-game winning streak.

The 19th-ranked Spartans (13-8-5, 7-5-4 CCHA) leapfrogged the Wolverines in the CCHA standings and are now tied for third in the conference with Lake Superior State.

"I don't think there was any upset tonight," said MSU head coach Rick Comley. "I think we played well and right now it's a level table. I think these teams are as level as you can get."

Colton Fretter (above left) gave MSU an early 1-0 lead with a 5-on-3 power-play goal. Captain Drew Miller sent a shot on U-M goalie Noah Ruden that Ruden couldn't control and the puck squirted loose in the crease. Fretter swiped at the puck and put it over Ruden's glove at 14:50.

"I was caught a little off balance," said Ruden. "I wasn't ready for the guy from the side to try and tuck it on me. I was waiting for the pass, so I was off balance in trying to get back and sort of fell over. When the shot fluttered up I was falling back. I felt it trickle over my head."

Fretter reignited the crowd early in the second period when his open ice hip check upended Michigan's T.J. Hensick head-over-heels, bringing the crowd of 5,580 to its feet.

Michigan was awarded power play at the 9:08 mark, but Bryan Lerg scored 15 seconds later on the penalty kill, giving Michigan State a 2-0 advantage.

Jared Nightingale flipped the puck out of the zone and Lerg raced uncontested down center ice, gloving the puck down in stride, allowing him to skate into a clean breakaway. Lerg made a beautiful move, faking the forehand before finally slipping a backhand over Ruden's outstretched pad.

"I was struggling on draws tonight against (Andrew) Ebbett so I had (David) Booth take the draw," Lerg said. "As soon as I saw him win it clean to Jared, I just took off. I don't know if Jared saw me, but he just flipped it. I caught it and when I saw the goalie come out I knew what I was going to do the whole way."

Meanwhile, Lerg's cousin in net stopped all 31 shots he saw for the shutout.

"It was definitely one of the best games we've played as a team," Jeff Lerg said. "Tonight, I didn't have to make any really big saves. The team did a great job clearing things out in front of the net and keeping shots to the outside."

"He's got a bright future," Comley said of Lerg. "We've got two goalies (Lerg and Dominic Vicari), both can play, both have proven they can play, and they're just going to have to battle with each other and whoever's hot is going to play."

Ruden finished with 35 saves for Michigan (13-8-1, 8-5-1 CCHA).

"It was a game of playing better defense," Wolverines' head coach Red Berenson said. "If we play better (defense), we end up playing better with the puck. I can't tell you we played well coming out of our zone. Then there was too many turnovers, too many mistakes and too many penalties. Those we're costly. We had isolated chances, but we didn't generate enough. We weren't good enough to win this game tonight the way we played, start to finish."

MSU plays Nebraska-Omaha this weekend on the road while U-M has a home-and-home set with Bowling Green beginning Friday night in Ann Arbor.

ACHA Weekend Round-Up, Jan. 18

Grand Rapids, Michigan - Grand Valley faced off against two top ranked opponents this weekend, skating against ACHA D1 Michigan-Dearborn on Friday and coming home to play Davenport University on Saturday.

On Friday, GVSU surprised the #8 nationally ranked team and controlled play early. GVSU overcame an early Dearborn goal to take a 3-1 lead on two goals by Nate Morang and one from Dean Watkins. GVSU then went into a shell and collapsed the rest of the game, allowing Dearborn time to control the play. Dearborn responded and retook the lead, keeping it for the rest of the game. In the second, GVSU apparently tied the game, only to have the ref call it back on what video showed to be a very questionable call. Rick Lehman added a power play goal in the 3rd, but it wasn't enough as Dearborn took advantage of GVSU's pressing and took the game 8-4. Chris Moore faced 56 shots in the loss.

#2 Davenport came into Allendale Saturday night to play the Lakers in front of a standing-room only house and the fans were treated to a exciting game between GVSU and the Panthers. Davenport took an early lead only to have Mike Marquardt tie the game up a few moments later in a fast paced 1st. DU scored again with less than a minute to end the period 2-1. The second continued to be faced paced, with the Lakers falling down 4-2. Andrew Dykstra scored for GVSU. Despite a 7-minute power play for GVSU in the third, they couldn't get a puck behind the DU netminder and fell to the Panthers 4-2. Chris Moore finished with 35 saves.

GVSU stays at home for three games next weekend, playing Dayton University on Friday and Saturday and the University of Michigan on Sunday.

*************************

Oakland University stumbled this past weekend in a three-game stretch going 0-2-1.

Thursday, OU fell to St. Clair College, 5-3, in a game played just outside Windsor, Ontario.

Friday, the Grizzlies traveled across the state to take on archrival Davenport and played to an emotional 6-6 tie that saw three goals scored in the game’s final 50 seconds.

Brent Cooper had a hat trick and Will McMahon scored a pair for Oakland. Jeff Wiley netted two for Davenport.

"I don't think I have ever seen two benches go up and down through emotion in one minute of play like that before," stated OU head coach Sean Hogan.

Back home at the ONYX Saturday night, the Grizzlies fired 50 shots on Wagner goalie Kyle Finnerty, only to be denied all but four times, and come away with a 5-4 loss. The Grizzlies got three goals from McMahon and one from Cooper.

Next up is another three-game weekend for the Grizzlies as they get back to GMHL action with Miami of Ohio Friday and Saturday and then Ohio State on Sunday.

*************************

D-I
#6 Lindenwood 4, #18 EASTERN MICHIGAN 1
#6 Lindenwood 4, #18 EASTERN MICHIGAN 1

#9 ROBERT MORRIS (IL) 8, Western Michigan 0
#9 ROBERT MORRIS (IL) 6, Western Michigan 2

D-II

Miami (OH) 6, Central Mich 2
Miami (OH) 8, Central Mich 4

Davenport 6, Oakland 6

Ferris 2, Wagner 5
Ferris 6, Bowling Green 3

D-III

Muskegon CC 2, Calvin 7

Hope 7, Lawrence Tech 3

Oakland 11, Kalamazoo 3

Lansing CC 1, Wright State 4
Lansing CC 2, Wright State 1

WOMEN

Massachusetts-Amherst 2, Michigan 1
Connecticut 8, Michigan 2
Connecticut 3, Michigan 3

Lindenwood 2, MSU-Green 0
Lindenwood 6, MSU-Green 2

MSU-White 3, Ohio State 10
MSU-White 1, Ohio State 1

Bulldogs eke out 6-5 win over BGSU Monday

Freshman forward Dan Riedel (right) fired a hat trick and junior forward Matt Verdone notched two goals to power Ferris State to a 6-5 victory at Bowling Green on Monday night in the makeup of a game originally scheduled for Oct. 27 but postponed because of problems with the ice.

Riedel and Verdone, who also each had an assist in the game, both connected in the first period but the Falcons matched their goals with markers from junior forward Rich Meloche and sophomore forward Ben Geelan.

The Bulldogs outscored BGSU 3-1 in the second period with Riedel and Verdone striking again, on a power play that went four-for-eight on the night, along with junior forward Eric Vesely. Junior forward James Unger turned the red light on in the second period for the home team.

Rookie Brandon Svendsen closed the gap to 5-4 with a Falcons' goal just 37 seconds into the third frame but Riedel capped his three-goal night with a power-play marker at 4:56. Bowling Green's Jonathan Matsumoto rounded out the scoring with an extra-attacker goal with nine seconds left in regulation time.

Bowling Green, now 7-10-1 in conference play, outshot Ferris State, 5-6-4 in league action, by a 40-31 margin.

The Falcons now prepare for a home-and-home with Michigan that starts Friday in Ann Arbor while the Bulldogs get set to play host to Lake Superior State this coming Friday and Saturday.

St. Louis named WCHA co-rookie of the week

Michigan Tech freshman forward Justin St. Louis was named the WCHA's co-rookie of the week for his three-point weekend against Minnesota-Duluth.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound freshman from Calgary, Alberta, recorded his first goal as a Husky Friday night, along with a helper on the first goal of the game. He scored his second goal the next night, giving the Huskies a two-goal lead. St. Louis ended the weekend with a +2 plus-minus rating.

Minnesota State goalie Dan Tormey was the other co-rookie of the week.

St. Louis currently leads all MTU freshmen with eight points (2-6).

The Huskies host Alaska-Anchorage this weekend.

Beavers continue dominance of Warriors

The start of the New Year continues to be unkind for the Wayne State Warriors as they tied Bemidji State 3-3 on Friday night and were blitzed by the Beavers 6-2 in Saturday’s finale at the Glas Fieldhouse.

After closing 2005 on a high note with three wins in four games, the Warriors (4-13-3, 1-5-2 CHA) are currently enduring an 0-3-1 start to 2006.

Friday--- It looked as if the Beavers would take an easy win in the series opener, but a big Wayne State comeback and solid effort in net by senior goalie Matt Kelly were just enough to salvage a valuable conference point.

Bemidji State led 3-0 just past the 10-minute mark of the second period on goals by Andrew Martens, Riley Weselowski and Ryan Miller.

The Warriors got one back at 17:02 when winger Derek Bachynski smacked in his second goal of the year.

Senior blueliner Greg Poupard made it a 3-2 game at 10:44 of the third with his first of the year. Then, less than three minutes later, Derek Punches closed out the night's scoring with his third goal of the year.

John May (pictured above) assisted on all three Warrior goals. Kelly was huge in net, recording 42 saves in the tie.

Matt Climie stopped 33 of 36 shots at the other end.

Saturday--- What ever effort the Warriors used to claw their way back into the game on Friday was missing Saturday as they were shelled by foul goals.

Matt Pope, Luke Erickson, Miller and Rob Siranni all scored as the Beavers rolled to a 4-0 lead, just over a minute into the third period.

Senior John May continued his nice weekend as he tallied the Warriors first goal, shorthanded at the 6:06 mark of the third.

BSU responded with a two more goals, the first by captain John-Guy Gervais, and the second by Matt Allen on the power play to put the home team up by five goalswith less than ten minutes to play.

Jon Grabarek scored at 13:01, but that was it for the Warriors as their winless streak against Bemidji was stretched to six games. The Warriors have not beaten the Beavers since a 6-4 win at the Compuware Sports Arena on Nov. 23, 2004.

Kelly started in net again for the Green and Gold, but was replaced after giving up six goals on 20 shots. Will Hooper mopped up for the final nine minutes of play, stopping all six shots he faced.

Layne Sedevie got the call in net for the co-conference-leading Beavers and stopped 23 of 25 shots to move his personal record to 7-3-1.

The Beavers easily won the four-game regular season series by going 3-0-1 and outscoring the Warriors by a 16-7 margin.

Wayne State returns to action this weekend when they host the Robert Morris Colonials in a pair of CHA games back at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum on Friday and Saturday night. Last season, the Warriors went 2-1-1 against RMU.

Wayne women earn one point in Mercyhurst series

The Wayne State women's team traveled to fifth-ranked Mercyhurst last weekend and posted a 2-2 tie Friday night. Saturday's game resulted in a 4-2 loss for the Warriors.

Tiffany Thompson, in goal for Wayne on Friday, kept the game close as she turned away 42 of Mercyhurst's 44 shots. The Wayne offense started strong as well, as senior Jessica Haydahl scored an unassisted goal just three minutes into the contest. The host team tied up the game on a power play at 8:53 of the first period, but could not get any more shots by Thompson for the first two periods.

The Warriors grabbed the lead back in the opening minute of the third period. Laura Monk set up Sam Poyton for her 15th tally of the season. But they could not hold the offensive energy, and Mercyhurst earned most of the period's remaining shots. Thompson allowed a second power play goal at 12:20 of the period, but stopped all other attempts, including three in overtime.

Saturday's contest began quiet. Thompson held steady for the first period, turning away all 12 Mercyhurst shots, and the Warriors seized the lead first, this time thanks to a Melissa Boal (pictured) goal assisted by Ashley King.

However, the second period belonged entirely to Mercyhurst. The Lakers scored three goals in the first six minutes, and despite dominating shots 13-11, Wayne could not respond until the third period.

Lindsey DiPietro pulled the Warriors within a goal at 9:04 of the third period. Laura Monk was credited with an assist. But Mercyhurst struck back less than a minute later and Wayne could not light the lamp again before the end of the game.

Thompson stopped 35 shots, bringing her weekend performance to a dizzying 77 saves.

Wayne State will host Rensselaer at the Michigan State Fairgrounds Coliseum next weekend. Both Friday and Saturday's games will face off at 4-pm and will be the opening games for a Wayne State doubleheader with the Warrior men taking on CHA foe Robert Morris at 7-pm.

Western Michigan splits with Bowling Green

The Western Michigan Broncos earned a 5-4 win over Bowling Green on the road on Friday night, but could not repeat the performance in Kalamazoo on Saturday, losing the series' final game, 5-2.

Brent Walton (pictured) was the heart of Friday's victory, scoring four of the five Bronco goals. He lit the lamp the first time less than a minute into the game. Ryan Mahrle was credited with the assist. Bowling Green then scored three goals to leave Western in the hole midway through the second period. However, Walton scored twice more to even the score going into the second intermission. Paul Szczechura assisted on Walton's second goal and Dave Krisky picked up the assist on the third goal.

Szczechura gave the lead back to the Broncos with a power-play goal at 5:53 of the final period. Nathan Ansell and Jeff LoVecchio earned assists on the play. Bowling Green retaliated with a power-play goal of its own, making Walton's fourth tally, an even-strength, unassisted marker at 13:02, all the more impressive. His goal stood as the last of the game and Western held on for the win.

Western goalie Eric Martin finished with 28 saves (starter Daniel Bellissimo is out with a groin injury).

"It was a tremendous effort from everyone," said WMU head coach Jim Culhane. "Brent got into the grove early and we tried to find as much ice time as possible for him The puck had eyes for Brent tonight."

The Broncos returned home for the first time in eight games on Saturday, but could not retaliate from an offensive onslaught from Bowling Green.

The Broncos started off right. Back in net, Bellissimo staved off eight Bowling Green shots in the first period and Mike Erickson used a Bowling Green power play to his own advantage, scoring a shorthanded goal at 4:00 of the second period. Mike Lesperance, who assisted on Erickson's goal, scored himself to put the Broncos up 2-0. Brian Bicek assisted on Lesperance's goal.

But the Broncos had only 20 seconds to celebrate their lead before Bowling Green began their forceful comeback, scoring three times in the second period and twice in the third.

Bellissimo finished with 29 saves.

The Broncos will face Miami on the road this weekend.

Bulldogs swept up north

The Northern Michigan Wildcats (13-10-1, 9-8-1 CCHA) swept the Ferris State Bulldogs (9-8-5, 4-6-4 CCHA) this past weekend. The 'Cats earned a 5-0 shutout on Friday and a 2-1 victory on Saturday.

Northern Michigan assistant captain Andrew Contois (pictured) left his glove-prints all over Friday's victory. He tallied Northern's first goal at 6:57 of the first period. Dirk Southern and Nathan Oystrick earned assists on the goal. Southern and Geoff Waugh set up Contois for Contois's second goal just 23 seconds into the second period.

"It always feels good to score a couple of goals, especially when it helps the team win," Contois reflected.

Scarcely more than two minutes later, Southern took advantage of a power play to get some help from Contois and Zach Tarkir and notch his seventh goal of the season. At 14:29 in the second period, the trio again combined to put the 'Cats up by four. Tarkir and Southern helped Contois complete his evening hat trick. And, before the second intermission started, Mike Santorelli capped off the 'Cats scoring flurry, scoring with some help from Darin Oliver and Matt Maunu.

Northern goalie Bill Zaniboni stopped all 25 Ferris shots for his third career shutout. Ferris goalie Derek MacIntyre recorded 20 saves.

Saturday's game started in favor of the Bulldogs. Corey Couturier scored at 11:24 of the first period. Matt Frank earned the assist. Although Northern outshot FSU 15-11 over the course of the period, Ferris goalie Mitch O'Keefe held steady until the period's final minute. On a Northern power play, Contois showed he didn't use up all his energy on Friday's game as he notched his tenth goal of the season off assists from Southern and Jamie Milam.

Northern peppered O'Keefe with 17 shots in the second period, but managed only one goal, scored by Pat Bateman on the power play and assisted by Milam and Santorelli.

Ferris outshotut Northern 9-1 in the last period and pulled O'Keefe for the final minute, but could not foil Zaniboni, who finished with 24 saves.

O'Keefe finished with 31 saves.

Northern coach Walt Kyle was cautiously optimistic about the victory.

"We need to get wins right now," Kyle said. "If we have an opportunity to sweep an opponent at home, we need to do it. Each night stands alone. "

This weekend, Northern will face Notre Dame at home. Ferris plays at Bowling Green tonight.

Lions' men and women falter over weekend

Combined in their four games over the weekend, the Finlandia men and women could only manage one point as the men tied the Milwaukee School of Engineering Saturday night at home.

In the tie, Mike Parks' power-play goal with 5:54 left in the third period sealed the game for the Lions (5-7-2, 5-3-2 MCHA). Ryan Sullivan and Jason Aldrich also scored to back Lukas Alberer's 31-save outing.

The previous night, FU fell, 7-1, as only Sullivan could find the back of the net. Joe Juntilla finished with 29 saves.

Saturday night, the women lost, 6-2, to Lake Forest at home. Brenda Peterson and captain Sara Sleik were the goal scorers. Katie Markovich stopped 27 shots in net.

Yesterday afternoon, Finlandia could only muster 10 shots on net, but their first one 1:47 into the game, went in as Peterson had the Lions up 1-0 early on Wisconsin-Stevens Point; the visitors scored the next five for a 5-1 win.

Corinne Czekaj made 28 stops for FU (7-8-1, 1-7-0 NCHA).

The men host Marian this weekend while the women host Wisconsin-Superior Saturday and play an exhibition against the Toronto Rattlers traveling team Sunday.

Spartans back on track, sweep UAF

Michigan State went above the .500 mark in conference play with a sweep of Alaska-Fairbanks at home last weekend.

The Spartans (12-8-5 overall, 6-5-4 CCHA) gave up just one goal all weekend as they rode to a 4-0 shutout Friday night and a 2-1 win on Saturday.

"You have to approach every game as if it's a playoff game," MSU defenseman Corey Potter said. "You just have to be determined and work hard. The will to win day in and day out is what we've got to keep going."

Tim Kennedy (above left) and Tim Crowder each had a goal and an assist and Jeff Lerg made 31 saves in Friday night's win. Chris Mueller and Jim McKenzie also scored for MSU.

The victory gave Spartans' head coach Rick Comley the 674th victory of his storied 33-year coaching career, good for a tie with former Clarkson and Boston College mentor Len Ceglarski for fifth place all-time in the NCAA annals.

"When you are a young coach and you look at those numbers, you think `Holy Mackerel'," laughed the coach after the game. "Len Ceglarski was a great coach and a super person. If you get into the top five, that is pretty good company."

Comley then took over the No. 5 spot all to himself Saturday with MSU's win, his 675th.

The victory gave the Spartans a season-best fourth straight win and also extended its unbeaten streak at home to six straight (5-0-1).

Justin Abdelkader and Dan Sturges scored and Kennedy assisted on both. Lerg was solid in goal and needed to make just 13 saves. But his biggest one came when the Nanooks had a premium chance tie the game five minutes into the third.

Curtis Fraser took a backdoor pass just off the right post. He one-timed the puck towards the net, but Lerg made a phenomenal pad save to keep it a one-goal game.

"I saw Fraser there in the slot waiting and I saw the player in the corner look in front," explained Lerg. "The puck slid under one of our defenseman's stick so I slid my pad over. Lucky he shot it on the ice and into my pad."

The Spartans host Michigan on Tuesday. Mueller will not be in the lineup as he was assessed a game disqualification for a fight with UAF's T.J. Campbell at the end of the game. But even so, Michigan State is pumped for Tuesday.

"We've got our core group back now," defenseman Tyler Howells said. "Everybody's back and everybody's healthy. Players are getting used to playing with each other."

The Michigan game, which will be televised live on FSN, will start at 7:35 p.m.

MSU's Miller nominated for humanitarian award

For the second year in a row, Michigan State captain Drew Miller was nominated for the 2006 Hockey Humanitarian Award. The award is given annually to the finest citizen amongst all NCAA Division I and Division III players, male or female.

Miller, a junior from East Lansing, joins 17 other nominees from across the country. The field will be narrowed to five finalists on Friday, Jan. 20, with the 2006 hockey humanitarian being honored on Apr. 7 at the 2006 Frozen Four in Milwaukee.

Boston College senior Sarah Carlson was the 2005 recipient of the Hockey Humanitarian Award. Miller is joined in 2006 by CCHA rivals Western Michigan's Eric Marvin and Chris Trick, a senior forward at Norte Dame and Troy native. In all, the nominees include 11 men and seven women, 14 Division I student-athletes and four from Division III.

In his three-year Spartan career Miller has collected 29 goals and 36 assists for 65 points. He was selected, by his teammates, to serve as an assistant captain, during his sophomore season, and currently captains the Green and White as a junior. Off the ice, however, Miller's MSU career has been even more impressive.

"Drew is selfless with his time and his commitments to the community," said hockey SASS coordinator Angela Howard. "He is always willing to help others, no matter the day, time or location; the variety of events Drew has participated in is impressive."

A year ago Miller started the Spartan Buddy Program and has coordinated relationships between MSU student-athletes and pediatric patients at Sparrow Hospital. He has participated in pen-pal programs with local classrooms, participated in Teams for Toys, DARE, The Special Olympics and dedicated hour after hour of his personal time to local children battling cancer.