Spartan Hockey Solid in 4-1 Victory over No. 15/14 Ferris State.

EAST LANSING - Mackenzie MacEachern and Villiam Haag both had a goal an an assist to help lead the Michigan State hockey team past No. 15/14 Ferris State, 4-1,

EAST LANSING - Mackenzie MacEachern and Villiam Haag both had a goal an an assist to help lead the Michigan State hockey team past No. 15/14 Ferris State, 4-1, on Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena. After being blanked on Friday night, 1-0, despite heavily outshooting the Bulldogs, the Spartans struck twice in a 1:18 span in the first period and never looked back.

“I thought tonight was probably our best game of the season and I thought we played pretty well last night,” MSU head coach Tom Anastos said. “What I liked tonight, as much as our play and result, was last night was a tough pill to swallow and I thought our guys came in very business-like tonight and believed in each other and stayed with it.

The Spartans (2-4) came out of the gate quickly, producing a pair of scoring chances in the first five minutes, including a pair of 2-on-1s that both nearly resulted in goals.

After generating chance after chance from down low in the Ferris State zone, the Spartans finally got on the board with a point shot by defenseman Travis Walsh. Walsh fired a shot toward the net from the left point and puck found its way through Bulldog goaltender CJ Motte’s legs and across the goal line.

The goal was the first of Walsh’s career.

“Scoring that first goal was good for Walshy and our team. I thought it was a real confidence boost for us,” Anastos said.

MSU made it 2-0 1:18 later, capitalizing on a face-off win by Thomas Ebbing in the FSU zone. The puck found its way to Brent Darnell on the left side and he quickly sent it toward the net where MacEachern tucked it in just off the right goalpost.

The Spartans made it 3-0 5:50 into the second period when Haag got his first goal of the season. Ebbing forced a turnover behind the Bulldog net and fed the puck to JT Stenglein near the left circle. Stenglein hit a trailing Haag with a pass on the far side who didn’t miss, sending the puck into the top corner of the net.

MSU goaltender Jake Hildebrand had a busy second period with three consecutive Bulldog power plays, but stopped all seven shots sent his way in the stanza.

Hildebrand’s shutout bid came to and end just over four minutes into the third period as FSU’s Jake Buzzeo took a pass to Hildebrand’s right and put it in, making the score 3-1.

The Spartans reclaimed their three-goal advantage as they cashed in on the power play with 6:40 to play in the third when Matt Berry punched home a rebound. Josh Jacobs hammered a shot that bounced off the back boards and went right to Berry on the left side, who one-timed it into the net.

Jacobs assist on the goal was the first of his career.

“That was a big goal. We knew the next goal would be a big one and fortunately we got it,” Anastos said.

The Spartans outshot the Bulldogs (3-4) in all three periods, finishing with a 35-20 advantage for the game.

Hildebrand finished the game with 19 saves.

“I thought Jake was really good tonight,” Anastos said.

The Spartans will go back on the road next weekend, playing a pair of games at New Hampshire.