Portland, Maine -- Michigan State finished the weekend undefeated with a 4-1 victory over Lake Superior State in the first game of the 2015 IceBreaker Tournament on Saturday afternoon.
"For us, I think it was a real good team win and a confidence boost," said MSU coach Tom Anastos.
The two teams traded goals in the first period to finish the first 20 minutes knotted at one. Michael Ferrantino jumped on his own rebound to lift the puck just under the crossbar and into the net to give MSU a 1-0 edge with 5:37 left. Gage Torrel slipped behind the defense in the offensive zone where he was spotted by Gus Correale. Torrel quickly pushed the puck home with 1:49 to go.
The Spartans took a 2-1 lead to the second intermission thanks to a Mackenzie MacEachern power play tally at the 11:54 mark of the middle frame. Mason Appleton and Travis Walsh picked up assists on the goalmouth goal.
John Draeger and J.T. Stenglein added third period markers for the Spartans, a team that battled through some injury troubles throughout the course of the weekend.
"It's a M.A.S.H. unit down in our training room. I think at one time we had more guys in the training room than in the dressing room. What I liked is in the face of a little bit of adversity early in the season, guys were stepping up and doing whatever it takes," said Anastos.
Hildebrand bounced back from a tough game on Friday with a 29 save performance.
"I could have been better yesterday. I was happy the way the weekend went. A lot of it was how the team played in front of me. Besides the first goal yesterday I don't think we gave up a goal on the penalty kill. The guys stepped up huge," said Hildebrand, a senior from Butler, Pa.
Lake Superior will be the only team to leave Portland with two losses on the weekend, something that didn't sit well with head coach Damon Whitten.
"It was a disappointing weekend. We're frustrated. There were certainly positives within the game, but even with a young group, it's got to be a much more sustained effort," said Whitten, a former Michigan State Spartan.