With just 0.4 left in regulation, Schoolcraft’s Logan Tripp scores the game winner. The Ocelots take down Michigan State University 5-4 at Mike Modano Arena in Westland, Michigan on Friday, January 31, 2025.
The next morning the Ocelots travelled to East Lansing for a rematch against the Spartans at Munn Arena.
Michigan State University delivered an impressive offensive performance on home ice, overpowering the Ocelots with an 8-3 victory. The game was a fast-paced battle, with both teams exchanging goals early before Michigan State pulled away in the second and third periods.
The game started with a bang, as the Ocelots took a quick 2-0 lead. Just 47 seconds into the game, Noah Smentowski capitalized on a feed from LJ Sabala, giving Schoolcraft an early advantage. Less than a minute later, Kyle Janis doubled the lead, scoring a power-play goal off assists from Andrew Evans and Jospeh Sines at 7:56. Michigan State responded at 12:33 when Kyle Lucia put the Spartans on the board, assisted by AJ Campbell and Carter Vela, cutting the deficit to 2-1. Despite the strong start for Schoolcraft, Michigan State’s offense began to find its rhythm as the period wore on, but no further scoring would follow before the intermission.
The momentum swung in Michigan State’s favor in the second period. At 5:21, Ian Chapski tied the game at 2-2, assisted by Liam Cooney and Thomas Purton. Then, just over four minutes later, Tyler Kolb gave the Spartans their first lead of the game, scoring on the power play at 9:22, with help from Nicholas Borchardt and Thomas Purton. Not long after, Chapski struck again, collecting his second goal of the game at 10:42, assisted by Jordan Diegel and Thomas Purton, pushing Michigan State’s lead to 4-2.
Schoolcraft responded with a goal of their own at 13:42 when Joshua Boze netted his seventh of the season, cutting the lead to 4-3, but Michigan State quickly seized control. The Spartans outshot Schoolcraft 23-11 in the period, a sign of their increasing dominance.
Michigan State kept the pedal to the metal in the third period. At 4:00, Matt Melachrinakis extended the lead to 5-3, assisted by Kolb and Aiden Wishart. The Spartans continued to pile on the goals as Borchardt made it 6-3 at 11:05, followed by Ryan Goodfellow, who found the net twice in the final six minutes of the game. His first came at 14:14, off an assist from Kyle Lucia and Melachrinakis, and his second came at 18:10, assisted by Liam Cooney and Melachrinakis, closing the game out with an 8-3 final score.
Michigan State’s offense was relentless, outshooting Schoolcraft 52-40 and their power play clicked when needed. Despite a solid performance from Schoolcraft’s goalie Schroeder, who made 44 saves on 52 shots, the Spartans’ offense proved to be too much to handle.
Key Stats:
- Shots on Goal: Schoolcraft College 17-11-12 = 40 | Michigan State University 14-23-15 = 52
- Power Plays: Schoolcraft College 1/0 | Michigan State University 1/0
- Goalies: Schoolcraft College: Schroeder (7-3-0-0) – 52 shots, 44 saves
Michigan State University: Griffin (4-3-0-0) – 40 shots, 37 saves
