MSU into final 8

GRAND RAPIDS - The Central Collegiate Hockey Association is assured of having one team in the NCAA Frozen Four for the first time since 2003.

And Michigan State is one game away from that coveted spot after an impressive 5-1 victory over Boston University in the NCAA Midwest Regional at Van Andel Arena in a game that started late Friday and ended early Saturday morning.

The Spartans (23-13-3) will play Notre Dame (32-6-3) at 8:30 tonight with the winner advancing to the Frozen Four in St. Louis April 5-7. The Irish survived a major scare in the first semifinal on Friday, defeating Alabama-Huntsville 3-2 in double overtime.

The Spartans and Irish have played two times this season, with each team winning at home in mid-November.

MSU overcame a sluggish start Friday against the Terriers but took control in the second period with three unanswered goals and added one goal in the third period to eliminate BU (20-10-9).

"I thought our kids did a great job tonight," MSU coach Rick Comley said. "BU came out strong, fast, crashing and got the early goal, but we got a fortunate bounce on (Tim Kennedy's goal) and we seemed to get better from there."

Tim Crowder sparked MSU with two goals while Tim Kennedy, Jay Sprague and Daniel Vukovic scored one goal each against Terriers standout senior goalie John Curry, a Hobey Baker finalist. Defenseman Tyler Howells had three assists.

Ryan Weston scored BU's only goal at 6:05 in the first period, when the Terriers were dominating the Spartans and held an 11-3 edge in shots at one point.

But Kennedy got it back on a power play - on a fluke bounce off the glass - at 6:05, and MSU's Crowder, Sprague and Vukovic connected in the middle period, one of the Spartans' best of the season.

"The first period was the most tired I've been all year," Kennedy said. "They came out flying, hit us hard and I didn't think I'd have enough to finish the next two periods. But somehow I found some energy and kept going.''

MSU goalie Jeff Lerg outplayed Curry but had a lot more help from his teammates. Lerg finished with 27 saves.

The Terriers came out strong in the opening period, taking the play to the Spartans and peppering Lerg from shots from all over.

But it was a nice pass in the neutral zone and a quick break-in by Weston that gave BU a 1-0 lead at 6:05. Weston took a pass from defenseman Matt Gilroy and sped between MSU's defensemen and had a clear path to Lerg from 25 feet out.

Weston's shot hit Lerg and deflected up to the goaltender's right, but Weston tapped it again as he was skating past and it dropped into the net for just his second goal of the season.

At one point in the opening period, BU held a 8-1 edge in shots before the Spartans went on a 4-on-3 power play and got a break with a crazy bounce to tie it 1-1.

The Terriers tried to clear the puck off the glass from the corner to Curry's right. But it hit a stanchion jutting out in the glass and caromed into the slot right to Kennedy.

Kennedy's first shot was blocked by Curry, but the Spartan sophomore picked up the rebound and lifted a backhander into the net at 12:51.

The Spartans, happy to get out of the first period deadlocked, went to work in the second and struck for three goals to take command of the game.

Crowder gave MSU a 2-1 lead at 1:11 when Kennedy took his rebound off the left boards and fired it back toward the slot. Crowder charged in and deflected it past Curry.

"Once we weathered their storm and Tim Kennedy got that first goal and the second goal was huge for us, because we kept on rolling, getting goals on rebounds," Jeff Lerg said.

"Those are the kind of goals you have to get to win games like this."

Sprague tapped in a rebound at 5:22 to make it 3-1 after the Spartans sustained heavy pressure in the Terriers' zone.

But the Spartans came right back during a 4-on-4 situation to boost its lead to three goals on Vukovic's shot from the edge of the crease, after Bryan Lerg got possession behind the net and made a perfect pass in front.

Crowder scored MSU's fifth goal at 8:04 of the third period, just after a MSU power play expired.