No. 7 Colorado College picked up right where it left off after a 6-1 rout of Michigan Friday night, dominating Michigan State in a 6-3 win at Joe Louis Arena. The victory clinched the Tigers’ first Great Lakes Invitational title in only their second appearance at the tournament.
Joey Crabb led the Tigers for the second-straight night with two goals and two assists, totaled a seven-point weekend, and was named the most valuable player in the GLI. Marty Sertich also had four assists, while defenseman Brian Salcido scored twice on the power play.
Crabb got Colorado College on the board eight minutes into the contest on the power play. Salcido’s point shot whistled wide of the Spartan net, but bounced right out front to Crabb, who batted it by goaltender Dominic Vicari.
Trevor Frischmon and Crabb combined for a shorthanded two-on-one break with four minutes left in the first. Crabb feathered a pass across to Frischmon, who beat a helpless Vicari.
Crabb’s second of the night and the Tigers’ fifth goal of the game chased Vicari from the net midway though the second period.
“Joey has played well, particularly the last two or three months after a bit of a slow start,” Colorado College coach Scott Owens said. “He just looks so confident with the puck all of the time. He had 19 shots in two games. It’s great for a senior, a veteran player like that, to step up for us.”
But it was Colorado College’s lethal power play that shifted the momentum in favor of the Tigers early, powered by Salcido’s dynamics from the blue line. After scoring three power-play goals versus Michigan, the Tigers connected for four more on Friday against Michigan State.
Salcido notched two goals on the power play in the first. Both were crisp point shots that found the top corner behind Vicari.
“We knew coming in how good their power play was, and we played right into their hands by taking so many penalties in the first period,” Michigan State coach Rick Comley said. “I thought we showed some frustration, but boy, they really executed.”
Crabb’s first goal and Brett Stirling’s team-leading 21st goal in the second period were also scored with the man advantage. The Tigers have scored at least one power-play goal in 12 consecutive games.
After Colorado College’s shellacking for almost 40 minutes, Michigan State cut away at the Tigers’ score in the late going with three consecutive goals. Tyler Howells tallied two goals late in the second period before David Booth beat goaltender Matt Zaba with a backhander midway through the third period to finalize the score at 6-3.
“Any time you get out to a 6-0 lead things are looking good for you, but they started to call a lot (of penalties) against us and we wore down a little bit,” Sertich said. “They got their chances and capitalized on them. They started to make it interesting, but our start won the game for us.”
With the win, Colorado College became the fourth visiting team, besides the mainstays of Michigan, Michigan State and Michigan Tech, to win the GLI in the last five years. Salcido, Sertich and Zaba were named to the GLI all-tournament team.
