The first game back in the Joe from a road trip has been a problem for the Wings all season and it was again tonight against the Sharks. After a very productive 3 game road trip on which the Wings were able to take all 6 of the available points they returned home for a short 2 game home stand starting with tonights game against the sharks. Tonights game started out well enough with the Wings putting 9 shots on the Sharks goaltender Niemi, but 4 Shark power plays including a full 2 minute 5 on 3 wiped out that advantage by the end of the 1st period and saw the Sharks take a 1 goal lead into the break. Dan Cleary gave his team a big lift in the 2nd netting his 20th and career high 21st goal of the season which also gave him 3 straight seasons of 20+ goals which is also a first in his career. The 2nd period would end tied 2-2 setting up a hard fought 3rd period between the two teams. The Wings carried the majority of the play in the period, Datsyuk and Stuart both banged shots off of the goal post, coming that close to giving their team the lead in the game but just as it usually happens in a hockey game scoring chances missed at one end end up being scored on the other and the Sharks would take a 4-2 lead shortly after. Z made it close scoring on a late power play with about 2 minutes left in the game, the Wings had a few chances late but just couldn't find a way to put in the equalizer. A side-note to this game was Patrick Eaves going down with an apparent lower body injury in the 2nd period, hopefully its nothing serious because the speed he has brings an extra element to the teams offensive attack.
When the Spartans entered the season ranked #2 in the nation no one thought that they would be looking for key wins at this point just to get into the tournament next month, i certainly didn't. But that's exactly the situation that the team is finds itself in right now, on the outside looking in for the tournament. Tom Izzo has his team playing better of late with 3 straight wins in conference including a big-time road win against Minnesota tonight. It's nice to see the team being able to string together a couple of wins in a row which shows that they can perform more consistently than they had been pretty much up to this point. But it's still strange to me that it seems like some of the players, and the senior players at that, are having trouble fitting in to a role out on the floor for this team. I have to admit that i have been less than impressed with Durrell Summers play this season, now there have been rumors that he is dealing with certain things internally that he is struggling with which i can understand being a college student myself. But im sure even he was expecting a lot more out of himself this season, if anything he just wanted to do the best he could to help his team get over that final hurdle to a national championship. The Spartans win over the Gophers in Minnesota will definitely help their cause but they are not out of the woods yet, they still have a big game coming up against top ten Purdue at home on Sunday along with a their final home game against Iowa and the rivalry game on the road against Michigan to end the regular season. In my opinion a win against Purdue would guarantee the Spartans a spot in the dance but in failing that i think 19-20 wins will see them through.Goodnight from the greatest sports city in the world
Drew in the D
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