The offensive attack in the first quarter was mild at best as Michigan State was able to jump out to a small lead. Sophomore attackman Mike Baily put the Spartans on the board first with an unassisted goal at 12:35 in the first quarter. The next ten minutes was riddled with turnovers and takeaways until senior midfielder Mike Manetta fed senior Matt Ullrich in the crease for an easy lay-up to put the Spartans up 2-0 heading into the second quarter.

What would appear to be a close game following the end of the first quarter dissolved in the second when Michigan State’s unforgiving offense caught fire. With a little over a minute played in the quarter, junior captain Connor Bush fed junior attackman Dan Witt who put it past Chippewa goaltender James Latini giving the Spartans a 3-0 lead. Minutes later Witt would earn his second goal of the evening on an assist from sophomore attackman Shane Jay-Garfein during a Michigan State extra man opportunity. Over the next five minutes Central Michigan had no answer for the Spartans who notched four more goals from Connor Bush, Pat Nemes, Josh Nemes and Mike Baily to go up on the Chippewas 8-0. However, with just over two minutes left in the half, Central Michigan converted on an extra man opportunity on a slashing call against the Spartans. But Michigan State answered right back with a goal by Bush with five seconds left in the half to put the Spartans up 9-1 heading into halftime.

A reoccurring theme for Michigan State is the lack of offensive production following half time, Central Michigan held the Spartans scoreless throughout the entire third quarter. The Chippewas also a managed to cut the Spartan’s lead to six. Junior attackman Justin Schaufler was able to put one past Michigan State goaltender Dean Hall for his second of the night. Central Michigan also converted on an extra man opportunity on a Spartan cross-checking penalty to notch the score at 9-3 heading into the fourth quarter.

Despite Central Michigan’s best efforts, the Spartans climbed out of their offensive funk to bury the Chippewas with seven goals in the fourth quarter. The first goal of the Michigan State barrage of goals came on another extra man attempt when Baily fire a shot past the Central Michigan defense on an assist from sophomore midfielder Mike Degenhardt. Two minutes later Central Michigan got another penalty giving Dan Witt an opportunity to complete his hat trick for the night and put the Spartans up 11-4 with 9:43 remaining in the game. The Chippewas tried to rally with back-to-back goals and cutting the lead to five but Michigan State’s lead was insurmountable. With another goal from Pat Nemes and two from freshman attackman Nick Gaworecki,Michigan State was up 14-7 with 3:33 left in the game. Central Michigan would score one more but goals from Manetta and Josh Nemes would ice the Chippewa offense and allow the Spartans to cruise toward their first CCLA victory of the 2010 season.

Michigan State dominated the stat sheet doubling up on ground balls against Central Michigan 64 to 32, led by freshman face-off specialist Scott Wisniewski with seven. The Spartan defense also held the Chippewas scoreless for nearly the entire first half. Led by seniors Matt LaCasse and Dean Hall Michigan State only allowed Central Michigan to get off 26 shots over the entire game.

No. 8 Michigan State, 5-1 (1-0), will face a tough University of Illinois team on Saturday in Grosse Ile at 3:00 p.m., The Spartans defeated the Fighting Illini last year in Champaign, IL.. Be sure to check the Michigan State website for game updates and scheduling changes as well as follow the team’s Twitter page @msulax.