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04/06/2007 - St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Mueller had a goal and an assist to help the Michigan State Spartans advance to their first championship game since 1987 with a 4-2 win over the Maine Black Bears in the Frozen Four.
Nick Sucharski, Chris Snavely and Kim McKenzie all lit the lamp for the Spartans (25-14-3), who will play the winner of the North Dakota/Boston College game later on Thursday.
"The biggest thing today was the penalty kill," said Mueller. "We knew Maine had the top power play, but we played with patience and stayed out of the box, which was the key to winning the game."
Jeff Lerg finished with 29 saves for Michigan State, which last won a national title in 1986.
"We expected Maine to come out flying," said Lerg. "We didn't match them for the first two period, but we got our game going and the late goal in the second period gave us momentum for the third to carry on for the win."
Josh Soares and Keith Johnson each had a goal and an assist and Ben Bishop finished with 29 saves for the Black Bears (23-15-2), who defeated Michigan State in last season's East Regional final, 5-4.
"We played a great game," said Bishop. "But their goalie got off to a tough start, giving up a goal on the first shot, but he played well at the end and made some key saves in the third period."
The championship game will be played on Saturday.
Maine initially grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first when Johnson scored just 23 seconds in and a little over three minutes later Soares scored on a shot from the slot through traffic.
However, the Spartans scored four unanswered goals to win the game.
Mueller got his team on the board when he banged the puck out of mid-air into the net to make it a 2-1 game at the 7:25 mark of the first.
Michigan State tied the game with the only goal of the second period when Snavely scored to make it a 2-2 game.
The Spartans grabbed their first lead of the game as Sucharski jammed the puck into the net during a jam in front for a 3-2 advantage 5:11 into the third.
"There was traffic in front and the rebound popped out in front and I went to dive on it but somehow they slipped it underneath me into the net," said Bishop.
McKenzie sealed the win for the Spartans when he snapped a wrister on the fly from the left circle that Bishop stopped, but the rebound went right back to McKenzie and he buried it in the back of the net with 10:14 to play.
It is the fifth time in school history that Michigan State will appear in the championship game.
<< Rose and Wetterich lead Masters; Woods four back
Augusta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Rose and Brett Wetterich are tied atop
the leaderboard at three-under-par 69 Thursday after the first round of the
Masters at Augusta National Golf Club.
Tiger Woods, the winner of the last two m
<< Washington's Hawes experiments jumping to NBA
Seattle, WA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Washington announced freshman
center Spencer Hawes will experiment with making the jump to the NBA.
The 7-foot Hawes, who led the Huskies with 14.9 points per game this past
season, anno
<< Phillies acquire Rosario from Toronto
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies acquired right-
handed pitcher Francisco Rosario from the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, in
exchange for cash considerations.
The 26-year-old Rosario went 1-2 with a 6.65 ER
<< Eustachy gets extension at Southern Miss
Hattiesburg, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Southern Mississippi has given men's
basketball coach Larry Eustachy a two-year contract extension that will run
through the 2010-2011 season.
The extension, which will include a substantial raise
Blueshirts lock up playoff spot >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist and
Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves as the New York Rangers clinched a playoff
berth with a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Madison Square Garden.
Petr Pr
Sabres rally to top Bruins >>
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thomas Vanek scored twice and also notched an
assist as the Sabres doubled up the Boston Bruins, 4-2, in Buffalo's home
finale at HSBC Arena.
Derek Roy had a goal and one assist and Ales Kotalik als
Brodeur sets record on championship night for Devils >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Brodeur used 34 saves to break the
all-time mark for wins in a single season and Jim Dowd scored the short-handed
game-winner midway through the third period, as the New Jersey Devils clinched
the Atl
Islanders stay alive with win over Leafs >>
Uniondale, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Blake scored the go-ahead goal 3:46
into the third period and the New York Islanders kept their slim playoff hopes
alive with a 5-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Nassau Coliseum.
Aaron Asham and M
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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