Third period rally pushes MO State past scrappy Northern Illinois

A standing-room only crowd of 975 saw the Missouri State Bears extend their unbeaten streak to 11 with a come-from-behind 7-4 victory over Northern Illinois at the Jordan Valley Ice Park Friday night.

The Bears, playing their first game since Dec. 10, fell behind 1-0 after the first period and trailed 3-1 in the third period. That's when Missouri State went off for three goals in two minutes to take their first lead of the game.

Jake Mowry netted the equalizer just one minute and five seconds into the period as his shot ricocheted off the stick of NIU defenseman Chris Craig and past goalie Robert Martinez, tying the score at 3. Less than a minute later Andy Whitener pounded home a rebound to put the Bears in front. Kent Adams tacked on a power play goal to complete the rally and give MSU a 5-3 lead.


Missouri State is now 7-3-3 in the Mid-America Collegiate Hockey Association's Gold Division. NIU falls to 3-8-0. MSU has not lost a game at the Ice Park this season, going 10-0-1. The two teams square off again tonight at 7 p.m.


Kess' take: Missouri State really outplayed NIU for most of the night, but - as would be expected after a long layoff - struggled to get in synch offensively. The Huskies, on the other hand, were playing their fifth game of the new year. The Bears' aggressive forechecking limited NIU's scoring chances until a late first period goal, just after MSU had killed off a power play.

Things got a little hairy when NIU went up 3-1. The momentum was on their side, the bounces weren't going their way and they couldn't seem to find a way past NIU goalie Robert Martinez.

But you couldn't help thinking the dam - in the person of Martinez - would eventually break. Martinez was solid through two periods before State rallied in front.

The crowd was great. They packed 975 into the Ice Park thanks, in part, to kids from the Boys and Girls Club. They got their money's worth. The Bears continue to do a top-flight job with MSU Hockey, from the slick (and free!) game programs, to updated game notes and rosters, to entertaining between-period promotions. They are, in a lot of ways, more polished than the Jr. A Springfield Spirit (RIP) ever were.

My only complaint is the sound system at JVIP continues to be subpar. The PA mic cuts out a lot and the volume of the music is never as loud as it could be. I love the goal horn sound effect, but I really wish it was loud...like ear-rattling loud.

But that's nit-picking. Stan Melton, Curt Bussen, Benjamin Alexander, et al do an unbelievable job with this program. I'm excited to see what the future of MSU hockey is.

Two more guys who do an unbelievable job are Steve Casson and Dan Lee of WebSports Radio, who were kind enough to let me sit in as a guest during the first intermission. Check out their web site for outstanding coverage of MSU hockey as well as live and archived game broadcasts - and support their advertisers!