We’re just about to drop the puck in St. Louis. The arena is less than half full right now, but at 3:00pm local time start is contributing to that, no doubt. I’ll be updating periodically throughout each period in a single blog post, so reload often.

0:00: Besides the battle on the ice, this one will be a battle of the bands, as two of the best square off. I was impressed with Maine’s band when I heard them at the Northeast Regional and saw the Spartan Band earlier today at a pep rally. Michigan State’s band get the honors of playing the National Anthem as the Spartans are the home team in this one.

0:23: And just like that, it’s 1-0 Maine. Josh Soares makes a nifty backhand pass from behind the net to Keith Johnson, who puts it past Jeff Lerg to make it 1-0 Black Bears.

3:24: Maine strike again. Lerg makes the initial save on Travis Ramsey, but the rebound goes to Soares in the slot and he wrists it stick side. That’s two shifts and two goals for the Soares-Leveille-Johnson line.

Back after a wireless outage:

7:25: Michigan State gets on the board. Ben Bishop makes the save on a wraparoud attempt by Chris Mueller, but the rebound is lands back on his stick, and he puts it by Bishop to make it 2-1 Maine.

11:04: We get our first penalty of the game as Michigan State’s Kennedy heads to the box for cross-checking. The Black Bears have the top-ranked power play in the nation, but the Spartans hold.

15:20: The Spartans get their first chance with the man advantage but Bishop makes some nice saves to keep it 2-1.

19:06: Gotta love the TV timeouts. Not.

19:22: Soares goes off for a checking from behind minor.

20:00 : And the first of nine periods (or more) this weekend is in the books. Shots on goal were 11 for eaach side. The Spartans will open the second period with 1:22 of power play. Offsetting slashing calls at the buzzer.

I’ll be continuing the liveblog in a separate post – one for each period.