Michigan State hockey: 3 takeaways from comeback win over Western Michigan

Michigan State hockey came back from a two-goal deficit to beat Western Michigan in an overtime thriller. What’d we learn?

What a wild start to the weekend, Spartan fans. The first-round game for Michigan State hockey in the NCAA Tournament proved to be a memorable one, ending in a 5-4 overtime win..

The Spartans came out strong but a bad turnover led to Western Michigan taking a 1-0 lead midway through the first period. It carried that lead until about halfway through period two when the Spartans talent took over and lead them to two quick goals by Daniel Russell and David Gucciardi. The 2-1 lead was short-lived however, with the Broncos quickly responding. The Broncos scored three goals in a span of just over three minutes and all of the sudden Western was taking a 4-2 lead into the third period.

The Spartan seniors and stars refused to give up, though. Captain Nash Nienhuis scored about halfway into the third to cut the Bronco lead to one. Some back and forth action lead to an entertaining finish with Karsen Dorwart scoring off a beautiful play from Artyom Levshunov to tie the game at 4-4 with less than a minute to go.

That sent the game to overtime.

Once the bonus period started, the ice was certainly tilted in the Spartans’ favor. With just over nine minutes gone in overtime, Jeremy Davidson sent a quick wrist shot from the right circle that beat Western’s goalie and ended the game for the Spartans.

With the 5-4 win, they will move on to the regional final on Sunday night against either Michigan or North Dakota. There was a lot from this game to digest so lets drop three takeaways from Friday’s win.

1. MSU’s leadership stepped up when it was needed

In my article earlier this week discussing what MSU’s strengths and weaknesses were, I mentioned how it needed secondary scoring to step up. MSU’s lack of clear-cut offensive superstars has been overcame this year by a team effort on the offensive end. That was the case again on Friday. Let’s be frank, Michigan State hockey did not play its ‘A’ game. I would argue it was not even its ‘B’ game either.

When it mattered most, the seniors, Trey Augustine, and Artyom Levshunov stepped up and made countless plays to get the team back in it. Though Augustine did not play his best game, he had some huge saves at crucial points of the game to prevent MSU from falling further behind.

Going into the third period, MSU could not afford another goal to go in. Augustine answered the call and shut Western down. Levshunov made a couple of huge defensive plays to prevent some quality scoring chances down the stretch. Also his set up of the game tying goal with 55 seconds left showcases why he will be a top-10 pick in this year’s NHL draft. He really had an outstanding game. He was the player of the game, in my opinion.

Finally the seniors stepped up. Goals down the stretch from captain Nash Nienhaus and Jeremy Davidson were huge. Sophomore Karsen Dorwart was also a huge factor as he has been all season.

When crunch time came, the leaders were what carried this young team over the hump to avoid a disappointing early exit.

2. Face-offs and turnovers almost sank the Spartans

MSU seemed to be really pressing for most of the time during this game. The Spartans seemed to be really rushing and trying to do too much. This lead for a lot of problematic defensive zone turnovers and ultimately a few goals by Western.

Ultimately, this would have been the difference-maker had the Spartans not been able to come back.

Another issue was face-offs. The Spartans lost a lot of key face-offs early on in the game, which lead to Bronco goals directly. They were unable to establish any momentum or puck control for much of the first half of the game as well. Once the team settled down, they were able to start winning more draws and putting sustained pressure on Western. Eventually that led them to crack and ignited the comeback. Moving forward, Michigan State hockey will really need to focus on controlling this part of the game if it plans to keep advancing in this tournament.

3. Coaching made a real difference

One thing Adam Nightingale has done since taking over is that he’s become a calming influence on the program. As I’ve stated, the guys came out a little wild against WMU. The Spartans have the fifth-youngest team in the NCAA so it’s natural that players with little experience will have nerves coming in. Top that with major NHL scouts and general managers in attendance, the pressure was at an all-time high.

You could tell that Nightingale did not let that get to him. He is very process-oriented and has been in every situation imaginable. Having a calming influence like this behind the bench was huge in mounting this come back. You could see in the third period, the team really seemed to relax and let their talent and practice take over.

The sustainable pressure would eventually wear Western down and Nightingale’s confidence in that was ever-present.

Maybe also having Tom Izzo and wife Lupe in the building help too. We all know Izzo has been through just about everything. Maybe the players saw him not giving up and they chose not to either, who knows? OK, yes that last part is a bit satirical but how else could I work Izzo into this? Shout out to him and all the Spartan faithful for making the trip to Missouri to support the guys in this one. It proved to be much-needed.

What’s next?

As previously stated, the Spartans’ next game will be Sunday night at 6:30 p.m. EST. They will play the winner of North Dakota and Michigan. The winner of Sunday’s game will secure their ticket to the Frozen Four in Minneapolis on April 11. For a preview of that game and much more Michigan State hockey content, keep it here with Spartan Shadows over the next few days.

Friday marks MSU Hockey’s first NCAA Tournament win since 2008. This team is a special one.