It was an action-packed day at Van Andel Arena. Some of the most storied hockey schools in the state battled it out to see who could punch their ticket to the tournament championship. That included No. 1 ranked Michigan State hockey (13-2-1) as they took on the Northern Michigan Wildcats (1-15-1). The game went about as expected with the Spartans securing the 2-0 victory. They will now face the No. 4 Western Michigan Broncos (11-3-1) in the championship. The Spartans are looking to win their first GLI in 15 years.
Game 1 overview
On paper, this game should have been a blowout. The Northern Michigan Wildcats have struggled all season long and they were going against the No. 1 ranked team in the country. It is only fair to give the Wildcats their flowers. The nuance that goes with the struggles that the program has faced over the past year is astounding. The Wildcats took on the Spartans with 16 freshmen in the lineup. Coach Shyiak also talked in the press conference about how the team almost didn’t play this season and miraculously filled 24 roster spots in 35 days.
Considering that, the team played very well. Goaltender Ryan Ouellette made the difference for the Wildcats and allowed them to keep this game close. The future looks bright as this Wildcat team looks to rebuild.
Michigan State hockey took everything that Northern gave it and came out with a solid 2-0 victory on Sunday night. The majority of the action in this game occurred in the first period. It began with not one, but two goals that were called off after the coach’s challenge. Each team had one called back and both were called back because of kicking the puck in the net. It seemed early on that the Wildcats were in awe of the moment and struggled to start the game. This was later said by Shyiak who mentioned that the team, “Isn’t used to playing in front of crowds of 10,000.”
This allowed the Spartans to take advantage of the moment and take the lead.
The goal scorers tonight were Karsen Dorwart (4-8-12) and Isaac Howard (10-11-21). Both goals were high-quality chances. Dorwart was able to take a rebound off of a Joey Larson shot and put it into the back of the net to open the scoring. Isaac Howard then followed it up with a great moment where he split the defenders and hit the top corner to extend the lead to 2-0.
Star of the game
Another highlight in this game was Luca Di Pasquo. While he didn’t have much to do, facing only 15 shots, he made the most of those moments securing his 2nd shutout of the season. During the press conference, both Adam Nightingale and Luca talked about how those low-shot games can be some of the hardest for a goalie. That is because it is really easy to lose focus when you aren’t facing shots at a high rate. Nightingale praised Di Pasquo when he said “Luca is a guy who we are comfortable putting in any situation because he is a very mature player who can focus in games like tonight.” Luca will have the opportunity to seize a few more moments as it looks as though he will be in the net for the game against Western and both Wisconsin games next weekend.
Day 2 opponent overview
After beating the Wildcats, the Spartans will face the No. 4 ranked Western Michigan Broncos for the GLI Championship. The teams last met each other in the NCAA tournament last season. In that game, the Spartans beat the Broncos in overtime to move on to face Michigan. The win was the first NCAA tournament win for the Spartans since the 2007-2008 season.
The Broncos have had a great start to the season and look to once again be a strong team. When asked about facing the Broncos, Nightingale expressed enthusiasm and respect. He and Broncos head coach Pat Ferschweiler both spent time together working for the Detroit Red Wings. Nightingale later said, “It should be a great game, they are a very well-coached team that will give us a great challenge.”
The Broncos provide a big obstacle for the Spartans to overcome, especially with missing Augustine. Western Michigan will also be down their starting goaltender. He is currently backing up Augustine at the World Juniors. That should allow for this to be a very even-matched game. Both teams have good depth and are ranked almost dead even in offensive statistics.
Where to watch/listen
This game is setting up to be an all-time classic. If you have the ability to get to Van Andel Arena to see this game make the effort. Michigan State hockey and Western Michigan will drop the puck at 7 p.m. ET on Monday night from downtown Grand Rapids.
The game will be available for streaming on BTN+ and audio will be available on the Spartan Media Network.
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