Michigan State hockey earns No. 1 seed after winning Big Ten title

Michigan State hockey won the Big Ten Tournament title on Saturday and then earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

For the first time in program history, Michigan State hockey is not only the Big Ten regular-season champion but also the Big Ten Tournament champion. This is coming off winning one of the biggest games — if not the biggest game — at Munn Arena in over 10 years. Every fan knew this was going to be a huge game and it turned into a classic between Michigan State and Michigan.

In a packed arena, you could sense the moment was big before the puck was dropped. The puck was finally dropped at 8 p.m. local time and it was the start of a game and a moment that Michigan State fans would never forget.

While fans that were in Munn won’t soon forget this game, the beginning was very forgettable. Within a minute, Michigan was up 1-0 and the crowd was silent. There was a nervousness in the arena after only a minute but as the clock ticked down, Michigan State finally got more chances until it finally broke through with a goal from Tanner Kelly.

Even with the goal and a tied game, the first period was won by Michigan with more shots on goals and better chances.

This quickly changed as Michigan State finally got settled in and took a 2-1 lead. Things did not stay this way as this game kept flipping back and forth throughout. There never seemed to be a lot of time that these teams didn’t have great scoring chances.

Michigan finally got a few great scoring chances after Michigan State took the lead and they took the lead 3-2 in a few minutes. Again, the momentum continued to swing back and forth, and outside of the game-winning score, the next biggest goal was one with 0.7 seconds left in the second period to go up one heading into the third period. At that time, fans did not know that this would be the goal that got Michigan State hockey into overtime but it was. Michigan responded with a game-tying goal shortly into the third period and we were then headed into overtime.

After Michigan tied the game, you just knew that overtime would be likely.

This game had way too many great moments for this game not to go into overtime. There was a wait between the third period and overtime and things were quiet. Fans were sitting on the edge of their seats even throughout overtime. You could feel the energy and the nerves from all the fans. There were moments for both teams but then the ping heard around Michigan happened. Michigan State hockey player Patrick Geary took a shot on goal, you hear a ping and the buzzer goes off. Instantly, fans were on their feet and a roar erupted that hadn’t been heard at Munn in a long time. A roar that fans will never forget and one that said Michigan State hockey just won the Big Ten Tournament title.

Fans did not leave their seats as Adam Nightingale and the players held up the trophy.

This hockey team not only won one championship, it won two and the Spartans did it against their rival. This is something the hockey program hasn’t done but Nightingale and this program finally accomplished their goals. All those years of disappointing hockey led to this moment.

It also led to Michigan State hockey being a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament where it will play Western Michigan on Friday. If the Spartans win that game, guess who could wait for them to go to the Frozen Four? Michigan. This might not be the last game the Spartans play against the Wolverines this year but it’s nice to win a Big Ten Tournament title at home against Michigan for the first time.