Michigan State Hockey: Recap From 3-1 Win Over Michigan

Following a tough 3-0 shutout on Friday night at Munn Ice Arena, Michigan State hockey needed to bounce back. They did just that on Saturday night with a huge 3-1 victory over the Wolverines in hostile territory to tie the season series.

First Period

The Spartans started early and often in the first period of this game. Unlike Friday night, the Spartans showed an unreal amount of fight early. MSU generated most of the offense in the first period to the tune of 17 shots compared to 4 for the Wolverines.

Some of the best opportunities involved Shane Vansaghi and Ryker Lee. The two linemates clearly were giving their all and were in on 2 great chances on Jack Ivanovic. Both chances came off the rush and were back door attempts that were saved.

Despite the tough, physical play by the Spartans, it would be the Wolverines who opened scoring in the first. Will Horcoff, son of Spartan legend Shawn Horcoff, found the corner of the net and Augustine was unable to make the move. This is all despite limiting the Wolverines to only 4 shots in the entire period.

One of the biggest issues for the Spartans in this period though was their inability to stay out of the box. There were 3 penalties on the Spartans in the period and one of them led to the Horcoff goal. This has been a consistent issue for the team that has resulted in the team putting themselves in bad positions throughout games. Thankfully, that was not much of an issue on the scoreboard.

Second Period

Take everything that I said and basically flip it for the second period. The Wolverines dominated control of the puck and offense. For most of the second period, the Spartans struggled to come out with the same fight that they did in the first. It was clear that the Wolverines made adjustments and were using their size to their experience to their advantage.

Michigan was able to close the gap on shots in the second period, with 14 compared to 8 by the Spartans. Despite that though, the Spartans were the ones who were able to get on the scoreboard. It was the freshman Anthony Romani who was in the right place at the right time when he beat Ivanovic on the back door shot to tie the game at 1-1 after a bang-bang play that involved Patrick Geary and Gavin O’Connell. The goal was late in the second, as well, and brought the Spartans out of the slump they experienced early on in the period.

Third Period

The third is where both teams really evened out and became much more of a grind. Both teams had a number of high-quality chances to take control of the game and either extend the lead or tie it up. The Wolverines were unable to capitalize though thanks to the effort of Trey Augustine.

While Augustine struggled in the Friday night loss, he more than made up for it on Saturday, saving 30 of 31 shots and earning 2^nd star honors for Saturday night. This was the most dialed in that Augustine has looked since the weekend sweep of Penn State last month. He made the timely saves and turned the intensity up to show what he can be at the next level.

As previously said, both teams had a number of high-quality chances, it just happened to be that the Spartans were the ones to capitalize. Early into the third period, freshman Cayden Lindstrom brought the puck into the zone and was able to get it over to Anthony Romani. Romani was able to find just enough space to get the shot off and five-hole Ivanovic and take a 2-1 lead. That allowed the Spartans to play a more defensive period and focus on shutting down the high-powered Michigan offense.

Both teams were able to make good pushes throughout the period, but the goalies stood tall. The dagger would be an empty net goal by freshman Porter Martone who carried the puck across most of the ice in order to ensure that he did not miss on the empty net. With two minutes left, that sealed the game and a series tie for the Spartans and Wolverines.

Overall Thoughts

This game was a hard fought, instant classic that fans should expect from a series like this. It was a physical game with an unbelievable amount of skill on both sides. Most players were able to contribute something, even if it didn’t show up on the scoreboard. Two of those individuals, Ryker Lee and Shane Vansaghi who didn’t get any points, but were in corner battles, holding possession of the puck and generating strong chances.

The Spartans will now prepare for the Great Lakes Invitational at the end of the month in Grand Rapids. The Spartans are the defending champions of that tournament and look to repeat against a very different field compared to a year ago. Last year, the Spartans beat the eventual national champion Western Michigan Broncos. This year they will first face Ferris State and then either Michigan Tech or Miami (OH).

Make sure to stay up to date with all things Michigan State Hockey and World Junior Championships as we close in on the Christmas break. Make sure to keep checking back here on our website and follow myself on X @ikerss98, @Spartan_Shadows, and @MSUShadowsPod.