Michigan State Hockey: Recap of Frozen Confines win over Wisconsin

Michigan State hockey, the No. 1 team in the country, was back for its fourth game in seven nights. While the rest of the students enjoyed winter break, there was no break for the Spartan hockey team.

Last Thursday, the Spartans beat Wisconsin in the friendly confines of Munn Ice Arena. On Saturday, they traveled to Wrigley Field to play their first outdoor game since playing at Soldier Field in 2015. However, the Spartans had not won an outdoor game since two years prior, when they beat Michigan in Comerica Park.

The Spartans got a rough draw for this, playing the Wisconsin Badgers. Despite the Badgers’ relatively lackluster season, they had yet to lose an outdoor game in their program’s history. Additionally, the Badgers were the only team to hand the Spartans a conference loss this season. There was no room to hide, and no excuses of being down a player, just 60 minutes of hockey to play at a historic venue.

First period

In the first period, both teams came out of the gate strong. Michigan State hockey and Wisconsin were alternating long stretches in the attack zone, trading shots and opportunities at a blistering pace. It looked like the normal MSU-Wisconsin match we all love and hate: hard to beat, and impossible to pick a winner. The top moment of the first period was a miraculous save by Luca Di Pasquo.

With around six minutes left, the Spartans flipped a switch. Suddenly, it was all MSU. The Spartans were attacking and buzzing around the net, and sure enough, eventually, an opportunity turned into a goal. Vladislav Lukashevich was able to net his first goal of the season on a rebounded puck. The Spartans and Wisconsin each had a last-gasp effort to score late in the period, but neither was successful. It was 1-0, MSU at the first intermission.

Second period

After killing off a penalty, the Spartans recaptured their magic from the first period. They went to attack mode and were quickly able to net their second goal, that being Daniel Russell’s ninth of the year. However, after that quick magic, the Spartan offense went ice-cold. Wisconsin became the aggressor and struck back with Gavin Morrisey burying a shot over Di Pasquo.

Then, disaster struck for the Spartans. Just over four minutes after Morrissey made the game within one, Quinn Finley evened the game up on a controversial play that Spartan head coach Adam Nightingale challenged for goaltender interference. Di Pasquo was still getting up when Finley’s shot buzzed by the goaltender, and fellow Shadows press member Matthew Eichstaedt and I were in disagreement on whether that goal should have stood. Ultimately, the referees ruled it did.

The Spartans survived the remainder of the period, keeping the score tied at the beginning of the third. The second period was the equivalent of Michigan State football’s “third quarter woes”: Michigan State hockey was outshot 13-7 in the middle period.

Third period

The third period started slow on the stat sheet, with only four recorded shots on goal in the first five minutes of action. However, for those watching, there were lots of anxious moments. Di Pasquo took a hit early in the period and seemed to be on the ice with the puck still bouncing around nearly every Wisconsin possession. The Spartans had a few pressures, but their quality of shots on goal were lacking for the first third of the deciding period. However, after a huge Nicklas Andrews hit on Finley, the Spartans captured the momentum, and Isaac Howard buried a puck to re-give the Spartans the lead.

A Tanner Kelly wraparound was nearly enough to give MSU a seemingly insurmountable two-goal advantage, but a quick move by Tommy Scarfone saved the Badgers. It remained 3-2 entering the final 10 minutes. The Spartans continued to attack, with the Badgers answering, but this time, it was the Badger shots that were lacking.

After turning away a Red Savage breakaway in the final two minutes, Scarfone was pulled. An icing faceoff won by Wisconsin turned into a Badger goal, making the third Frozen Confines game to go to overtime.

Overtime

The Spartans were blindsided by the Wisconsin momentum in the first minute and change of overtime, with the Badgers possessing the puck. It appeared that either Luca Di Pasquo was going to be beaten or that the game would go in the books as a time. Michigan State hockey finally got its chance with about 3:30 left in the extra time, and their two good chances were turned away by Scarfone. For the next minute, the puck was stuck in no man’s land, being passed between blue lines with both defenses converging.

The Badgers had a late chance, but the Spartans then flipped it on its head, with them blitzing in for the final 20 seconds. A few shots, a few failed clearings, and a Badger flying into the net, Russell was able to poke the goal through for a last-gasp game-winner with only 1.4 seconds on the clock. Somehow, that is Russell’s sixth game-winner of his 10 goals this season. Sixty percent of his shots being a game-winner seems like a video game stat, but this is real life. What a life it is for the Spartans.

What does the win mean?

This win means the Spartans went a perfect 4-0 without their main goaltender Trey Augustine and star defender Maxim Strbak. In other words, the Spartans have the depth to compete even if a player goes down. These were not any “gimme wins”, either. The Spartans swept Wisconsin, who split the away section of the series with Trey Augustine in net. They beat the No. 4 team in the country, Western Michigan.

Michigan State hockey has contributors ready and willing to step up. Vladislav Lukashevich is a player who has seen the ice more with Strbak contributing for Slovakia. Lukashevich got his first career goal on Saturday. Di Pasquo not only went a perfect 4-0 in his extended action with Augustine between the posts for Team USA but he finished Saturday with the most saves in his young career. He appears ready for an extended role when the Spartans inevitably lose Augustine to the Grand Rapids Griffins or Detroit Red Wings when GM Steve Yzerman decides to “call up” the netminder.

What’s next for the Spartans?

The Spartans travel to Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions (8-9-1, 1-8-1 Big Ten) on Friday and Saturday. While their record is not great in the conference, the Nittany Lions are not one to overlook: they played Minnesota extremely close and just got their first conference win against Notre Dame on Sunday following Frozen Confines.

The Spartans return to Munn on Saturday, Jan. 18, in the second part of a “home-and-home” series against their bitter rival, the Michigan Wolverines.

As for the next outdoor game, that is, to be determined. After regaining feeling in my fingers, I have to ask: when is that next one?