While football ultimately did not go the way of Michigan State this past weekend, those Spartans did play good hockey. In a return series to follow up a sweep last season, Michigan State hockey this time went to Buffalo and swept Canisius at home. Overall, there were a lot of great things to take from these games that the team can be proud of going into an off week.
Let’s break down these two satisfying non-conference wins.
Game 1 overview
The biggest thing to come from the first game in this series was the goaltending play of Trey Augustine. He backstopped the Spartans to a 3-0 win in his first shutout performance of the season. Augustine only faced 15 shots throughout the game but it is still worth noting that he stopped all of them. That also brings attention to another group that deserves praise in this game, the defense. While at times this season they have been caught off guard in transition, the defense has been limiting chances over the past few games.
The strength of opponents definitely plays a factor in that but it still is worth noting. Specifically, Patrick Geary made himself known in the first game with his hard play on the puck as well as adding an assist on the Tanner Kelly goal that started the scoring for the Spartans.
Obviously, in a 3-0 win like the team had it goes without saying that the offense was firing on all cylinders. Goal scorers for the Spartans included Tanner Kelly (2-3-5), Joey Larson (3-1-4), and Daniel Russell (4-3-7). Out of the three Kelly had the biggest game because he added an assist on the Larson goal. It is also worth mentioning that two of the goals in this game came off of the powerplay which shows improvement in the unit.
Going into the game on Friday night, the Spartans had not scored a powerplay goal. Hopefully the success on the powerplay will continue as the Spartans prepare to enter conference play in two weeks.
Game 2 overview
On Saturday night there were a few things of note in the 4-1 Spartan victory. First, this game was the first start for backup goalie Luca Di Pasquo. The sophomore goaltender did get some playing time against the University of Windsor but that was just for the last two periods. That game was also only an exhibition game. Di Pasquo posted 17 saves and only one goal allowed in the game to seal the sweep for the Spartans. While he won’t get many starts this season because he is competing with Augustine, Di Pasquo held his own against a decent number of shots in this game.
It should give Spartan fans some comfort that there is always a solid presence in goal.
For the defense, they provided another solid performance and even helped out on the offensive score sheet. Buffalo Sabres draft pick Maxim Strbak got in on the scoring with two assists on the goals by Joey Larson and Red Savage. The thing about Strbak that makes him such a fun player to watch is that he is really good at finding the open man and hitting him in just the right spot. That was especially evident on the Larson goal where he fed the puck off the faceoff to Larson and allowed him to rip a one-timer.
On the offensive side of the puck, the goal scorers were Tanner Kelly (2-3-5), Red Savage (2-1-3), Joey Larson (3-1-4), and Isaac Howard (4-4-8). It was nice to see Howard get on the scoring sheet to finish off the weekend as he was providing a lot of opportunities that just wouldn’t go in going back to last weekend against Windsor. In total he had 12 shots over the two games. He led in shots on Saturday and tied with the most with Charlie Stramel on Friday night. The puck finally got past the goalie to get Howard his first point of the weekend which was well earned.
Overall thoughts
While it can be difficult to get great insight from games where the talent discrepancy is so obvious, the Spartans are playing well. This was rewarded with upward movement in the rankings as the Spartans moved up one sport to No. 3 in national rankings. The team looked great in all facets of the game and easily outplayed the Golden Griffins in this series.
This will definitely provide a confidence boost needed as the Spartans now prepare to open conference play with Ohio State. The biggest thing that the team needs to work on is continuing to limit penalties, which is improved. This will be important as the competition level gets drastically better.
The next games for will take place on Nov. 8-9 at Munn Ice Arena against Ohio State. The Buckeyes are currently 5-0-1 and looking much better than they were last season. The games will both be streaming on BTN+ at 7 p.m. ET.
Stay updated on Michigan State hockey by checking here on Spartan Shadows as well as following me on X @ikerss98.
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