Michigan State hockey dropped Game 1 in overtime.
It was an electric atmosphere at Yost Ice Arena on Friday night as the Wolverines and Spartans added another chapter to the most-played rivalry in college hockey. In front of a sold-out crowd, the teams delivered fantastic performances that elevated the intensity. Though this game did not go the way the Spartans would have hoped, there are still a lot of things to take away from the 3-2 overtime loss to the Wolverines.
1. Offensive depth shines through on second line
By far the best line for the Spartans on Friday night was the 2nd line. This line consisted of Joey Larson (8-5-13), Karsen Dorwart (7-11-18), and Gavin O’Connell (8-5-13). Friday night was the first game back for Gavin O’Connell since Dec. 6 against Wisconsin. O’Connell got involved early when he fed a pass to Karsen Dorwart that led to a goal three minutes into the game. The shot was from a terrible angle at the bottom of the circle. All goals count the same though and that gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead.
The line also provided the other goal in the third period with about 11 minutes to go. Dorwart received a great pass from David Gucciardi and was able to get it to Joey Larson in the slot. Larson was then all alone with the goalie and did not miss on the backhanded shot to give Michigan State hockey the lead.
It can’t be understated how important it was to see this line picking up the pace last night while the other lines couldn’t seem to get anything past Logan Stein. The Spartan offense was dominant last night, but Stein did not allow any easy goals. Considering his struggles this season, it was a banner game for Stein against the best team in the nation.
2. Defense starts strong but falters late
One of the most impressive parts of the game on Friday night for the Spartans was the defense. The defense stood tall very early on, so much so that early on the teams looked to be playing at very different levels. The Wolverines were very slow to start the game and it took them until about halfway through the second period to get anything going. Part of those issues came from the fact that they couldn’t get any shots on net. The shots were either going wide, or they were getting blocked by the defenders. The strong defensive positioning clearly frustrated the Wolverines as the intensity and checks started to pile up. This moment is where the game began to shift.
It seemed as though the Spartans started focusing more on making the hit at times than focusing on the positioning. This allowed the Wolverines to get the shots on Augustine that they were incapable of getting early on in the game. Simply put, the Spartans stepped away from their game plan. It seemed to be more of an issue of players focusing too much on that aspect of the game and it allowed Michigan to come back and eventually win this game in overtime.
Though the defense struggled late in the game, overall the units were solid. In particular, the third pairing of Owen West and Matt Basgall provided some great defensive plays as well as some great offensive moments as well. These two on more than one occasion were able to use their abilities to sustain pressure in the offensive zone. That puts a lot of pressure on the defenders. While it didn’t result in any goals on Friday night, it was a great showing by that pair, especially West who has thrived with Basgall as a partner.
3. Penalties make the difference
Going off of the last point, the game got much more chippy as it went on. This aspect of the game threw off the defense from their goal and allowed Michigan to claw back. The big catalyst to the comeback came off of the powerplay goal scored by Will Horcoff halfway through the second. The penalty was on Nicklas Andrews for slashing. Adam Nightingale later in press conferences said that he talked with Andrews about the penalty. He said that it is really important for the guys to keep their cool in a game like this. Another great comment was, “It’s important to put your energy into your game in college because you can’t fight.”
If fighting was allowed in college hockey, there would have been at least two on Friday night.
It would be wrong to put the fault completely on Andrews because it is a team effort. That being said, in high-pressure games like Friday night, it needs to stay clean. There weren’t many penalties called on Friday night, but that makes them even more impactful. Saturday night will need to be a cleaner game even between these bitter rivals.
Overall Thoughts
Obviously it was not the result Michigan State hockey fans were looking for. As Karsen Dorwart said though in the press conference, “The best thing about college hockey is that we play them tomorrow night.” The Saturday night game in East Lansing should be just as dramatic and emotional as this was. The Spartans evened up the season series on Saturday in front of another sold-out crowd.
Follow @ikerss98 and @MSUShadowsPod for more great Spartan hockey content.
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