Michigan State Hockey: 3 takeaways from Game 2 win over Boston College

Michigan State hockey was back in action following last night’s 3-0 loss, and it provided the perfect chance for a bounce back against the Eagles. The Spartans had a chance to prove their worth against their toughest opponent (or at least the toughest non-Michigan opponent) of the regular season. Now, it might be bold of me to assume the Spartans will make the postseason, but the team proved my confidence on Saturday night.

They managed to sustain a late push by the Boston College Eagles to improve to 3-1 on the season.

1. Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers

The Spartans were doomed after a hot start, mostly due to turnovers. After Gabe Perreault evened the game up against the Spartans, a Joey Larson broken stick led to Ryan Leonard having a breakaway against Trey Augustine, which the Eagles’ assistant captain promptly buried home.

The Spartans kept it relatively even in the first 15 minutes of the first period but ran out of gas for the final five minutes. Two MSU turnovers took the game from a Spartan lead to a deficit, and the Spartans were ice-cold at the end. In the final 3:03 of the period, the Spartans recorded one shot, and that only came as the buzzer sounded.

The Spartans rebounded nicely in the second, outscoring Boston College 3-1 to capture the lead heading into the final 20 minutes of play. However, it could have easily been a greater advantage if not for the Eagles’ Jacob Fowler making an amazing save on an Isaac Howard breakaway.

The final period saw a pair of Boston College breakaways rejected by Augustine, but it was not for a lack of defensive breakdown. The Spartan defense has quite a bit to improve on, but perhaps Augustine was more prepared for Saturday’s breakaways after Friday’s shortcomings.

2. These two teams were even

Unlike Friday’s game, when the teams were evenly matched on paper, but the Eagles had better chances, tonight was seemingly fought to a draw. The Eagles won the final five minutes of the first period to take the lead, but the Spartans provided pressure early and often to win the second period. The Eagles and Spartans tied for shots in the second period, but this time, it was Michigan State hockey with the premier chances.

Both defenses made up for their lapses in the final period, with the Spartans and Eagles each being held out of the score column despite great chances for both teams. Augustine had an amazing three saves in a single Boston College possession. He proved why Spartan fans (and Chris, in the latest Spartan Shadows Podcast episode) are fearful that this is his last season, as a series of late flurries of shots by the Eagles were all turned away. Boston College outshot the Spartans by six in the final period of action, but Augustine stood tall (in butterfly).

After seeing what Boston College did to the Wolverines last year, and how Michigan State fared on Friday, I was nervous for this game. Turns out, this year’s Michigan State hockey team is still great. No Artyom Levshunov as he is with the hated NHL Blackhawks? This team prevailed. 

3. Adam Nightingale is a difference-maker at coach

The Spartans switched around their lineup heading into today, and it proved to make a world of a difference. Michigan State hockey moved Isaac Howard, Charlie Stramel, and Gavin O’Connell to the second line today, and that was rewarded by a two-goal showing from Stramel.

In the post-game press conference, both Stramel and Adam Nightingale confirmed that neither had ever practiced in this line. However, instead of practicing the line in the next week to roll out later, Adam Nightingale went on the attack. He implemented the line for tonight’s game, and it paid major dividends. This further solidifies (if there was ever any remaining doubt) that Nightingale was the right hire a few years back. The Spartan coach is reactionary but rational. He knew that Stramel and Howard had a good chemistry, and thought that adding O’Connell would benefit the Spartans on Saturday night. He sure was right. The Spartans were on the attack, and they were the ones with the better chances tonight.

Also, an honorable mention to Trey Augustine, as I would have written about Trey as the MVP if I had more room for another takeaway.

The Spartans splitting the series is huge, and this win was the first Michigan State hockey victory over Boston College since Justin Abdelkader lifted the 2007 team to a national title. Additionally, this gave Michigan State its 600th win in Munn Ice Arena. It was an honor to get to cover this game for Spartan Shadows, and I would like to thank the Michigan State media and athletic departments for this chance.

Go Green, and hopefully this is not my last hockey article. This was quite the game to watch, and this is an amazing team.