Michigan State Hockey: Tiernan Shoudy is the hero in game one against Penn State

On Friday night, Michigan State hockey needed some extra time to beat the No. 3 Penn State Nittany Lions. Tiernan Shoudy was the one to drive the nail in the coffin, taking the extra Tommi Mannisto pass and burying it past PSU goaltender Kevin Reidler.

The senior played a gritty game, heading to the locker room in the middle of the first period following a hit that sent him crashing to the boards. When asked about the injury, Shoudy shrugged it off, admitting he was scared the injury was worse than what it was.

“I just got like tripped up a little bit, lost my footing, then I went to the boards a little weird, feet-first,” the senior said. “At first, I thought it might have been worse than it was, but it was okay, so.”

The forward was undaunted and determined to make him impact on the game, and the fourth line center came up strong in the biggest moment of the early season for the Spartans. He walked through the series leading to his walk-off winner, with fellow gritty fourth line forward Tommi Mannisto being the wingman. Shoudy did reveal he took an extra second with the shot, and no one can argue the results.

“It was funny, like the two-on-one, Tommi (Mannisto) had a one-timer, goalie made a great save, then I thought I had a wide open net, somehow missed it backhand,” Shoudy lamented. “Then, three minutes to play, got it back in the zone, tried to got to the middle, didn’t work out, and then Tommi had great poise, came around the net, I thought I was open right away, but yeah, he had great poise, made a great play, then I was kinda the back door. I took my time a little bit, I feel like everyone was probably a little scared there, but got it, so I was happy about it.”

Outside of what was seen on the ice, Shoudy revealed what was going through his head at the time. For the senior, after his game-winner went in, it was not thoughts of glory at his time to shine. Instead, he was just tired and glad the game ended.

“It’s unbelievable, honestly,” Shoudy started. “At the time though, I was just so tired since it was just kind of a long shift, so I was just like ‘gosh, at least I get to get off.’ But it was unbelievable and the guys are great, obviously just like we’re all super happy to beat those guys, it’s a huge matchup, and we are looking to close it out tomorrow.”

The crowd noise, however, did strike the senior. Even in his 120^th game in a Spartan uniform, the Munn Ice Arena atmosphere still stands out to him. It sticks with him, and the senior loves it. This moment was his to enjoy, and the crowd helped add their own touch to it.

“It’s unbelievable (playing at Munn). Honestly, it was so loud I couldn’t really figure out what was going on when I scored,” the veteran revealed. “But I think like every game the fans come out and they’re great, especially the Munnsters and the band. That just never gets old, especially being a senior, like it never really gets old and it’s unbelievable playing in front of the Munn crowd.”

Michigan State hockey has a short turnaround, Shoudy is undaunted

The Spartans are immediately back at word, taking on the Nittany Lions again tomorrow at 4 p.m. EST. This is a bit different than the usual time, as traditional weekend games are in the 7 p.m. EST and/or 7:30 p.m. EST slot both nights. However, with Michigan State basketball having their own premier matchup with No. 14 Arkansas at 7 p.m. EST, MSU Athletics moved hockey forward for fans to enjoy both.

For Shoudy, it is an added bonus. He stated that normally, he’s rearing to go play early in the afternoon. The quick turnaround will not distract or hamper Adam Nightingale’s Spartans. Especially after the bye weekend last week, Michigan State hockey is ready to go at any time, with any team, in any place.

“It does not really mess with the routine a ton, we kinda knew it would be 4 o’clock no matter what time it ended, win or lose, emotional game, or whatever,” Shoudy confirmed. “We knew it would be a 4 o’clock game. We’re ready for that, so I think it just pushes things up a little bit. Nothing crazy. Honestly, it is kinda nice because you don’t have to wait around all day, get a routine in the morning and then you’re just ready to go for like 1 or 2 o’clock. So it’s just kinda fun playing quick turnaround games like that, especially when we had an off weekend. We’re all just wanting to play games, so it’s kinda fun.”