Michigan State hockey advances in NCAA Tournament for first time since 2008

Michigan State hockey had to come from two goals down to beat Western Michigan and end a 16-year drought of winning in the tourney.

For the first time since 2008, Michigan State hockey will be advancing to the regional finals of the NCAA Tournament. Advancing did not come easy and for most of the game, it looked like Michigan State was headed back to East Lansing early. This would not be the case because Michigan State prides itself on its conditioning and that’s what won the Spartans the game.

Before I talk about the actual game, let’s mention the arena.

Going into this game, fans were upset at the arena choice by the NCAA. There would only be 2,500 fans in attendance. Fans saw pictures of the arena and you could tell it was going to be different and very small. The main question would be, what would the feel of the arena and atmosphere be like? For the majority of the game, the arena felt small. It didn’t feel like an NCAA Tournament site. With that being said, it did feel like an important game. That’s because it was. While the arena is small, the later the game went on, the louder the fans got, especially Michigan State. This was the beginning of a comeback that fans will remember for a long time.

The comeback was surprising but also a moment that this team has had before. The Spartans have had several big moments in close games and this was no exception. It all started going down 1-0 to Western. At the beginning of the first period, they were playing right with Western Michigan until the Broncos scored their first goal. It seemed like MSU had nerves and needed to settle in. Honestly, going down only 1-0 was probably a good result for that first period.

In the second period, Michigan State came out swinging and humming on the offensive end. Next thing you knew, Spartans fans were rowdy and cheering as the team took a 2-1 lead. It seemed like the team finally settled in until the momentum completely flipped after a power play goal and things spiraled as the Spartans fell behind 4-2 after the second. If you look at their recording trailing after the second, it’s not great. It seemed like the game wasn’t going to go the way of Michigan State, especially for the first seven minutes of the third. The one thing that Michigan State needed was momentum and it finally got it with a goal right before the 10-minute mark by captain Nash Nienhuis.

Momentum was back and the team would need every second of it. This led to the 55-second mark. Trey Augustine was pulled and it was 6-on-5. This was the season for Michigan State hockey. The Spartans needed a goal to give them a chance and an assist by freshman Artyom Levshunov to Karsen Dorwart tied the game. Trey Augustine is the freshman that’s talked about the most and he played great but Levshunov, most likely a top-five pick in the NHL draft, made one of the biggest plays of the season by finding Dorwart for the goal. The youth and experience of this team stepped up in this game.

The game went into overtime and things were different.

Michigan State was the faster team. It was the more physical team and you couldn’t say that for most of the game. Western Michigan just didn’t seem to have it in the overtime as Michigan State’s Jeremy Davidson scored the game-winning goal off an assist by Augustine, his first as a Spartan. The crowd erupted as the horn went off and the team rushed the ice in celebration. In a game that seemed like it might be Michigan State’s last, the Spartans pulled it together late and won an instant classic.

The job isn’t done and now the Spartans look ahead to Sunday.

What’s ahead of them on Sunday? A familiar foe that they’ve played five times already. It’s top rival Michigan. The Wolverines pulled off an upset over North Dakota and will be the difference between going home or going to the Frozen Four. These teams have already played five times so they are very familiar with each other. The last time they played was for the Big Ten Tournament title game. This time, it is in the NCAA Tournament. I expect the arena to be packed on Sunday and for a very intense game. This will not be easy but this team has a chance to beat its rival and go to the Frozen Four.