No. 11 Michigan State finished the 2022 Great Lakes Invitational with losses in both games against Ferris State and No. 17 Michigan Tech. MSU has now lost five of its last six games, a streak that started with after getting swept by Minnesota at home, then splitting with Michigan and now losing both games in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Ferris State was off to a quick start on Tuesday night, scoring three goals in the first period. After that, MSU was chasing the game. A short-handed goal from Cole Krygier gave MSU some momentum as the team went into the second period.

For the majority of Wednesday’s third-place contest, MSU dominated Michigan Tech. It wasn’t until the final several minutes that the Spartans were playing on their heels. Finally, Michigan Tech scored a game-tying goal with less than 1:30 left in the game. The Huskies won the game in overtime.

Most notably, Michigan State gave up four power-play goals on eight penalties. For a team that once had an impressive penalty-kill streak, it left much to be desired.

No. 18 Western Michigan defeated Michigan Tech 8-1 in the first game, followed by Ferris State’s win over Michigan State. The Bulldogs went on to finish second after losing 8-2 against Western Michigan, which won its fifth Great Lakes Invitational title.

Michigan Tech finished in third place after defeating Michigan State.

On the opening night at Van Andel Arena, the Bulldogs got off to a quick start. Head coach Bob Daniels said that it wasn’t necessarily part of the plan, but they’ll take it. Daniels chalks most of it up to luck.

“We scored three goals on five shots,” he said. “That doesn’t happen very often. We survived that first period even though we had a 3-0 lead.”

Michigan State first responded by scoring a short-handed goal. Cole Krygier scored the first then followed that up with another several minutes later. That would be all MSU could find as far as offense. Ferris State scored another goal in the third period to ice the game.

Despite the loss, MSU had 47 shots on goal.

After the game, Michigan State head coach Nightingale said the team needs to improve its offensive output. So far this season, Michigan State has succeeded due to its balance and ability to play solid defense. In both games, those areas started to break down.

In the consolation game on Wednesday afternoon, MSU took a 3-2 overtime loss to Michigan Tech.

Michigan State scored first when Jesse Tucker got a breakaway on an excellent pass from Viktor Hurtig, putting Michigan State ahead 1-0. In the second period, Michigan Tech tied the game on Logan Ganie’s goal after Christian Krygier was called for holding. During the delayed penalty, the Huskies scored, however, MSU did keep Michigan Tech off the board during the power-play.

Daniel Russell’s effort on a backhand gave MSU a 2-1 lead in the second period as the Spartans crashed the net. That lead wouldn’t last, though. Michigan Tech tied the game in the third period during the final two minutes after taking advantage of a Cole Krygier elbowing penalty late.

Most of the game was played penalty-free. Both teams took one penalty for the first 56 minutes of the game. But in the final two minutes, Cole Krygier was called for elbowing, giving Michigan Tech the opportunity to tie the game, which it did. In overtime, Miroslav Mucha was called for tripping.

During the 4-on-3 power-play, Michigan Tech scored during an MSU shift change, a shot in which goaltender Dylan St. Cyr did not have much chance in stopping.

“I’m sure they’re not happy on the other side of the aisle,” Michigan Tech head coach Joe Shawhan said following the game. “It seemed like the officials put their whistles away and then gave us a couple of power-play advantages late.”

Nightingale said that MSU still needs to kill off those penalties, regardless if the team agrees with them or not.

The loss on Wednesday is even more crushing after losing on the first night despite out-shooting Ferris State by a wide margin.

“I’d like to think that if you play like that, you get rewarded with the win.” Nightingale reflected after the tournament. “Today, I thought we were just OK…Regardless, if you want to win hockey games, you need to kill off penalties.”

Michigan State will play Ohio State in Columbus on Jan. 6 and Jan. 7 to open the new calendar year. The next time MSU plays at home is the following weekend when the team hosts Penn State on Jan. 13 and Jan. 14.