Michigan State hockey opened the 2023-2024 season with a sweep of former Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) rival Lake Superior State.
Head coach Adam Nightingale's team beat the Lakers in front of a packed Munn Ice Arena crowd on Saturday, 5-2, and Sunday, 4-2.
Saturday
Before puck drop on Saturday afternoon, the ice was dedicated to legendary Spartan coach and former athletic director Ron Mason. Mason led the Spartans to a National Championship in 1986. He also had coaching stints at Lake Superior State and Bowling Green. Mason passed away in 2016 at age 76.
Mason was represented on the ice before the game by his wife, daughter, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in a pregame ceremony.
Just four minutes into the opening period, Michigan State had a penalty kill after a high-sticking call on Isaac Howard.
Later in the first period, Jeremy Davidson threaded a pass through to Nicolas Müller, who roofed a shot past Lake Superior State goaltender Ethan Langenegger.
The Spartans got off to a fast start in the second period on the power play. The Lakers committed two penalties, which gave MSU a five-on-three advantage. Michigan State had a breakaway right off the faceoff and Howard, a Minnesota-Duluth transfer, slotted one home for his first goal as a Spartan.
Nash Nienhuis gave Michigan State a 3-0 lead just minutes later. He zinged it past Langenegger from the left circle. Nienhuis was assisted by Tommi Mannisto and Tanner Kelly.
Lake Superior State got back in the game later in the second period.
Tyler Williams beat Spartan goaltender Trey Augustine to make the score 3-1 in Michigan State's advantage.
About five minutes later, MSU freshman Artyom Levshunov mishandled a bouncing puck and it slid right into the path of LSSU's Harrison Roy. Levshunov was called for slashing after he halted the breakaway from behind. Roy slid the puck past Augustine on the penalty shot to cut the Spartans' lead to just one goal, 3-2.
The third period began with a Michigan State penalty kill. Just over halfway through the third, Miami (OH) transfer Red Savage lit the lamp for the first time as a Spartan from a tight angle.
Savage set up MSU’s fifth and final goal of the game as he threaded a cross-ice pass to Viktor Hurtig, who wristed the puck into the net from the right circle.
Michigan State held on to its three-goal lead to win by a final score of 5-2.
Sunday
The Spartans went into Sunday’s game looking for a series sweep.
Michigan State had an early five-on-three penalty kill to get momentum on its side. Levshunov opened the scoring on a one-time slapper from the slot. He was assisted by Müller and Davidson.
Lake Superior State tied the game eight minutes into the second period. Connor Milburn put one past Augustine after a Michigan State turnover in front of the net.
The Spartans answered back just 32 seconds later. Joey Larson was one-on-one with Langenegger, but was stopped with the goaltender’s right pad. Larson regained the puck, however, and found Savage, who tapped in his second goal of the season on the pass from Larson.
Later in the second period, Augustine flashed his lateral quickness by saving a shot on a three-on-one Laker breakaway to keep the score 2-1.
Michigan State got off to a strong start in the third period. Patrick Geary wristed one to the net from the blue line and Massachusetts transfer Reed Lebster got his stick on it for a deflected goal.
Lake Superior State showed fight and cut the lead back to one with a goal that came just one minute and 12 seconds later by John Herrington.
However, the Spartans sealed the victory and series sweep with an empty-net goal by Karsen Dorwart with under a minute to play.
Michigan State was victorious by a final score of 4-2 on Sunday.
Series Summary
Michigan State won both games this weekend and dominated on the stat sheet as well.
The Spartans out-shot the Lakers by a tally of 37-31 on Saturday and 49-28 on Sunday. MSU was 1-for-2 on the power play on Saturday and went 0-for-2 on Sunday. Lake Superior State was 0-for-5 in the series on the power play.
The faceoff circle was dominated by Michigan State. The Spartans won 85 faceoffs, while the Lakers only won 44. Dorwart, Müller, Savage and Tiernan Shoudy were the standouts for the Spartans in the circle. Dorwart was 29-for-37 on faceoffs this weekend, while Müller was 18-for-33, Savage was 20-for-31 and Shoudy was 16-for-25.
Augustine had a solid two games in net for Michigan State. The true freshman from South Lyon, Michigan had a save percentage of .932 this weekend.
After two games, Savage is the leading goal-scorer this season for the Spartans. He had two goals and one assist this weekend. Larson and Müller also had three points in the opening series of the season.
Next up, Michigan State will travel to Colorado to take on Air Force on Thursday and Friday.
