Michigan State men’s ice hockey defeated Notre Dame on Sunday night by a final score of 4-2, effectively punching a ticket to the semifinals of the 2023 Big Ten Tournament. The win marks the first time since MSU has advanced in a playoff round since defeating Alaska in the first round of the 2013 CCHA Tournament.

The Spartans, losing out on home ice in the final weekend of the regular season, kept its NCAA Tournament hopes alive by winning the final two games of the series on the road. Dylan St. Cyr made 37 saves in the win, allowing just two power-play goals from Notre Dame.

St. Cyr went up against his former team this weekend, allowing five goals in total for a save percentage of .942. Meanwhile, MSU’s second line of graduate left wing Miroslav Mucha, senior center Nicolas Müller and junior right wing Jeremy Davidson combined for a total of 11 points in all three games.

Five minutes into Sunday’s contest, senior left wing Jagger Joshua took an interference penalty when he accidentally ran into Notre Dame goaltender Ryan Bischel. Within the next few moments, Justin Janicke scored a goal on the power play, giving the Fighting Irish a 1-0 lead.

MSU answered, however, when several MSU players crashed the net. Müller picked up the rebound and gave a quick shot past Bischel to tie the game.

In the second period, Müller won the face-off and centered a pass in the slot for Davidson, who snapped it quickly into the back of the net, giving MSU a 2-1 lead. In the third period, Tiernan Shoudy found himself in the slot as he quickly darted around Bischel, cementing a 3-1 lead on Notre Dame.

However, with just over four minutes to play in the game, graduate defenseman Michael Underwood was whistled for interference. Notre Dame head coach Jeff Jackson decided to pull Bischel, giving the Irish a 6-on-4 advantage. Hunter Strand found the back of the net off of a rebound when the puck was sent in by Solag Bakich.

Notre Dame pressured MSU’s defense for the next two minutes until the Spartans fought back. Eventually, Müller scored his second goal of the game when he lobbed the puck nearly the entire length of the ice to score on the empty net.

Michigan State won the game 4-2.

An hour prior to the finish of this game, No. 3-seed Ohio State defeated No. 6-seed Penn State, giving itself the victory at home.

Ohio State will face rival No. 2-seed Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday (March 11) at 6:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The Wolverines swept last-place Wisconsin this weekend.

Meanwhile, Michigan State will face No. 1-seed Minnesota at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. Both games will air on Big Ten Network.

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