Anything can happen when Michigan State and Michigan meet, and most games come down to the wire. Indeed, that was the case in game 349 between these two storied programs.
The atmosphere was fantastic at Yost Ice Arena on Friday night as the No. 1 Spartans traveled to Ann Arbor. The Spartans came out fast scoring just two minutes into the game on a shot off the stick of Karsen Dorwart that seemed to fool Michigan graduate goaltender Logan Stein.
MSU continued their domination for the majority of the first period but were unable to put another one past Stein.
The second period started off with a slower pace as both teams seemed to struggle to get anything going. This game was physical from the start with both teams playing the body and multiple scraps unraveling after the whistle.
The refs continued to let the boys play until Michigan State's graduate defenseman Nicklas Andrews was called for a retaliation slashing penalty with 8:56 to go in the second. It didn't take long for Michigan to find the net on the powerplay and tie the game up.
After the game, MSU head coach Adam Nightingale shared his thoughts on the penalty.
"We need better discipline for sure," he said. "I respect Nicky for sticking up for his teammate, but you can also take a number, it's a long series and that's an obvious one for the refs to call."
Things didn't get any better for the Spartans as Spartan captain Red Savage skated off the ice gingerly after taking a big hit along the boards crossing center ice. He would not return to the game and looked to be icing his shoulder.
The third period would bring better luck for the Spartans as Joey Larson scored a beauty to break the tie and give MSU back the lead.
The Spartans held the lead until UM forward TJ Hughes scored a backhand goal that got past Trey Augustine's outstretched blocker.
The rest of the period went back and forth with both teams trading opportunities. Both goalies made some timely saves down the stretch to push the game into overtime.
Michigan State started overtime with a couple of chances but to no avail. Michigan was then able to take the puck down and a really good chance of their own was denied by Trey Augustine, who was great all night. However, Michigan forward Garrett Schifsky scored one minute into overtime to put this back and forth game to rest.
Michigan State's Karsen Dorwart talked about what can be taken from this game and how they plan to prepare for the second game of this series on Saturday night.
"You know, we did a lot of good things, so (we'll) take the positives, but one of the nice things about college hockey is that we play them again tomorrow," Dorwart stated. "We're going to flush this one. We'll go over some things tomorrow in video and just make sure that we have a lot of jump from the get-go tomorrow."
Michigan State will look to get revenge on their in-state rivals Saturday night at 7:30pm back home at Munn Ice Arena.
Details/How to Watch
Time: 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Saturday, Jan. 18.
Location: Mason Rink at Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, Michigan.
Television: Big Ten Network
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