Michigan State suffered a sweep this weekend to Ohio State in Columbus. After a poor performance in the previous week’s Great Lakes Invitational, MSU was in need of something to change.

Instead, the slump went on, as Michigan State lost 3-1 on Friday night and 6-0 on Saturday.

On Friday, MSU goaltender Dylan St. Cyr battled with Jakub Dobeš. But St. Cyr allowed two goals to Dobeš’ lone one. It would be the only goal he allowed all weekend as MSU wasn’t able to score anything on Saturday.

Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale said Michigan State’s worst loss of the year was in Saturday’s game.

“We’re worried about ourselves right now,” Nightingale said. “We’ve gotta get back to playing our identity and it’ll start on Monday.”

The Spartans play Penn State next weekend at home.

“I thought that was our toughest weekend of the season so far,” Nightingale continued. “I thought the second half of the game we did a good job of sticking together and when things go sideways, it’s easy to point fingers and the reality is we need to get better. I need to do a better job coaching and we’ve gotta keep helping guys get better. So we’ve got a lot of room for growth, but I’ve liked that about our group because they believe in that and we’re gonna keep getting better.”

Michigan State was out-shot by a total of 37-28 on Friday. The first goal of the night was scored by Ohio State’s Tate Singleton. Despite the loss, St. Cyr played outstanding. Around four minutes into the second period, he made a jaw-dropping blocker save on a shot from John Larkin, going post-to-post.

Jeremy Davidson took a penalty for hooking with two minutes left in the second period, resulting in a power-play goal from Stephen Halliday.

Halfway through the third period, MSU’s Jesse Tucker scored Michigan State’s first and only goal of the weekend when the puck found his stick in the slot and he buried it past Dobeš. With an empty net, Ohio State’s Joe Dunlap was able to score, icing the game for the Buckeyes and giving them a 3-1 victory.

It was a different story on Saturday night as Michigan State lost 6-0 in front of a cable TV audience.

The Buckeyes were able to score the first goal of the game on the power-play, which seemed to be the biggest storyline all evening. Michael Gildon scored OSU’s only power-play goal, but special teams were ineffective in all areas.

MSU took eight penalties during the game by seven different players. In the first period, Erik Middendorf was called for tripping. In the second period, Karsen Dorwart was called for cross-checking, David Gucciardi for hooking, and Michael Underwood and Davidson both for cross-checking. In the third period, Davidson was called for cross-checking again, Tucker for roughing along with Ohio State’s Tyler Duke, and Jagger Joshua for cross-checking.

It was Joshua’s first penalty since being benched for taking too many penalties against Miami (OH) on Nov. 25.

While MSU only gave up one power-play goal during the game, the team also scored on zero of its own two chances, giving up a short-handed goal when Cam Thiesing scored unassisted in the second period during Dobeš’ penalty for cross-checking.

The final score was a victory for Ohio State, 6-0. The shutout is the third MSU has suffered all season, as the first two were against Notre Dame and Minnesota.

Michigan State will host Penn State, after splitting with the Nittany Lions in University Park last year. The first game is on Friday at 7 p.m. on B1G+, while the second game will also be at 7 p.m. but on Big Ten Network.

Michigan State is now fourth in the Big Ten standings with 20 points. Minnesota leads with 30 points, Penn State has 22 in second and Ohio State has 21 in third. A turnaround is definitely possible as that coveted No. 2 spot in the standings is still up for grabs.

If the season ended today, MSU would host Notre Dame for a three-game series in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.