Fresh off a bye week, the No. 1 ranked Michigan State hockey team welcomed the No. 18 Penn State Nittany Lions to Munn Ice Arena for the first game of their final home regular-season series of the 2024-25 season. The Spartans wore their 90s throwback uniforms for 90s night at Munn Ice Arena.
In a high-intensity back-and-forth game that featured stellar goaltending by both sides, the game finished in a 2-2 tie with Penn State earning the extra point with the shootout victory.
Junior defenseman Jarod Crespo and sophomore forward Reese Laubach scored the shootout goals to lift the Nittany Lions to the extra point. MSU junior forward Issac Howard scored the lone shootout goal for the Spartans.
Both goalies in this matchup had impressive performances throughout. MSU sophomore goaltender Trey Augustine recorded 31 saves, including impressive saves on the penalty kill and during a 5-on-3 Penn State opportunity in the second period. Penn State junior goaltender Arsenii Sergeev recorded 36 saves including crucial saves to lift the Nittany Lions to the shootout victory.
MSU head coach Adam Nightingale was impressed with how MSU performed on the penalty kill and the performance of both goalies.
“I thought our guys did a heck of a job on the kill," said Nightingale. "We made some big blocks with the 5 on 3 and extended period of time. I thought both goalies were great for both teams."
Junior forward Tiernan Shoudy recorded his sixth goal of the season for MSU. Sophomore defenseman Maxim Strbak found the back of the net for the second time this season to tie the game at 2 on an MSU power play in the third period.
For the Nittany Lions, sophomore forwards Dane Dowiak and Resse Laubach recorded goals in regulation. Coming into this series, Penn State has been one of the hottest teams in all of college hockey with only one regulation loss in its last eleven games.
Nightingale gave credit to Penn State’s recent play and their shootout win tonight against the Spartans.
“Their coaching staff does a great job and they’re competitive," he said. "Their goalie is playing well and I thought they did a good job in the neutral zone on us. I thought our execution support was poor but that’s a credit to them, they did a good job on making it hard to get through the neutral zone."
The Spartans now stand at 22-5-4 on the season with a 13-4-4 record in Big Ten play. MSU is still in first place with 44 points and is one point ahead of No. 5 Minnesota.
The Spartans will look to secure all three points Saturday on Senior Day and strengthen their lead in the Big Ten standings and their hopes for back-to-back Big Ten regular season championships.
Puck drop from Munn Ice Arena is set for 6 p.m. and streaming live on Big Ten Network.
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