No. 2 Michigan State nabbed three massive points in the Big Ten standings over fourth-ranked Minnesota on Friday in emphatic fashion, crushing the Gophers 9-3 on Friday night.
The Golden Gophers entered the contest just one point behind the Spartans for first place in the conference, making this series absolutely critical in the chase for a regular season conference title and the first game's result all the more shocking.
“Obviously, pretty, pretty good night for our team,” said MSU head coach Adam Nightingale after the game. “I thought the crowd was awesome. I think sometimes you’re not going to score every night like that, but I thought our quality of play was really good. Up and down our lineup, our guys played well.”
Forward Isaac Howard leads the Spartans in goals scored this season and he added two more on Friday against the Golden Gophers.
“It was unreal,” said Howard. “We all knew this was going to be a big week. We want to win the Big Ten and it’s first and second (place) going at it. It’s going to be a big weekend and every point matters.”
Instead of the heavyweight bout many expected, Michigan State had its highest scoring output in any game since putting 10 on the board in a game at Joe Louis Arena against Michigan Tech in December 2009. It's also the most the Spartans have had in a game against Minnesota since at least 1980.
That stat aside, nine goals in a game like this is almost inconceivable. MSU and Minnesota have the two best offenses in the Big Ten, but they also have the top two defenses and were both starting goalies that were only allowing about two goals a contest.
The game started out the way it was supposed to go. Michigan State held just a 1-0 lead after the first period after Tanner Kelly went through Gophers starting goalie Nathan Airey’s legs to find the back of the net 6:32 in.
Chaos ensued once the second period began. Minnesota tied it just 26 seconds in. MSU responded a minute and 15 seconds later. Then, Minnesota tied it again at 8:18 in the period.
That’s where the Spartans took control. Michigan State rattled off three goals in just four minutes and twenty seconds of game time to turn a 2-2 tie into a commanding 5-2 lead. Two of those three quick goals came from defenseman David Gucciardi, who entered with just two goals in his prior 24 games this season and got his first multi-goal game of his Spartan career.
“It feels great, but I think the focus coming into the game was on defense,” Gucciardi said. “I think (if I play well) defensively, it leads to offensive chances. I think we did a great job. All five guys on the ice were stopping in the right spots and I think that led to a lot of offense for us tonight.”
Howard also quipped that Friday was Gucciardi’s equivalent to Michael Jordan’s famous “Flu Game,” as Michigan State’s senior defenseman had been a little bit under the weather coming into the game. Despite the sickness, Gucciardi got the second star of the game.
Minnesota sent Airey to the bench after MSU’s fifth goal in favor of Liam Souliere. Jimmy Snuggerud got the road squad within two goals a few minutes later, but the top offense in college hockey couldn’t keep up with the Spartans on this night.
Michigan State rattled off another four goals in the final period, two of which were from Howard for his 19th and 20th scores of the year. The Hobey Baker Award candidate received chants from the student section of the award’s namesake after he was named the first star of the game.
“I did (hear the chants),” Howard said. “I think we’ve got a great fanbase that obviously cares and I think it’s always cool when they do stuff like that. We’ve got the best student section in college hockey, so it’s awesome and I love when they’re loud.”
It's not just the student section that believes Howard should take home the Hobey Baker. His teammates, including Gucciardi, have really noticed his improvement and high-level play on the ice.
“I think 20 goals at this point in the year is pretty good,” said Gucciardi about Howard’s case for the sport’s top individual award. “I think he’s got a legitimate chance, for sure, and he’s a hell of a player. He plays on the defensive side of the puck, he’s backchecking, lifting guy’s sticks and creating turnovers, and he’s getting a lot of offense from that, I think. He’s really taken another step this year and it’s really fun to watch.”
Another one of those four third-period goals came from defenseman Patrick Geary, his first goal of the year and first since his overtime winner against Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament title game.
Now, Michigan State faces a problem teams would probably like to have: not basking in the victory and focusing on game two on Saturday.
“I want our guys to enjoy it, but now it’s (about) moving on to the next game,” Nightingale said. “Obviously, Minnesota is going to be a lot sharper tomorrow and our goal is, whether you win or lose, you want to be better tomorrow than we were today.”
Saturday’s game will decide if Minnesota will keep pace with the Spartans in the Big Ten title race or if MSU can strengthen its grip on the conference. The result tomorrow could potentially see Michigan State’s lead grow to seven points or it could go right back down to one. Game two of the series at Munn will begin at 6 p.m. and the game will be televised on Big Ten Network.
