East Lansing, Mich. –– No. 4/3 Michigan State earned the series sweep of visiting No. 13/12 Ohio State on Saturday with a 4-1 victory. The win was Adam Nightingale‘s 50th as the head coach of the Spartans, making him the fastest to 50 head coaching victories in program history (85 games).
The Spartans (7-1-0, 2-0-0 B1G) dealt the Buckeyes (7-2-1, 2-2-0) their first two losses of the season, and swept OSU to open the B1G campaign for the second straight season.
At 7-1-0, Michigan State is off to its best start since the 2007-08 campaign when it started 8-1-0. MSU is 3-1-0 against ranked teams this season, however, and accumulated each of its eight wins in 2007-08 against unranked teams after losing at No. 1 North Dakota to open the season.
MSU rebounded from a 1-0 deficit – a power-play goal that caromed off the back wall and went in the back of the net off the skate of Trey Augustine – with goals 66 seconds apart. The first came from Gavin O’Connell, off a rebound of an Isaac Howard shot; the second came from Shane Vansaghi, who tipped a Matt Basgall blast for his first collegiate tally.
MSU scored twice in the third period – still a one-goal game headed into the final 10 minutes, Isaac Howard gave MSU some breathing room with his score from the top of the left circle. The 4-1 final was sealed with an empty-net goal from Daniel Russell at 16:37 of the third period, his second goal of the weekend and team-best sixth of the year.
Logan Terness made 36 saves for the Buckeyes, 12 in each period. Augustine made 29 stops, including a game-high 13 in the opening period. Damien Carfagna was credited with the lone Buckeye goal in the second period.
MSU continues its four-game homestand next weekend when it welcomes Notre Dame to town for a two-game series.
First Period: Ohio State came out buzzing, and held a 9-3 edge in shots on net over the opening 10 minutes – the Spartans had some good opportunities as well in that span, including three good opportunities for the fourth line (two for Tommi Männistö). OSU drew the first power play of the night on an Andrews hooking call with nine minutes to play, and Männistö had the first shot of the PK on a semi-breakaway that was turned aside by Turness, and Augustine turned a shot away on the next rush. While the Buckeyes held an early lead in SOG, the period ended with the Buckeyes holding a slim 13-12 advantage.
Second Period: Damien Carfagna was credited with the OSU power play goal at 3:32 of the second period OSU’s first lead in the series. Carfagna’s shot from the left circle was saved by Augustine and bounced sharply off the back wall, caroming off Augustine’s skate and into the back of the net at 3:32. The Spartans responded with a pair of goals 66 seconds apart (14:09, 15:17) to turn the one-goal deficit into a 2-1 lead. The first goal came from certified Buckeye-killer Gavin O’Connell, who backhanded a rebound off an Isaac Howard shot over the legs of the prone Logan Terness for his first score of the 2024-25 season. Just over a minute later, MSU took the lead on a play off the faceoff to the left of Terness; Mikey DeAngelo won the draw back to blueliner Matt Basgall, who unleashed a rocket from the left point. Shane Vansaghi executed a perfect netfront tip to get it past Terness, giving the winger his first collegiate goal and DeAngelo his first collegiate point.
Third Period:Isaac Howard’s fifth goal of the season at 12:20 of the third broke open the game a bit after nearly twenty minutes of play in a 2-1 game. O’Connell swung the puck behind the net and up the left wall, and Vladislav Lukashevich backhanded it from the half wall up to Howard at the point. Howard took a couple strides, faked a shot, and unleashed from the top of the circle that Terness never saw for the 3-1 MSU advantage. Terness headed to the bench in favor of an extra skater with more than three minutes remaining – and Karsen Dorwart set up Daniel Russell for the empty netter and a 4-1 final score. MSU outshot Ohio State 14-7 in the final period and 40-30 for the game.
NOTEABLES:
- Saturday was Adam Nightingale‘s 50th win as the head coach at Michigan State. He is 50-30-5 in two-plus seasons and is the fastest MSU head coach to 50 wins in program history (85 games). Rick Comley hit the 50-win mark in his 88th game.
- MSU has extinguished 11 of its last 13 power plays against over the last four games, going 1-3 on the kill in tonight’s battle. MSU is 20-23 on the year when skating down a man, with one shorthanded marker.
- MSU sold out both games this weekend, extending its streak to 23 consecutive home games against Big Ten opponents dating back to January 2023. Overall, the Spartans have sold out 29 of their last 30 home dates overall, which includes two exhibition games.
- The Spartans have opened B1G play with a sweep for the second consecutive season – and for the first two times in program history. MSU faced OSU in the conference openers in both of those seasons.
- Gavin O’Connell scored his first goal of the season, backhanding home a rebound of an Isaac Howard shot at 14:09 of the second period. O’Connell has eight goals in seven career games against Ohio State, and he returned the favor with an assist on Howard’s third-period goal for a two-point night.
- Isaac Howard’s goal and assist is his team-best fourth multiple-point game of the season and he is now tied for the team lead in assists (5, with Maxim Štrbák).
- Daniel Russell’s third-period empty-netter was his team-best sixth goal of the season, and second of the weekend.
- Matt Basgall and Charlie Stramel each picked up their fourth helpers of the season tonight. MSU has six players with either four or five assists.
- Shane Vansaghi scored his first collegiate goal at 15:17 of the second, with the secondary assist going to his centerman Mikey DeAngelo – the first point of his career.
- Vladislav Lukashevich assisted on Howard’s goal, his second assist of the weekend. He earned his first on Friday against the Buckeyes.