Madilynn Warden– State News
After a tough 2-1 loss on home ice in game one, MSU responded with a dominant 6-1 victory in Motor City, securing the Iron D trophy for the second straight year.
“If you look at Friday I actually thought we did a lot of really good stuff, the puck didn’t go in and I think that some of that was on us. We’ve got to do a better job of getting inside and paying the price that it takes to try and score this time of the year,” head coach Adam Nightingale said post game. “I thought the guys did a way better job of that.”
Early penalties put MSU in a tough position in game one, racking up 23 penalty minutes in the first period alone. Both teams capitalized on power plays in the first period, but the game-winning goal didn’t come until the final minute. With 56.7 seconds left in the third, Michigan’s Garrett Schifsky tipped in a shot from Ethan Edwards, securing the lead and shutting down MSU’s empty-net attempt.
As 19,515 fans piled into the sold out Little Caesars Arena, the rivals came out heated in the second game just as they did in the previous three.
MSU opened the first period mirroring their strong second-period play from game one, firing pucks on net and applying heavy forechecking pressure to maintain possession.
The Spartans controlled the neutral zone, forcing turnovers and generating offensive chances against Michigan’s defense.
Emotions ran high early, leading to penalties on both sides. MSU struck first on the power play when junior forward Isaac Howard fired a shot that was blocked, allowing freshman forward Shane Vansaghi to bury the rebound past Michigan goaltender Cameron Korpi. The puck that was sent flying in would be blocked by Michigan netminder Cameron Korpi and freshman forward Shane Vansaghi nailed the dagger, rebounding the puck past Korpi for the lead.
With penalties coming to the Spartans, the No. 1 ranked penalty kill in the Big Ten stood tall, defending their sophomore goalkeeper Trey Augustine and preventing the Wolverines from capitalizing on their conference-best power play. The green and white were able to take that one goal lead into the middle frame to continue their productivity.
The second period opened with back-and-forth play and several icing calls before Michigan’s Tyler Duke fired a shot from the circle, tying the game. The goal was a special moment for Duke, whose older brother Dylan made his NHL debut in the same arena, scoring his first career goal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
MSU’s ability to respond quickly paid off again as sophomore forward Gavin O’Connell sniped a shot over Korpi’s glove, restoring the Spartans’ lead.
And just like that, MSU found their rhythm, just two minutes later the green and white doubled up on their lead as a scrambling puck in front of Michigan’s netfront was tapped in by freshman forward Mikey DeAngelo, scoring his third of the season and strengthening the Spartan lead.
Just 75 seconds into the third period was all the Spartans needed to continue to roll on. With a delayed penalty in play, junior forward Karsen Dorwart carried the puck up the ice and fired a shot, which junior forward Joey Larson redirected in front to extend MSU’s lead to three.
But the lead wouldn’t just stay at four. Junior forward Tiernan Shoudy was able to put a wrister past Korpi and extend the lead yet again. But with the lead making its way up to four, the emotions and the tension quickly rose with a Spartan and two Wolverines receiving a game misconduct.
MSU capitalized on a five-on-three advantage after a minor and major penalty against Michigan. Junior forward Isaac Howard, wearing No. 22, sealed the 6-1 victory with his nation-leading 22nd goal of the season.
With back-to-back Iron D trophies secured, MSU enters its final bye week before hosting Penn State for the last home series of the regular season.
