Michigan State hockey’s season ends with loss to U-M in NCAA Tourney

Michigan State’s remarkable, championship-winning second season under head coach Adam Nightingale has come to an end. On Sunday, the Spartans were defeated, 5-2, by in-state rival Michigan in the NCAA Tournament’s Maryland Heights regional final.

The 343rd meeting all-time between these two rivals on the ice, this was the first time in this series’ history that the Spartans and Wolverines squared off in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State came into the game having won four consecutive games against Michigan, including an overtime victory in the Big Ten Tournament final.

This outing went the other way however, as the Wolverines took control with two goals in a 12-second span with seven minutes left to turn a tie game into a two-goal U-M lead. Five minutes later, Michigan put the final touches on its victory when Dylan Duke redirected a shot from Gavin Brindley into the back of the net for the game’s final goal.

Michigan State got an early power play opportunity less than five minutes into the action when Brindley was hit with a hooking penalty for the Wolverines. The Spartans took advantage of the extra skater, taking a 1-0 lead at the 13:40 mark of the first period when Gavin O’Connell redirected a shot from Matt Basgall to the back of the net past Wolverine goaltender Jake Barczewski.

Just under six minutes into the second period, Michigan would find the equalizer. The Wolverines found themselves on a 3-on-2 opportunity in transition, with T.J. Hughes crossing the blue line, passing left to Duke, who found Ethan Edwards for a one-timer in front of the net to beat MSU goaltender Trey Augustine.

The Spartans found themselves trailing for the first time at the 13:31 mark of the third period, after Michigan’s Garrett Schifsky dropped a pass to Jacob Truscott, who found Marshall Warren on the backside of the net to beat Augustine and give the Wolverines a 2-1 advantage.

Needing a response, Michigan State got an opportunity when U-M’s Philippe Lapointe was hit with a two-minute boarding penalty. The Spartans got their second power-play goal of the day with 9:34 left in the game, when Nicolas Muller found a wide open Joey Larson away from the pack who beat Barczewski with a one-timer to make it 2-2.

The Spartans’ relief was short-lived, however, as the Wolverines hit MSU with back-to-back goals at the 7:18 and 7:06 marks in the third. The first came when Duke received a pass from Hughes at center ice, using his speed to skate past two Spartan defensemen, cross in…