Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale meets with players on the bench as Michigan State faces Wisconsin in the Frozen Confines Big Ten ice hockey series at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Saturday, Jan. 4, 2025.Jacob Hamilton | MLive.com
Michigan State hockey earned breathing room in its attempt to repeat as the Big Ten champion.
The No. 2 Spartans followed a 9-3 win on Friday night with a shootout victory to cap a 3-3 tie against No. 4 Minnesota on Saturday at Munn Ice Arena.
Michigan State entered the weekend with a one-point lead over the Golden Gophers in Big Ten standings before taking five of six possible points. The Spartans (20-3-3, 11-2-3 Big Ten) now have 37 points while Minnesota (19-6-3, 10-4-2) fell five behind in second place with eight games left in the regular season.
“Our challenge coming into tonight was moving past what happened the night before and getting back to our game right off the bat,” Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale told reporters after Saturday’s game. “We talked to our group this morning about I think it’s actually harder to handle success. You’ve got to put your nose down, you’ve got to be ready to work and remember who we need to be as a team and I thought we did a great job of that.”
Michigan State, which took five of six points in a series at Minnesota last month, marked its season-high with nine goals in Friday’s blowout. It also set a record for the largest margin of victory and most goals the Spartans have scored against the Golden Gophers in a rivalry that began in 1926.
Isaac Howard, the nation’s leading scorer, had two goals and an assist in Friday’s win, David Gucciardi scored twice and Maxim Strbak chipped in four assists. Trey Augustine recorded 27 saves while the Spartans scored four times in both the second and third periods.
Michigan State had a trio of one-goal leads on Saturday that Minnesota answered while sending the game to overtime and eventually a shootout. Daniel Russell and Howard scored in the shootout and Augustine didn’t allow a goal on a pair of chances as the Spartans secured the extra point.
“I thought our mindset was awesome coming into today,” said defenseman Matt Basgall, who had Michigan State’s first goal of Saturday’s game. “Straight from the puck drop, we were all over them again. I think it was actually one of our best weekends just putting together 120 minutes.”
The Spartans will head back on the road next week with games at No. 9 Ohio State on Thursday and Friday. They’ve extended their lead in the conference but still have a month left in the regular season.
“I do think it’s that mindset of don’t feel like you’ve arrived,” Nightingale said. “You’ve got to be hungry, you’ve got to keep getting better and you’ve got to keep improving. This group has been really consistent, not only consistent but I think we’ve gotten better as the season has gone on.”
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