MSU Winning Streak Reaches Seven With 4-3 Win

East Lansing, Mich. -- No. 4/3 Michigan State earned its seventh consecutive victory on Saturday, posting a 4-3 victory over Notre Dame improve to 9-1 overall and 4-0 in Big Ten play.

Trey Augustine made 13 third period saves and a game total of 28 . Shane Vansaghi had a goal and an assist for a second straight two-point game, while Maxim Štrbák, , Mikey DeAngelo, and Nicklas Andrews each had two helpers.

MSU scored first and held leads at 3-1 and 4-2. The Irish rallied to get it to a 4-3 game with 90 seconds remaining in regulation on an extra attacker goal, but could not solve Augustine for an equalizer.

In addition to Vansaghi, the Spartans got goals from Matt Basgall, Gavin O'Connell, and the game-winner from Daniel Russell, who was celebrating his 23^rd birthday. Russell now has a national-best five game-winning goals.

Ian Murphy, Blake Bondi and Axel Kumlin scored for the Irish (5-7, 1-5 B1G), and freshman Nick Kempf made 26 saves.

MSU has an exhibition contest this Thursday against the US National Team Development Program in Plymouth, followed by a two-game set against Lindenwood during Thanksgiving weekend before returning to Big Ten play in December.

First Period: MSU scored the first goal of the game at 11:45. Mikey DeAngelo sent the puck ahead for his winger Shane Vansaghi, who went across the center of the blue line, drove into the left circle, walked around a defender, and from the bottom of the left circle went high glove-side on goalie Nick Kempf. With both teams taking penalties in the final three minutes, the squads each had chances on the power play; Notre Dame got on the board with just over 20 seconds remaining on a tip in front by Blake Biondi, which made it appear that the teams would go into the locker room tied 1-1. MSU had other ideas, however – off a faceoff to Kempf's right with 10.6 seconds remaining, the Spartans won the faceoff and David Gucciardi put a shot on net. Vansaghi got it to DeAngelo, who banked the puck off the half wall to Basgall at the top of the left circle. Basgall got the defenseman to commit, skated around him, and wristed a shot that beat both Kempf and the clock – the goal was officially scored at 19:59.4. MSU outshot the Irish 14-7.

ALLLLLLLL the replays on this one!
Pure filth.
Vansaghi.
1-0 MSU. pic.twitter.com/nPNmB8sUBU
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 17, 2024

Second Period: Gavin O'Connell pounced on a loose puck 75 seconds into the period to push the Spartan lead to 3-2. Nicklas Andrews kept the puck in at the left point, and got it to Isaac Howard at the half wall, and it bounced into the left circle. O'Connell collected it and wristed it from the faceoff dot for his second of the season. Notre Dame cut it back down to a one-goal game at 12:52 with another tip in front of Augustine, with Ian Murphy redirecting a Paul Fischer shot. With just over two minutes remaining, MSU got the goal back off an impressive goal by Daniel Russell. Nicklas Andrews sent the puck out of the defensive zone and Maxim Strbak tapped the pass softly onto Russell's stick on the defensive side of the neutral zone. Russell deked around a defender and into the high slot, marked by two defenders; he wristed it on net and beat Kempf over his shoulder for the junior's seventh goal of the season. The Irish had a 10-9 edge in shots in the period, but MSU won 12 of 18 faceoffs and killed off both power play chances for Notre Dame in the frame.

Sniper fire from Russ.
4-2 game. Assists to Strbak and Andrews. pic.twitter.com/dm6RRCzPIc
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 17, 2024

Third Period: Notre Dame came out buzzing and put together a 8-3 edge in shots on goal over the opening nine minutes. Karsen Dorwart was called for slashing at 9:25, giving a fourth man advantage chance to the visitors. MSU had three shot attempts while skating down a man – one saved, two blocked – and the Spartan defense kept Notre Dame without a shot for the full two minutes. The Irish were able to pull within a goal with an extra-attacker score at 18:30 (Axel Kumulin), but Augustine turned away the other 13 shots he faced to hold on for the win.

NOTEABLES:

MSU's seven-game winning streak is its longest since 2007-08 when it won eight consecutive games after losing the season opener at No. 1 North Dakota. Before that, MSU last won nine straight in the 2000-01 season – The Spartans won nine consecutive games beginning in mid-February before falling to North Dakota in the NCAA Semifinals.
MSU is now a perfect 4-0 in Big Ten contests for the first time in league history. MSU and Minnesota sit atop the league standings, both with 4-0 marks.
The Spartans were 2-for-5 on the power play in the series, and 6-of-8 on the penalty kill with two shorthanded goals.
MSU got scoring contributions from all but two players (both defensemen) in the two-game set against Notre Dame.
Shane Vansaghi had his third multiple-point game of the season, with two points in the opening period.
Daniel Russell scored his team-best seventh goal of the season, on the day he's celebrating his 23^rd birthday. It stood as the game-winner, his fifth game-winning goal of the season. He leads the nation in that category.
Gavin O'Connell's second-period goal was his second of the season.
Mikey DeAngelo had his first career multiple-point game with assists on both first-period markers.

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Team Stats

Shane Vansaghi

Nicklas Andrews

Maxim Štrbák

Mikey DeAngelo

Players Mentioned

Nicklas Andrews

Trey Augustine

Matt Basgall

Mikey DeAngelo

Karsen Dorwart

David Gucciardi

Isaac Howard

Gavin O'Connell

Daniel Russell

Shane Vansaghi

Players Mentioned

Nicklas Andrews

Trey Augustine

Matt Basgall

Mikey DeAngelo

Karsen Dorwart

David Gucciardi

Isaac Howard

Gavin O'Connell

Daniel Russell

Shane Vansaghi