#3/3 Hockey Falls in Series Opener to #1/1 Michigan

EAST LANSING, Mich – No. 3/3-ranked Michigan State fell in its season series opener against No. 1/1-ranked Michigan on Friday night, 3-0, from Ron Mason Rink at Munn Ice Arena.

"Tough game for us for sure, I give them credit," said Michigan State Head Coach Adam Nightingale. "I thought they checked really well and I loved our start. I thought we were on our toes and playing how we needed to play to be a good hockey team. I thought we took two offensive zone penalties and that killed a little bit of momentum. I think our penalty kill did a really good job. I thought in the second we were very cute and, give them credit, but I thought we got into some scoring areas, and they did a good job."

MSU moves to 11-4-0 on the season and 4-3-0 in B1G action while Michigan improves to 16-3-0 and 7-2-0 in conference play ahead of Saturday's weekend finale. The Spartans will take on Michigan in game two from Yost Ice Arena at 7 p.m. on Saturday, December 6.

Michigan State was out-shot 27-23 in shots on goal as junior goaltender Trey Augustine made 24 saves in net for the Spartans. MSU held a 29-24 edge at the face-off dot. The Spartan penalty kill went 3-for-4 on the night, successfully killing the first three Wolverine power plays it faced.

How It Happened
Michigan State successfully thwarted a pair of Michigan power play opportunities in the first period, but the Wolverines opened the scoring 5:17 into the contest. The Spartans got two shots on goal on a power play of their own mid-way through the period.

Both teams battled defensively in the second period with each side going scoreless in the frame. A high stick by a Wolverine forward negated a potential Michigan goal 10:04 into the period after a successful coaches' challenge by the Michigan State staff. MSU's penalty kill performance stayed strong late in the second, killing a penalty in the final minute of the stanza.

MSU put pucks on net early in the third with seven shots on goal in the first eight minutes of the period, but Michigan took a 2-0 lead mid-way through at the 10:09 mark to get some added insurance. The Wolverines capitalized on a late power play, breaking MSU's penalty kill defense for the first time, with a goal at the 16:30 mark to make it 3-0.

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Team Stats

Maxim Štrbák

Colin Ralph

Charlie Stramel

Cayden Lindstrom

Players Mentioned

Trey Augustine