Spartans Drop 6-3 Decision to No. 9/11 Gophers

GAME CAPSULE

Michigan State lost the back end of a two-game set with Minnesota on Saturday, falling 6-3 to the No. 9/11 ranked Gophers.

Erik Middendorf scored twice for the Spartans (11-10-1, 5-7-0 B1G), who lost back-to-back games in a Big Ten series for just the second time this season. Pierce Charleson made 54 saves – the most in a Division I game this season – but was victimized a bit by a pair of Gopher goals that went in off Spartans.

Minnesota had seven power play chances in the game, converting once late in the first period late (its fourth chance). The Spartans converted just 11 seconds into their only man advantage of the night, in the first period. Jeremy Davidson scored the power play goal off assists from Jagger Joshua and Nash Nienhuis. Jesse Tucker had assists on both Middendorf tallies, while Cole Krygier had an assist on the second Middendorf goal.

The Spartans skated even with Minnesota in the first period despite being down a man for more than seven minutes, and withstood pressure from the Gophers over the first half of the second before Middendorf gave the Spartans a 3-1 lead. A pair of Gopher goals 38 seconds apart in the final two minutes of the period sent the teams tied at 3-3, and Minnesota tacked on another pair in the first 3:06 of the third period before icing it late with the final goal at 19:10.

Ben Meyers scored twice for Minnesota (12-8-0, 8-4-0 B1G), which earned a 4-1 win on Friday and rallied from a 3-1 deficit on Saturday. Jack Perbix had a goal and an assist, and Jack LaFontaine made 21 saves in net.

Michigan State heads to Madison next weekend for a series with the Wisconsin Badgers.

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STATISTICS OF NOTE

New linemates Erik Middendorf (2-0—2) and Jesse Tucker (0-2—2) combined for a pair of goals.
Pierce Charleson made his first start in five games. He had a career-best 54 saves.
Jeremy Davidson had a power play goal, his ninth tally of the season and team-best fourth with a man advantage.

NOTABLES AND STORYLINES

Charleson has had two games this season with 50 or more saves. The first came on Dec. 4 at Penn State.
Minnesota scored on its fourth power play chance in the first period, snapping a streak of 17 successful kills for MSU dating back to the Dec. 10 game at Notre Dame. MSU had not allowed a PPG in four complete games.
Erik Middendorf had his second career two-goal game. The first was Nov. 19 vs. Wisconsin where he scored two of MSU's three goals.
Jesse Tucker had his second career multi-point game, the first coming on Nov. 20 vs. Wisconsin (1-2—3)

GAME SYNOPSIS

FIRST PERIOD: The Spartans scored twice in the first 12 minutes, despite killing off back-to-back penalties. The scoring opened just 3:01 into the game when Jesse Tucker raced behind the net and wrestled the puck away from goalie Jack LaFontaine. The puck squirted out into the slot for a crashing Erik Middendorf, who scored his sixth of the season. At 11:31, MSU had its first man advantage opportunity, and took exactly 11 seconds from the faceoff to make it a 2-0 game. Nash Nienhuis put the puck on net from the left point, and it ricocheted off of Jagger Joshua to Kristoff Papp, and he tipped it over to Jeremy Davidson for his ninth goal of the season. MSU gave the Gophers four power play opportunities in the first period (as many as they had in the first game total), and the fourth time was a charm – Chaz Lucius scored his seventh of the season on a putback on the left side to cut the MSU lead in half. Minnesota had a 15-10 edge in shots on net.

SECOND PERIOD: Charleson turned away six Gopher shots before the second period was three minutes old, including a stunner of a stop of Jack Perbix on the doorstep. The visitors had the better of play for the first half of the period, but the Spartans cashed in on an opportunistic chance just past the midpoint, as Tucker and Middendorf teamed up again to give the Spartans a 3-1 lead. Cole Krygier's blast from the point was saved, and Tucker set up Middendorf for the junior's second two-goal game of the season. The Spartans held that lead until the final two minutes of the period, when the visitors scored twice within 38 seconds to tie the game at 3-3. The first goal came from Ben Meyers on a feed from Matthew Kneis at 18:03, and the second was an unfortunate bounce off the back wall to the left side, where it caromed off a Spartan and into the back of the net. The third goal, scored at 18:41, was credited to Aaron Huglen, his third of the season. Minnesota outshot MSU 21-6 in the period.

THIRD PERIOD: The visitors got a goal on the opening shift of the period, when Blake McLoughlin tipped a shot from the point by Grant Cruickshank on a delayed penalty to give Minnesota its first lead of the game. Jack Perbix put back his own rebound at 3:06, the fourth goal in five minutes of game play for the Gophers, at 3:06. Just over a minute later, the Spartans looked to have some momentum as a Jesse Tucker shot looked like it had found its mark – it got by LaFontaine, but stayed out of the net. The final Minnesota goal came in the final minute, a goal by Meyers for his second of the night.

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Team Stats

Erik Middendorf

Jesse Tucker

Jeremy Davidson

Nash Nienhuis

Players Mentioned

Pierce Charleson

Jeremy Davidson

Jagger Joshua

Cole Krygier

Erik Middendorf

Nash Nienhuis

Jesse Tucker

Players Mentioned

Pierce Charleson

Jeremy Davidson

Jagger Joshua

Cole Krygier

Erik Middendorf

Nash Nienhuis

Jesse Tucker