Friday, November 24
Minneapolis, MN
8 PM ET/7 PMCT
Michigan State University
10-3-2, 5-0-2
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Minnesota
6-4-3, 2-3-2
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OT Heartbreak for Spartans at Minnesota, 6-5
11/26/2023 4:54:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
East Lansing, Mich. – No 7/7 Michigan State suffered its first loss in Big Ten play on Sunday, falling 6-5 in overtime at No. 8/8 Minnesota. The Spartans battled back from a 5-3 deficit with a pair of goals in the final five minutes of regulation, but the Gophers scored a goal with 1:02 remaining in the extra period.
The two teams skated to a 3-3 tie on Friday with MSU taking the extra point in the shootout, and served up another epic battle with the Gophers on Sunday afternoon.
Joey Larson scored a dramatic goal with 18 seconds remaining in regulation and added two assists for the Spartans, who had their seven-game unbeaten streak snapped. Trey Augustine made 35 saves for the Spartans in net after a 44-save performance on Friday. MSU outshot the Gophers 46-41, and got goals from Red Savage, David Gucciardi, Patrick Geary, and Nash Nienhuis.
Justen Close made 41 saves for the Gophers, who got two goals and two assists from Bryce Brodzinski and a goal and an assist from Rhett Pitlick.
MSU falls to 10-4-2 overall and 5-1-2 in Big Ten play. Minnesota is now 7-4-3, 3-3-2 B1G.
The Spartans are idle next weekend, and return to the ice Dec. 8-9 when they host Notre Dame at Munn Ice Arena.
STATISTICS OF NOTE
First Period: MSU came out assertive from the drop of the pick and the Spartans forced Justen Close to be sharp early as they put 10 shots on net in the opening nine minutes (along with five blocked shots for Minnesota). Minnesota got the first score at 11:21, as a shot by Bryce Brodzinski on the power play took a high bounce off the blocker of Augustine for his second goal of the series. As the period approached its final two minutes, Joey Larson won a puck battle behind the net, brought it out to the right of Close, and found Red Savage at the right hash mark for the junior's fifth goal of the season. MSU had a 17-10 edge in shots on net in the frame.
Second Period: Patrick Geary was sent off just 15 seconds into the second period, putting the Gophers on an early power play. The Gophers turned over the puck at the blue line and David Gucciardi pounced on it, won the footrace into the offensive zone, and beat Close blocker-side for his first goal of the season. Both teams took major penalties 40 seconds apart and the Gophers converted a 4x4 goal at 6:37, and then another Spartan penalty gave the home team a 4x3 chance, which Brodzinski converted for his second goal of the game at 8:14. MSU had a strong offensive push at the end of the period, which resulted in another late goal that sent the teams into the locker room tied at 3-3. Isaac Howard raced up the far side with a defender on his hip, and chipped a backhand pass into the slot for a crashing Patrick Geary, who scored his third of the season. Both teams fired a ton of pucks on net, with the Gophers holding a slight 17-15 edge at the final whistle.
Third Period: Minnesota scored a pair of goals in the first half of the third period to take their largest lead of the series at 5-3. In the opening minute, Connor Kurth sprung from the defensive zone on a breakaway and gave his team a 4-3 lead. Skating on the power play, the Gophers struck again at 10:15, as Sam RInzel shot from the high slot and Pitlik tipped it en route for his sixth goal of the season. The replay of the PPG was ruled inconclusive after MSU challenged for a high stick on the play. MSU got a goal back with just under five minutes remaining, as Artyom Levshunov slid the puck along the left side of the blue line to Nash Nienhuis, and the captain one-timed a laser that Close likely never saw. MSU pulled Augustine in favor of an extra skater, and it paid off – Larson scored the game-tying goal with 18 seconds remaining in regulation. Dorwart fed O'Connell behind the net, and O'Connell found his linemate for Larson's eighth goal of the season to sent the game to OT.
Overtime: Larson hit the post midway through the OT period, and as they did on Friday, both teams were assertive in the extra period, not passive playing for a tie. The Gophers got the game-winner with 1:02 remaining, as Sam RInzel got the puck to freshman centerman Jimmy Clark, who was patient, and went to Augustine's right for his fourth goal of the season. Both teams had two shots on net in the OT period.
The two teams skated to a 3-3 tie on Friday with MSU taking the extra point in the shootout, and served up another epic battle with the Gophers on Sunday afternoon.
Joey Larson scored a dramatic goal with 18 seconds remaining in regulation and added two assists for the Spartans, who had their seven-game unbeaten streak snapped. Trey Augustine made 35 saves for the Spartans in net after a 44-save performance on Friday. MSU outshot the Gophers 46-41, and got goals from Red Savage, David Gucciardi, Patrick Geary, and Nash Nienhuis.
Justen Close made 41 saves for the Gophers, who got two goals and two assists from Bryce Brodzinski and a goal and an assist from Rhett Pitlick.
MSU falls to 10-4-2 overall and 5-1-2 in Big Ten play. Minnesota is now 7-4-3, 3-3-2 B1G.
The Spartans are idle next weekend, and return to the ice Dec. 8-9 when they host Notre Dame at Munn Ice Arena.
STATISTICS OF NOTE
- Joey Larson extended his point scoring streak to four games with his game-tying goal and assists on the goals by Savage and Nienhuis.
- Red Savage's first-period goal was his first of the season and brought him to 16 points on the year, tying his career best set his freshman year at Miami.
- David Gucciardi returned to the lineup this weekend after a six-game absence and scored a shorthanded goal, his first marker of the season.
- Nash Nienhuis' goal was his second on the weekend and pushed his career-best total to six on the year.
- Patrick Geary tied the game at 3-3 late in the second period, his third of the season.
- Isaac Howard has matched his freshman year points total (17) with his second-period assist on the Geary marker.
- MSU now has five shorthanded goals, the most since 2016-17. Three of the five have been scored by defensemen (Nash Nienhuis, Patrick Geary, and Gucciardi).
- Minnesota's six goals is tied for the most allowed in a game by MSU this season. The Spartans allowed four to Ohio State in the second game of the series in Columbus for its previous high in a B1G game.
- Michigan State has scored three goals or more in 15 of 16 games.
- The Spartans allowed multiple power play goals for just the third time in 16 contests – Boston College scored twice on Oct. 27, and Ohio State a week later on Nov. 4.
First Period: MSU came out assertive from the drop of the pick and the Spartans forced Justen Close to be sharp early as they put 10 shots on net in the opening nine minutes (along with five blocked shots for Minnesota). Minnesota got the first score at 11:21, as a shot by Bryce Brodzinski on the power play took a high bounce off the blocker of Augustine for his second goal of the series. As the period approached its final two minutes, Joey Larson won a puck battle behind the net, brought it out to the right of Close, and found Red Savage at the right hash mark for the junior's fifth goal of the season. MSU had a 17-10 edge in shots on net in the frame.
Red Savage tied this game up at 1-1 with this goal late in the period. #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/nTmuhCO3Bb
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 26, 2023
Second Period: Patrick Geary was sent off just 15 seconds into the second period, putting the Gophers on an early power play. The Gophers turned over the puck at the blue line and David Gucciardi pounced on it, won the footrace into the offensive zone, and beat Close blocker-side for his first goal of the season. Both teams took major penalties 40 seconds apart and the Gophers converted a 4x4 goal at 6:37, and then another Spartan penalty gave the home team a 4x3 chance, which Brodzinski converted for his second goal of the game at 8:14. MSU had a strong offensive push at the end of the period, which resulted in another late goal that sent the teams into the locker room tied at 3-3. Isaac Howard raced up the far side with a defender on his hip, and chipped a backhand pass into the slot for a crashing Patrick Geary, who scored his third of the season. Both teams fired a ton of pucks on net, with the Gophers holding a slight 17-15 edge at the final whistle.
Just a little shorty from David Gucciardi to put the Spartans up 2-1. NBD. pic.twitter.com/3SQ10itEEF
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 26, 2023
Third Period: Minnesota scored a pair of goals in the first half of the third period to take their largest lead of the series at 5-3. In the opening minute, Connor Kurth sprung from the defensive zone on a breakaway and gave his team a 4-3 lead. Skating on the power play, the Gophers struck again at 10:15, as Sam RInzel shot from the high slot and Pitlik tipped it en route for his sixth goal of the season. The replay of the PPG was ruled inconclusive after MSU challenged for a high stick on the play. MSU got a goal back with just under five minutes remaining, as Artyom Levshunov slid the puck along the left side of the blue line to Nash Nienhuis, and the captain one-timed a laser that Close likely never saw. MSU pulled Augustine in favor of an extra skater, and it paid off – Larson scored the game-tying goal with 18 seconds remaining in regulation. Dorwart fed O'Connell behind the net, and O'Connell found his linemate for Larson's eighth goal of the season to sent the game to OT.
Joey Larson with the late tying goal! His eighth of the season off a feed from the hometown Minnesota boy, O'Connell. pic.twitter.com/oCcdGH9stq
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 26, 2023
Overtime: Larson hit the post midway through the OT period, and as they did on Friday, both teams were assertive in the extra period, not passive playing for a tie. The Gophers got the game-winner with 1:02 remaining, as Sam RInzel got the puck to freshman centerman Jimmy Clark, who was patient, and went to Augustine's right for his fourth goal of the season. Both teams had two shots on net in the OT period.
Team Stats
MSU
MIN
Shots
28
47
PPG
1
1
SHG
0
0
Penalties
6
4
Penalty Mins
23
8
Faceoffs Won
23
33
Game Leaders
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
1
Players Mentioned
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