Saturday, January 27
4 PM
Michigan State University
1
vs
5
Minnesota
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell
Gophers Earn Saturday Win For Weekend Split
1/27/2024 7:23:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
East Lansing, Mich. – No. 8/7 Michigan State could not make it a third straight contest with late-game magic, falling at home to No. 9/9 Minnesota 5-1 to split the weekend series. MSU is now 17-6-3 overall and went 1-2-1 in its four-game series with Minnesota this season.
Freshman Oliver Moore scored twice for the Gophers (15-7-4, 8-5-3 B1G), who came out with jump and set the tone with a pair of goals in the first and went up 3-0 by the five-minute mark of the second. MSU cut it to 3-1 by the second intermission on a Matt Basgall power play marker. Oliver Moore scored his second of the game to make it 4-1, and then the visitors iced it with an empty-net tally in the final three minutes
Minnesota, which seemed to lose third-period steam on Friday as the Spartans made a dramatic comeback, had a 15=7 edge in shots on goal in the final frame and got an excellent performance from goaltender Justen Close, who made 24 saves. Trey Augustine made 31 saves in the Spartan crease.
The Spartans begin a four-game stretch away from Munn Arena next weekend when they travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame.
STATISTICS OF NOTE
First Period: The Gophers put a pair on the board in the first six minutes of the game, looking to set an early tone. Bryce Brodzinski scored his 13th of the season from the left circle, left alone by the defense. A shot by Brody Lamb at the right half wall caromed off the far post and out in front of the crease for Aaron Huglen to redirect for his team's second of the game and an early 2-0 lead. The period was even in most other ways – each team had 10 shots on net .
Second Period: Oliver Moore pushed the Gopher lead to 3-0 early in the second, as he carried the puck into the right circle and picked his spot right below Augustine's blocker for his fifth goal of the season. Skating on the power play, MSU got one back at 11:05, as Karsen Dorwart circled above the left dot and dropped a pass behind his back to Basgall in the high slot, and he wristed it through traffic to post his first of the season. The visitors had a slight 11-8 lead in shots on net, with each team potting a goal in the period.
Third Period: The teams were skating an end-to-end, even game throughout the first half of the final period, as MSU was making a push to duplicate its late-game magic from its previous two contests. The Spartans had some pressure offensively, but a rush at the 11-minute mark resulted in a slick backdoor pass from Snuggerud to Moore on the left side, and the freshman converted his second goal of the game for a 4-1 lead. Mason Nevers banked in a slow-sliding empty netter with Augustine on the bench in favor of an empty netter with just under three minutes to play.
Freshman Oliver Moore scored twice for the Gophers (15-7-4, 8-5-3 B1G), who came out with jump and set the tone with a pair of goals in the first and went up 3-0 by the five-minute mark of the second. MSU cut it to 3-1 by the second intermission on a Matt Basgall power play marker. Oliver Moore scored his second of the game to make it 4-1, and then the visitors iced it with an empty-net tally in the final three minutes
Minnesota, which seemed to lose third-period steam on Friday as the Spartans made a dramatic comeback, had a 15=7 edge in shots on goal in the final frame and got an excellent performance from goaltender Justen Close, who made 24 saves. Trey Augustine made 31 saves in the Spartan crease.
The Spartans begin a four-game stretch away from Munn Arena next weekend when they travel to South Bend to take on Notre Dame.
STATISTICS OF NOTE
- MSU is now 3-5-0 when allowing four goals or more, and seven of those have been against top-15 competition.
- The Spartans lost at home for just the second time this season. (10-2-1).
- Michigan State has sold out 20 of its last 21 home games (including an exhibition), and 17 consecutive home Big Ten Conference games. MSU has two regular-season home games remaining on its schedule.
- MSU had its lowest-scoring weekend of the season, with just four goals. Its previous low was seven, against both Wisconsin and Notre Dame in the first half.
- Trey Augustine made 31 saves.
- Matt Basgall scored his first goal of the season to go with eight assists.
First Period: The Gophers put a pair on the board in the first six minutes of the game, looking to set an early tone. Bryce Brodzinski scored his 13th of the season from the left circle, left alone by the defense. A shot by Brody Lamb at the right half wall caromed off the far post and out in front of the crease for Aaron Huglen to redirect for his team's second of the game and an early 2-0 lead. The period was even in most other ways – each team had 10 shots on net .
Second Period: Oliver Moore pushed the Gopher lead to 3-0 early in the second, as he carried the puck into the right circle and picked his spot right below Augustine's blocker for his fifth goal of the season. Skating on the power play, MSU got one back at 11:05, as Karsen Dorwart circled above the left dot and dropped a pass behind his back to Basgall in the high slot, and he wristed it through traffic to post his first of the season. The visitors had a slight 11-8 lead in shots on net, with each team potting a goal in the period.
Matt Basgall gets this on e on the PP after a nifty behind-the-back pass by Dorwart. First of the year for the blueliner! pic.twitter.com/gPpwfx3T6V
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) January 27, 2024
Third Period: The teams were skating an end-to-end, even game throughout the first half of the final period, as MSU was making a push to duplicate its late-game magic from its previous two contests. The Spartans had some pressure offensively, but a rush at the 11-minute mark resulted in a slick backdoor pass from Snuggerud to Moore on the left side, and the freshman converted his second goal of the game for a 4-1 lead. Mason Nevers banked in a slow-sliding empty netter with Augustine on the bench in favor of an empty netter with just under three minutes to play.
Players Mentioned
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