Howard's 2OT Winner Secures Second Straight B1G Tournament Crown

East Lansing, Mich. -- Junior Isaac Howard capped a four-point night with his 26^th goal of the season at 15:09 of the second overtime period to give No. 1/1 Michigan State a 4-3 overtime victory over No 9/9 Ohio State on Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena

Howard, a Hobey Baker Top 10 selection, not only had the game-winning score, but also had a first period goal and the primary assists on the other two MSU goals from Karsen Dorwart and Tanner Kelly. Howard is now the national leader in points per game (1.42), ranks third in goals (26), and is tied for fourth in points (51). He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Big Ten Tournament and was joined on the all-tournament team by goalie Trey Augustine and defenseman Matt Basgall.

Michigan State becomes the first team in Big Ten Conference history to win regular-season and tournament titles in consecutive seasons.

MSU took an early 2-0 lead on power play goals by Dorwart and Howard, as the Buckeyes started the game with four straight penalties. Ohio State cut the lead in half with just over two minutes remaining in the first period. After a scoreless second, MSU got a goal from Tanner Kelly less than a minute into the third period to put MSU on top, 3-1. The Buckeyes rallied for a goal at 12:46 from Damien Carfagna to make it a 3-2 game, and Gunnarwolfe Fontaine potted the tying goal at 17:39, and the teams headed to overtime.

OSU had an 11-9 edge in shots in the first OT frame, but MSU countered with a 12-4 shot count in the second extra frame, with Howard's shot finding its way through traffic and past Logan Terness for the game-winner with 4:51 remaining.

Terness was outstanding for the Buckeyes, making 47 saves. Trey Augustine had 38 stops, the second-most in a game for the netminder this season.

The NCAA Tournament field will be revealed during the selection show on Sunday at 3 pm and televised on ESPNU.

Big Ten Tournament
Most Outstanding Player
Isaac Howard, F, MSU

All-Tournament Team Selections
Isaac Howard, F, MSU
Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, F, OSU
JJ Wiebusch, F, PSU
Matt Basgall, D, MSU
Damien Carfagna, D, OSU
Trey Augustine, G, MSU

STATISTICS OF NOTE

MSU had never won a Big Ten Tournament game from the start of the league in 2014 until Adam Nightingale's first season in 2022-23; the Spartans won a pair of road games in a three-game quarterfinal series at Notre Dame. The Spartans have won back-to-back regular season and tournament titles in his second and third years of his tenure.
No school had ever captured consecutive regular-season tournament titles in the history of the Big Ten Conference.
Isaac Howard had a four-point night, his second-highest output behind a five-point night at Penn State (4-1-5) on Jan. 10.
Karsen Dorwart opened the game's scoring with his 12^th goal of the season and fifth on the power play. He had an assist as well, and now has a 12-17-29 scoring line.
Tanner Kelly had his eighth goal of the season, and senior classmate David Gucciardi had an assist on the goal. The duo each had a point in their final games at Munn Ice Arena.
Goaltender Trey Augustine made 38 saves, two shy of his season high of 40 in an overtime tie at Minnesota on Dec 13 Augustine owns a 2.01 and .927 save percentage on the season.

Howard's 2OT Winner Secures Second Straight B1G Tournament Crown

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Team Stats

Isaac Howard

Karsen Dorwart

Tanner Kelly

Daniel Russell

Players Mentioned

Trey Augustine

Matt Basgall

Karsen Dorwart

David Gucciardi

Isaac Howard

Tanner Kelly