Michigan State hockey thumped at home by No. 1 Minnesota

Michigan State dropped the first game of is weekend series with No. 1 ranked Minnesota with first place in the Big Ten standings on the line for both teams. The Golden Gophers skated to a 5-0 road win over No. 11 Michigan State to pad their lead in the Big Ten.

“They are obviously a really good team, and they have some elite finishers,” Michigan State hockey coach Adam Nightingale said. “So, when they get an opportunity, they are going to make it count, but we’ll look at the tape here, and keep getting better.”

With this loss, Michigan State falls four points behind Minnesota in the Big Ten standings. Entering the weekend, Michigan State trailed Minnesota by a single point, with third-place Penn State one point behind the Spartans.

“For our program in general, you can’t come to the rink and take a backseat to anyone,” Nightingale said. “You have to have that mindset, and we’re looking for that tomorrow.”

Michigan State kept this game close through two full periods, trailing 2-0 going into the third. After Bryce Brodzinski scored Minnesota’s first goal midway through the third period, things snowballed for the Spartans, with Matthiew Knies scoring a minute later, and Logan Cooley adding his second goal of the night with two minutes left in the third.

Minnesota dominated play in the first and third periods. The Golden Gophers outshot Michigan State 12-5 in the opening period, with Cooley scoring Minnesota’s first goal eight minutes into the game. With a lead and momentum, Minnesota clamped down defensively, and frustrated Michigan State with a limited number of scoring chances.

Michigan Stated played its best hockey of the night in the second period. Trailing by a single goal, the Spartans played with more energy, and saw a significant uptick in scoring chances. Minnesota still managed to outshoot Michigan State, 11-8, in the second period. The Golden Gophers also extended their lead, 2-0, on Rhett Pitlick’s sixth goal of the season.

But in that second period, Michigan State gave as good as it got, and the Spartans made Minnesota goalie Justen Close sweat.  After making several difficult saves in the second period, Close continued to frustrate Michigan State in the third period. There were times in the early minutes of the third where it felt as if the Spartans were on the cusp of breaching the Minnesota defense, but Close was up to the task. The sense of urgency that was there for Michigan State throughout the second period and a good chunk of the final period dissipated after Minnesota took a three-goal lead.

Michigan State’s second-period performance was what Spartan Nightingale had hoped to see from start to finish.

One positive for Michigan State was the return of veteran defenseman Christian Krieger (6-3, 207, Sr., Defenseman, Novi, Mich.) after being sidelined by injury for multiple games.

“I thought he did well,” Nightingale said. “He actually has a presence out on the ice. He defends hard and is able to move the puck, so its good to have him back.”

Dylan St. Cyr (5-8, 167, Sr-Transfer, Northville, Mich., Quinnipiac) entered this game ranked second among Big Ten goalies in goals-against average, allowing just over two goals per game. Although he made a handful of impressive saves against Minnesota, this was an off night for St. Cyr and the Spartan defense overall.

During Nightingale’s first season as head coach at Michigan State, the Spartans have shown themselves to be resilient in the face of adversity. After getting thumped 5-0 its series opener against Notre Dame in late October, the Spartans showed moxie one night later in skating to a 1-1 tie. Even more impressive, was the way Michigan State bounced back to thump a good Penn State ballclub 7-3 on the road, one night after giving up a late rally in a 4-3 loss.

Backbone and grit may not ultimately be enough for the Spartans to salvage a split against a team as talented as Minnesota. Don’t blame Michigan State for trying to slay the dragon that is Minnesota hockey. Doing so would make a powerful statement for a young team that is ahead of schedule during Nightingale’s first season as head coach.  It would also end an 11-game Minnesota win streak in the recent series between these two proud programs.