MSU Hockey Holds On, Completes Big Sweep of Minnesota
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Michigan State achieved its goal of "knees-bent hockey" in honor of the late Dan Sturges again.
The second-ranked Spartans had enough to complete a sweep of Minnesota on Saturday, taking down the Golden Gophers, 3-2. MSU improved to 19-5-0 overall on the season and 10-4-0 during Big Ten play with the victory.
It's six hard-earned points in the standings for the Spartans, who are still grieving the death of Sturges, the team's director of hockey operations. MSU is only one point behind top-ranked Michigan in the conference standings through 14 Big Ten contests this season.
Michigan State travels to Penn State next week for its next series. The second game of that series, set for Saturday (1 p.m. ET, BTN), will be outdoors at 106,572-seat Beaver Stadium.
First Period
Minnesota struck first in this one. An MSU turnover in its defensive end instantly proved costly, as the Gophers' Brody Lamb got the puck and beat Michigan State goalie Trey Augustine to his glove side. That gave the road team a 1-0 lead a little under seven minutes into the game.
Some Minnesota penalties allowed MSU to equalize, though. The Spartans took advantage of a 5-on-3 advantage, as Daniel Russell scored on a rebound opportunity. Michigan State ended up outshooting the Golden Gophers 17-13 during the first 20 minutes, so both Augustine and former Spartan Luca Di Pasquo, now with Minnesota, held strong.
Second Period
MSU took its first lead early in the second period. A shot from near the blue line by captain Matt Basgall found its way through some bodies and into the net. That made it 2-1, Spartans, about three minutes into the middle period.
That score ended up holding the rest of the way, with Michigan State only needing to kill off one penalty. Augustine continued to hold steady, stopping 24 of the 25 shots that he faced through 40 minutes.
Third Period
MSU got back on the board about three minutes into the period again. This time, it was Tommi Mannisto, who found some space inside the right circle and used a tremendously placed wrister to make it 3-1, Michigan State at 3:16 in the period.
Minnesota didn't go down quietly, though. The Gophers got a power play opportunity after MSU's Matt Lahey was called for holding. Then, with 7:24 remaining in regulation, Minnesota's leading goal scorer, Brodie Ziemer, got one past Augustine to draw the visitors within one.
Things continued to be tense during the final minutes. A double penalty was called with about five minutes remaining, creating a 4-on-4 period, but nothing materialized for either side.
Minnesota emptied its net with just under two minutes remaining, with the Golden Gophers in desperate search of an equalizer. Michigan State staved them off, holding on for another home win.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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