MSU Hockey Stunned by Ohio State in Dominant Fashion
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- Sometimes, it's not your night. It was definitely not top-ranked Michigan State's night on Friday.
Everything just seemed a step slow for the top-ranked Spartans at Munn, as MSU got walloped early by unranked Ohio State in a 5-1 loss. The key sequence of the game was the Buckeyes' three goals in just 3:29 in the first period that gave them a significant lead they never relinquished.
The loss for the Spartans is certainly disappointing, but the path to the Big Ten crown is very clear still. Michigan wrapped up its regular season on Friday with a regulation win over Minnesota, putting the Wolverines up to 49 points. Michigan State still sits at 45 points with three games remaining, meaning it is still just four points away from a share of the conference title and five points from the outright crown.
MSU will get another opportunity for three points on Friday against Ohio State, with puck drop set for 8 p.m. ET on the Big Ten Network. The Spartans will then wrap up the regular season at Minnesota next Thursday and Friday.
Game Recap
First Period
The start to this game was sloppily played by both sides. Neither team really seemed to get set often in the offensive zone, even when Ohio State got a power play 28 seconds into the game on a roughing penalty by MSU's Porter Martone.
It seemed like the Spartans were going to get their first chance after OSU committed its first penalty a little past the midway point of the period, but things quickly swing. Senior captain Matt Basgall committed a holding penalty during the power play to make it a 4-on-4 situation, and it seemed like everything collapsed from there. The Buckeyes began their first-period onslaught right off the ensuing faceoff on a shot from Bryce Ingles to take a 1-0 lead.
Ohio State then scored again during the 47 seconds of power play time it received after the 4-on-4 period had ended. The puck was loose in the crease, and the Buckeyes' Jake Karabela jammed it home.
It didn't stop there; OSU made it 3-0 shortly after off a golden rebound chance for Max Montes. It was the Buckeyes' third goal in just 3:29 of game time. Michigan State had no answer before the first intermission and went to the locker room with a lot more questions than answers for itself.
Second Period
Michigan State had the first power play of the middle period, and some of the frustrations continued. The Spartans had some good looking shots with the man-advantage, but couldn't seem to be able to get anything past OSU goalie Kristoffer Eberly. MSU looked like a much stronger team in the early portions of the second, but with a three-goal deficit, none of that really matters if the red light behind the Ohio State net goes on.
Then, another penalty costs the Spartans. Tiernan Shoudy got booked for a hooking call, which the Buckeyes followed up with another power-play goal, the second of the game for Montes, which stunningly made it 4-0 in favor of the unranked visiting team.
The Spartans finally got on the board at 16:22 in the middle period, after Anthony Romani kept the puck on his stick on a 2-on-1, beating Eberly glove side with the shot. That finally brought some life back to the Munn crowd that probably was expecting a different type of performance.
Even that came with some difficulties. Martone committed his second penalty of the game just 21 seconds after the goal. Michigan State killed that off, but that took much of the remaining time in the period off the clock, and MSU had to go into the second intermission with a three-goal deficit.
Third Period
Ohio State kept the goals coming to erase any hope the home crowd had left. It became 5-1 just 2:43 into the final period, with Karabela picking up his second goal of the game.
Both teams were kind of just going back and forth from there and going up and down the ice. MSU had one shot go off the crossbar, but this never became a truly competitive game after the Buckeyes gained that significant early advantage. Michigan State got called for some more penalties at the end, with those seeming to be largely out of frustration, but OSU never got anything else on the scoreboard.
Adding some spice, though, was that head coach Adam Nightingale was definitely not pleased with the calls at the end. Once the game officially ended, he went onto the ice and was probably yelling at one of the officials for a solid minute or so, walking from one blue line to the other blue line.
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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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