MSU Hockey Ties Ohio State, Takes Extra Point in Dramatic Shootout
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EAST LANSING, Mich. --- This one had no shortage of dramatics on Senior Night at Munn Ice Arena.
It officially goes down as a 3-3 tie for No. 1 Michigan State against Ohio State, but MSU took the critical additional point towards the Big Ten standings in a shootout that lasted 13 rounds. Colin Ralph scored what became the decide. Goalie Trey Augustine made eight straight stops to finish the shootout, the first seven of which being do-or-die for the Spartans.
The magic number is now down to two points to clinch a share of the Big Ten title and three for an outright title. Michigan State still has six possible points left on the table with two remaining games in the regular season.
That Big Ten crown will come down to how MSU completes its regular season at Minnesota next Thursday and Friday. No matter what happens, the Spartans' run in the Big Ten Tournament will start at Munn. The question is if it is in the semifinal round as the No. 1 seed or in the best-of-three quarterfinals as the second seed.
Game Recap
First Period
After the 5-1 demolition MSU was on the wrong side of on Friday, getting off to a good start was going to be paramount. The top-ranked Spartans did just that. Ohio State got called for too many men, and just 10 seconds into the power play and 2:08 into the game, Ryker Lee rocketed a shot past OSU's Kristoffer Eberly to give Michigan State an early 1-0 lead.
MSU was on its heels for a bit afte that, with Gavin O'Connell getting called for two seperate penalties, one at 2:45 in the period (boarding) and one at 7:05 (tripping). The Spartans' penalty kill did look sharp, though, killing both penalties off without many great looks for the Buckeyes.
Killing those penalties might have come at the cost of some energy, though. A couple minutes after Michigan State went back to full strength, Ohio State was able to level things at one apiece on a shot by Riley Thompson from the slot, beating MSU's Trey Augustine. Just 71 seconds later, OSU then took the lead on another goal from the slot, this time from Niall Crocker.
It was Hobey Baker candidate Porter Martone who stepped up next for Michigan State. He got a nice pass from Charlie Stramel, but the impressively held onto the puck and made a move to draw Eberly out of the net, who he then beat with a backhand to tie the game at 2-2. That score held into the first intermission.
Second Period
The earlier parts of the middle period were definitely controlled by the Spartans. Michigan State controlled the puck a lot more, but wasn't getting rewarded with any pucks in the back of the net. Ohio State actually had a breakaway just before the midway part of the period and game, but Augustine was able to make a nice save with his right pad to keep the game tied at two.
Momentum seemed to swing OSU's way from there. Suddenly, the visiting team seemed to be enjoying a lot of offensive zone time. Eventually, the Buckeyes had a 3-on-2 rush, eventually getting the puck to fourth-liner Jake Rozzi in the slot. He beat Augustine to give the Buckeyes the lead again with 2:41 left in the period. That 3-2 score took both teams into the second intermission.
Third Period
Michigan State looked to apply some pressure early, chasing that would-be precious goal. One shot from Eric Nilson early in the period rang off the post about four minutes into the period, drawing a groan from the Munn crowd. MSU then got a power play and took advantage --- Anthony Romani let a wrister go from above the right circle and placed it perfectly between Eberly's glove and his left pad to tie the game at 3-3 with 12:56 left.
The pace picked up form there. Michigan State wanted a go-ahead goal to try and position itself for three points, but struggled to really get anything set up in the offensive zone. Both teams went up and down and up and down the ice as time in regulation ticked lower and lower and the pressure increased. MSU applied the most pressure at the end of regulation, but nothing made its way through, sending the game to OT.
Overtime/Shootout
This one required more time. Ohio State had a chance, then Michigan State had a chance. Playing 3-on-3 is a possession game, but most of the possession time was leaning scarlet and gray. Then it felt like MSU had the puck for the final 2:30 or so. Neither team scored, though, sending the game to a shootout.
The shootout went on and on and on. Both goalies kept trading the same result, mostly stops. It took the 13th round, where MSU's Ralph scored and OSU's Ethan Straky to get stuffed by Augustine for the Spartans' bench to finally start celebrating.
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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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