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Michigan State's goalie Trey Augustine makes a stop in the first period of the Big Ten tournament

MSU Hockey survives major scare from Western Michigan, advances in NCAA Tournament

The Spartans trailed by two goals in the final period before putting on a major comeback to win in overtime...

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Michigan State
NCAA Tournament
MSU
Michigan State Spartans

Trailing Western Michigan by two goals with less than 12 minutes to play, it appeared Michigan State hockey was on its way to a disappointing early exit in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, but the Big Ten champion Spartans had a late rally up their sleeve.

After a goal from senior defensiveman Nash Nienhuis pulled MSU to within one, sophomore forward Karsen Dowart tied the game with just 55 second remaining, scoring off an outstanding assist from freshman Arytom Levshunov in transition. That sent the game into overtime, where the Spartans survived a mighty scare from the Broncos when senior forward Jeremy Davidson snuck a shot past WMU goaltender Cameron Rowe for a 5-4 MSU victory.

Michigan State, the No. 1 seed in the Maryland Heights region of the NCAA Tournament, advances to the regional round of the NCAA Tournament, where they will face the winner of No. 2 seed North Dakota and No. 3 seed Michigan.

Western Michigan got the scoring started when forward Matteo Costantini scored off assists from Daniel Hilsendager and Dylan Wendt for the only goal of the first period. The next two went to Michigan State, as Daniel Russell brought the Spartans even at the 14:55 mark of the second period, and David Gucciardi gave MSU the lead five and a half minutes later off assists from Dowart and Isaac Howard.

The remainder of the second frame went awry quickly for the Spartans, however, as Western Michigan responded to its first deficit by scoring three goals in a three-minute and 20 second stretch to go ahead 4-2 at the second intermission.

Things looked dire for Michigan State until Nienhuis scored with 11:45 left on the clock, assisted by Tieman Shoudy and Tanner Kelly, cutting the Broncos' lead to 4-3. The two squads battled evenly over the next 10 minutes, before MSU head coach Adam Nightingale pulled Augustine out of goal to give the Spartans an extra skater for the final 1:45.

As the final minute began, Levshunov got out ahead into Western Michigan's zone, drawing three Bronco defenders with him. He found a cutting Dowart on the backside with a brilliant pass, and Dowart scored on a wide open net to keep the Spartans' season alive.

Michigan State has the look of a "team of destiny" this season after winning the Big Ten regular season championship, and coming from behind to beat in-state rival Wolverines in overtime to win the Big Ten Tournament championship. While playing from the lead is preferred, this young crop of Spartans has shown a grit and resilience when trailing that has served them well throughout the season. MSU will face the winner of North Dakota and Michigan in the NCAA Regional round on Sunday (6:30 p.m./ESPN2)

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