MSU Hockey Takes Down Michigan, Takes First Place in Big Ten
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No. 2 Michigan State is back in control of its own destiny as it strives for its third straight regular-season Big Ten hockey title.
The Spartans knocked off No. 1 Michigan 5-2 in the annual Duel in the D Game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, collecting their third straight win in the event and salvaging a split in the season series with the Wolverines to earn three points in the Big Ten standings and overtake their archrivals for first place in the conference.
THE IRON D TROPHY STAYS IN EAST LANSING! pic.twitter.com/waAQT2xzs3
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) February 8, 2026
While it's not entirely out of the woods yet, the win means that Michigan State will capture the three-peat if it continues to win, and the Spartans have a much more favorable remaining schedule than Michigan and No. 6 Penn State -- the other two teams in the running -- after making its latest statement with its seventh win over a No. 1 team under the current coaching staff.
Game Recap
First Period
If there were any concerns about MSU's sense of urgency after it inexplicably blew a 3-1 third-period lead in Ann Arbor on Friday night, they quickly dissipated. The Spartans were the clear aggressors in the opening period, racing out to an early 9-3 lead in shots. Junior left winger Gavin O'Connell opened the scoring about halfway through the first period, as the Spartan defense swiftly pushed the puck to Cayden Lindstrom in the offensive zone, dropping it back to Anthony Romani, who found a wide-open O'Connell streaking into the offensive zone across the ice for a rip into the net.
But the Spartans weren't done for the opening frame. A slashing penalty on Michigan's Cole McKinney sent Michigan State to the power-play late in the period, and the Spartans took quick advantage. Porter Martone netted his 16th goal of the season, beautifully staying patient and lulling Michigan's penalty kill to sleep as he delayed and held the puck before firing it right past Jack Ivankovic's shoulder to go up 2-0.
Second Period
Michigan State continued its dominance in the second period, scoring twice on its first four shots to open up a 4-0 margin. Defenseman Maxim Strbak made an incredible pass from the blueline to the front of the net, where Charlie Stramel was standing all alone next to Ivankovic and slipped the puck past the Michigan netminder.
Less than two minutes later, MSU's uniquely aggressive style struck again. Just about every player on the ice touched the puck as Michigan State played a sort of tape-to-tape tic-tac-toe as the Spartans moved up the ice unchallenged. The passing pulled Ivankovic from the crease, and Tiernan Shoudy deposited the puck into the net -- forcing Michigan to use its timeout.
The period wasn't perfect for the Spartans, as their aggressive style gave way to Michigan's only positive play of the first two periods. MSU goaltender Trey Augustine tried to push the puck up the ice to catch the Wolverines in a line change, but his pass was off target and resulted in an icing call. Michigan won the subsequent faceoff, got Augustine leaning a little too far one way, and Jayden Perron was able to slip a backhand into the net to end the shutout.
Third Period
An ever-important third period commenced for both teams as Michigan State looked to nullify Michigan's uncanny third-period advantage. The Wolverines scored twice in the third period on Friday and entered Saturday's contest with a +30 goal differential in the final stanza.
This time, Michigan State held its own despite allowing a goal to Nick Moldenhauer as the puck glanced off of Augustine and trickled through the goal crease. But the Spartans added a couple of huge plays to help ice the game away.
Defensman Matt Basgall blocked a point-blank shot with his face to keep the two-goal advantage, and MSU continued a spectatular special teams night by killing off its third penalty of the game and holding Michigan to no shots on the power play. That eventually allowed Tommi Mannisto to make a spectacular play, fighting off a Michigan player with an aggressive forecheck and chopping the puck into the empty net to seal the win as both players fell to the ice.
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-ac9f01ae65e71c7320d1c61247b2ecac.jpg "Travis Tyler")
Travis Tyler joined On SI as a writer in January 2026. He has experience contributing to FanSided’s NFL, college football, and college basketball coverage, in addition to freelance work throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth area, including high school, college, and professional sports for the Dallas Express and contributions to the College Football Dawgs, Last Word on Sports/Hockey, and The Dallas Morning News. In addition to his writing, Travis contributes video and podcasting content to Fanatics View and regularly appears as a guest analyst. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and SMU and is an avid Detroit sports fan with a deep knowledge and appreciation of sports history. Follow Travis Tyler on Twitter at @TTyler_Sports.