MSU Hockey Upset by Ohio State, Takes Split in Series
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These are games Michigan State cannot really afford to drop in a Big Ten title chase.
Second-ranked MSU dominated unranked Ohio State, 6-2, in Columbus on Friday. The Buckeyes had a response, though, and pulled off the upset on Saturday in a 2-1 result.
Michigan State really just could not get the puck past OSU goalie Sam Hillebrandt. The Buckeyes' freshman from Port Huron, Mich., stopped 26 of the 27 shots on net he faced. MSU got a goal right around the midway point of the contest from Porter Martone, his third of the series and 14th of the year, but that was it.
One of the big issues was that the Spartans were not good enough on faceoffs. Michigan State had a slight faceoff advantage on Friday, 34-32, but Ohio State completely flipped it around on Saturday. The Buckeyes won 40 faceoffs during game 2, compared to just 23 such wins for MSU.
More on Saturday's Result
This loss drops Michigan State down to 15-5-0 overall on the season. The Spartans' conference record is much less impressive now, though, as they are now 6-4-0 during Big Ten play. That gives MSU 18 points, which puts it third in the standings behind No. 1 Michigan and No. 3 Wisconsin.
Ohio State's victory improves the Buckeyes to just 7-12-1, if that's any indication of how tough this loss is for Michigan State. OSU's conference record went to 3-7-0, putting it sixth out of seven teams in the Big Ten with nine points.
Ohio State actually completely dominated the first period of play. The Buckeyes outshot the Spartans 14-3 during the opening 20 minutes of play. Despite that, Trey Augustine was able to step up and get MSU to the first intermission with no actual damage on the scoreboard. Augustine had another great individual performance, stopping 33 of the 35 shots he faced.
It did not take very long for OSU to break through in the second, though. Ohio State found the net about three minutes into the middle period on a goal from Nathan Lewis.
MSU leveled things at one apiece a handful of minutes later on Martone's goal. Freshman defenseman Matt Lahey also picked up his first career assist on the play.
The Buckeyes' eventual game-winner came at 8:01 on the third. Davis Burnside came through for the home squad with his eighth goal of the season, and Ohio State was able to hang on the rest of the way.
Michigan State's next series is a big one.
The Spartans will remain on the road, but will go up against the third-ranked Badgers in Madison. Game 1 is on Thursday, Jan. 15 (9 p.m. ET, BTN), and the second game is the following day (8 p.m. ET, B1G+).
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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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