Spartan stunner: MSU hockey upsets No. 5 U-M in OT

It took a little longer to decide who would leave Joe Louis Arena for the first time with the Iron D trophy.

Michigan State earned the hardware with a 3-2 overtime win over No.5-ranked Michigan on Friday night in the annual “Duel in the D” at Joe Louis Arena.

It was the 308th meeting between the schools in hockey but the first time they were playing for the Iron D Trophy, which goes to the winner of the annual Big Ten conference game played in Detroit.

MSU forward Joe Cox, in a bid to score his third goal of the game, was slashed by Joseph Cecconi at 2:28 of overtime. Matt DeBlouw scored the game-winner on the power play at 3:29 of overtime for his fourth goal of the season.

“To get some hardware finally my junior year, it was awesome,” Cox said of winning the rivalry trophy. “We came back to our identity. We were hard to play against defensively. That’s what felt best today.

“We were able to come back from a one-goal deficit. Games previous in the season, we don’t win those. We lose in overtime, we lose by one goal. It was cool for it to reverse there.”

MSU hockey gets shot at payback, but U-M still rolling

Cox scored his second goal of the game at 13:50 of the third period, tying the game 2-2. Cox had given the Spartans a 1-0 lead when he scored on a penalty shot in the second period.

“I thought it was a heck of a game, from start to finish,” said Michigan State coach Tom Anastos. “It really kind of had everything in the game. Our team, I’ve said all along, has really stayed together. They’re working hard. We’ve had a very tough season to date, but this is the start of the back end of the Big Ten season and with that ahead of us, this is a good start. I thought our seniors stepped up. I thought guys are elevating their games. It was great to see that goal go in.”

Michigan had outscored MSU 15-5 in a weekend sweep in January.

“They’ve been a better team than their record, I think, all year and we saw it again tonight,” Michigan coach Red Berenson said of the Spartans. “So good for them. It was a game where goals were precious. Both goalies kept their teams in it. They scored the goals when they needed to and we gave up goals when we couldn’t afford to.”

Michigan State goaltender Jake Hildebrand made 40 saves. Steve Racine made 38 saves for Michigan, including four in overtime.

The teams meet again at 5:05 p.m. on Saturday in East Lansing.

Tyler Motte scored both of Michigan’s goals. He extended his goals-scoring streak to eight games when he tied the game, 1-1, at 16:53 of the second period. Motte came out of the penalty box and scored on a breakaway with 3:07 left in the second period to tie the game for the Wolverines.

Motte finished off a JT Compher pass for his second goal of the game, giving U-M a 2-1 lead at 9:03 of the third period. Motte leads the nation in scoring with 24 goals in 24 games.

“He’s been one of our go-to players all year and he was again tonight,” Berenson said.

MSU captain Michael Ferrantino came close to giving the Spartans a 2-1 lead two minutes into the third period. Michigan defenseman Nicholas Boka knocked the puck away at the last possible second before it completely crossed the goal line. The puck got past U-M goaltender Steve Racine but was still touching the goal line when Boka knocked it away with his stick.

Anastos said it was closest he’s ever seen the puck go over the line and not count.

“I was trying to sell’em on the idea that you’re not going to necessarily see white if the puck is butted against the goal line,” Anastos said. “It can still be over but you can’t necessarily see white. I didn’t win.

“I liked the way we responded….For us to come out of that and not get the call, I thought we had a good pushback and we kept responding.”

Mark Hollis analyzing Anastos, MSU hockey struggles

Cox gave MSU a 1-0 lead when he scored on a penalty shot at 10:41 of the second period. Chris Mueller was the last Spartan to score on a penalty shot, Dec. 9, 2006 at Northern Michigan.

Cox made a couple nifty moves before beating U-M goaltender Steve Racine five-hole for his seventh goal of the season. U-M defenseman Zach Werenski hooked Cox during a shorthanded attempt.

“I went and talked to Hildy and he’s like ‘This guy likes to spread his legs, try going five-hole,’” Cox said of the penalty shot try. “So I listened to his advice.”

Asked about the Iron D Trophy, Cox said: “That thing is heavy. You think all us hockey players are strong. It’s like 55, 50 pounds.”