Michigan State hockey earns sweep of Michigan with 2-1 shootout win
Coming into its series against No. 14 Michigan, Michigan State hockey was trying to bounce back.
It had lost six of seven games, finally snapping a six-game skid against Minnesota on Nov. 24 in the second game of that road series. And since the Spartans were playing the in-state rival Wolverines, a good weekend would have even more meaning.
Michigan leads the all-time series, which is most-played rivalry in college hockey. But this weekend, it was Michigan State that got the upper hand earning five out of six possible points.
The Spartans capped the series win Saturday night, taking a shootout after the teams had played to a 1-1 tie at U-M's Yost Arena. Senior forward Brennan Sanford beat Michigan freshman goaltender Strauss Mann with the winner in the final round.
On Friday, MSU defeated the Wolverines 4-3 at Munn Arena,
The wins came despite U-M outshooting MSU 46-29 on Friday and 40-19 on Saturday.
“That’s an exciting game,” Michigan State coach Danton Cole said on Saturday. “Everybody got bonus hockey, so we all enjoyed it. It’s funny, you get to the shootout and it’s a point in the Big Ten standings, but you just feel a lot better afterwards, winning the shootout, even though it doesn’t make a huge difference. It does in the Big Ten standings, but nationally, it doesn’t.”
That good feeling from winning the shootout may help propel the Spartans through the rest of the Big Ten schedule. Despite dropping four of their eight non-conference games to start the season and then getting swept by Notre Dame to open conference play, Michigan State is now trending back up since losing 7-2 to Minnesota on Nov. 23.
With talented players like junior forward Taro Hirose, who has 23 points through 14 games, the Spartans have the pieces to make a statement in the Big Ten.
“(This momentum is) huge for us,” Hirose said. “That’s three games in a row there with a win, so I think guys are just sort of — the freshmen for sure, and some of the younger guys — just finding their way and I think we’re really hitting our stride as a team.”
But the Big Ten is a talented conference this year, and Michigan State will have to build on its sweep of Michigan to vault itself into the national conversation.
“We had a little slide there and we lost a few games in a row,” Cole said. “As long as we take the same approach that we come out Monday and work on getting better and keep moving things forward, I think that’s what momentum is. It’s just getting a little better.
“There’s things that we gotta work at and continue to get better. We’ve got a tough series in Wisconsin (next weekend.) If it gives us extra energy, gives us a little more interest in what we’re doing and we get a little better, then it’s a good thing for us.”