It was finally time for the Michigan State Spartans to play their final home series of the regular season and get another chance at a major sweep of the W However, MSU lost the first game of the two-game series 6-2 after a swift collapse in the second inning.
In the first period, the Spartans came out firing and were soon putting pucks down the ice in an attempt to score. A high sticking call on the Buckeyes resulted in a power play as the battle got closer to the goal. And while having a man advantage, sophomore forward Isaac Howard blasted a slapshot towards goal, and freshman forward Gavin O’Connell tip it the rest of the way to put the Spartans ahead 1-0 right away.
The Spartans had another chance to score on the man advantage just four minutes after the first penalty was killed when the Buckeyes were hit again for a bench minor for having too many players on the ice. MSU was unable to take advantage of this two-minute advantage.
After the Spartans were called for tripping for the first time in the game, calling on junior defenseman David Gucciardi, the Buckeyes won the puck control battle in the neutral zone on a breakaway, quickly tying the score at one. The Spartans killed off the penalty without any problems.
With five and a half minutes remaining in the first quarter, the Buckeyes quickly scored their third penalty of the match after an interfering call put the Spartans back on man advantage. The Spartans had to use the final 50 seconds of a penalty kill when sophomore forward Daniel Russell was penalised for tripping, ending the advantage’s run of less than a minute.
As the first period’s clock ran down, the two teams were level at one point going into the second. Both teams fired shots at the goal to open the second period with the same level of ferocity as the first. Throughout the first portion of the second period, the Spartans played excellently on both ends of the rink, but OSU was able to take advantage of their man advantage after Michigan State’s Howard was called for high sticking, giving them just ten seconds.
The Buckeyes scored their third goal past rookie goalie Trey Augustine with just three and a half minutes remaining in the second period. OSU now led 3-1, and MSU’s rookie forward Tommi Männistö was given a five-minute penalty for checking from behind. After that, with four minutes left in the Spartans’ kill, OSU scored it 4-0 and created a bigger hole for MSU to pull out of.
A tripping penalty with three minutes left in the OSU power play gave the Spartans the advantage, and as the second period’s clock was winding down, MSU cut the lead in half. The score was 4-2 after O’Connell scored his second goal of the game.
In the third quarter, MSU ran down the last minute of a penalty kill and maintained their ascent from the opening goal disadvantage because they knew what had to be done. The Spartans held the Buckeyes off the rest of the way, save from their opening goal during the five-minute advantage.
With just over ten minutes remaining in the match, the Buckeyes continued their pursuit of MSU by adding a fifth goal to their current total and offensively defeating the Spartans. Soon after scoring their fifth goal, OSU added a sixth to their impressive goal-leading record, and the goals just kept coming.
With barely seven minutes remaining, the Buckeyes were given a roughing penalty. Despite the Spartans’ excellent scoring chances, OSU’s junior goalie Logan Terness was still playing brilliantly in the net.
A formidable OSU squad arrived at Munn Ice Arena prepared to play, and MSU suffered a devastating 6-2 defeat in the end.
In an attempt to split the series, the Spartans will return to East Lansing for a 6 p.m. matchup on Saturday, February 24 on Big Ten Plus. As the final home game of the regular season, there will be a Senior Night ceremony to honour the seniors after the game.
