EAST LANSING – On Sunday afternoon, No. 9 Michigan State hockey swept the weekend series against the Lake Superior State Lakers, in a 4-2 win at Munn Ice Arena.
The Spartans came off a 5-2 win over the Lakers on Saturday afternoon for the season opener on the newly dedicated Ron Mason Rink.
Once again, the Michigan State’s starting lineup included captain Nash Neinhuis and Artyom Levshunov on the blue line, along with freshman goaltender Trey Augustine in net. Forwards Jeremy Davidson, Nicolas Muller, and Reed Lebster started for MSU’s offense.
“When I heard my name, and I got a bunch of family in the stands, to be able to start the game was pretty cool, pretty special for me,” graduate transfer Reed Lebster said.
For the visiting Lakers, they made some lineup changes from Saturday’s game, choosing to start their top line of freshman John Herrington, senior captain Harrison Roy, and junior Timo Bakos. Their defensive line included the only player to start both games, Captain Artyom Borshyov, and Grant Hindman defending Ethan Langenegger between the pipes.
The Spartans carried their confidence through the first period, dominating offensively and outshooting the Lakers 19-8. MSU was able to maintain their trend of winning faceoffs for the first period as well.
As MSU attacked offensively, several opportunities opened for players to take shots on goal, including freshman defenseman Artyom Levshunov. The 17-year-old was aggressive the entire period and in the twelfth minute, Levshunov was able to push far enough into the Spartans’ offensive zone to slide the puck past Lakers’ goaltender Ethan Langenegger.
“He does some things that we’ll never be able to coach him to do, he’s a special person,” said head coach Adam Nightingale. “We’re thankful we have him.”
It wasn’t until the second period, where the Lakers dominated on faceoffs. The visiting team tied the game up at 1-1 as Connor Milburn scored unassisted. Less than a minute later, the Spartans opened the scoring differential again, as junior forward Red Savage scored his second goal of the weekend.
After a holding penalty on Lake Superior State’s Nate Schweitzer, the Lakers gained a newfound aggression and speed as MSU got comfortable with its lead. The Spartans found the back of the net early in the third period, with a goal from graduate transfer Reed Lebster.
During the remainder of the period, the Spartans had to play defensively as the Lakers continually pushed the puck from the neutral zone back into their defensive zone. Without much luck in the waning moments of the game, the Lakers pulled goaltender Langenegger in a final attempt to tie the game. Sophomore alternate captain Karsen Dorwart scored an empty net goal in the last minute, putting the finishing touches towards a weekend sweep.
“We played North, we played fast, we played behind them,” Nightingale said. “We did a better job in the O-zone, taking what’s given instead of trying to force plays.”
“They’re a very good team and obviously it’s really hard to sweep in college hockey, we knew we wanted to do it and we just stuck to the game plan and got it done,” sophomore Joey Larson said.
Michigan State hockey will be on the road on Thursday, Oct. 12, as they will travel to Air Force for a two game series. Puck drop for both games is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. E.T.
