EAST LANSING – The No. 7 Michigan State hockey team was back in action on Friday at Munn Ice Arena for a much-anticipated matchup against No. 15 Michigan. The Wolverines stunned the Spartans with an impressive 7-1 win they dominated from start to finish.

“Give Michigan credit, I thought they played really well,” MSU head coach Adam Nightingale said. “They played really hard, they made it hard on us to get to the inside.”

The Wolverines scored three goals in the first period, with sophomore forwards Rutger McGroarty and Kienan Draper finding the back of the net. Sophomore defenseman Dylan Duke also scored on a power play in a dominating first period for the Wolverines.

Dylan Duke was impressive in the win for the Wolverines, with two power-play goals. Freshman forward Nick Moldenhauer and senior forward Philippe Lapointe also contributed with goals in the third period. 

The Spartans’ lone goal came courtesy of senior forward Nicolas Muller midway through the third period with graduate student Reed Lebster and senior forward Jeremy Davidson picking up the assists. 

Power plays proved to be crucial in this game for the Spartans. MSU went 0 for 5 on power plays, while the Wolverines capitalized on power plays going 3 for 7. Michigan also outshot MSU, 35-23.

“I thought we bobbled some pucks, it goes back to practice, I thought they [MSU] were pretty good during the week on the power play,” said Nightingale. “I thought they [Michigan] did a good job, they had a good plan coming in.”

Towards the end of the game, multiple fights broke out including multiple misconduct penalties for both sides.

“We got to look for ways to use that emotion to impact the game, not after the whistle,” said Nightingale.

The Spartans will look to rebound tomorrow against the Wolverines at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.