EAST LANSING– The No. 2 Michigan State Spartans scored eight goals in the final two periods en route to a 9-3 blowout over the No. 4/3 Minnesota Golden Gophers.
Everyone was in on the action for the Spartans, with 14 players scoring a point and eight of them having multi-point performances.
The Spartans were on the penalty kill early, but a strong penalty kill gave the Spartans momentum that they would build on.
After a few odd-man rushes that were halted by Minnesota goaltender Nathan Airey, the Spartans had yet another two-on-one. Spartans forward Tanner Kelly was able to get to the crease and sneak the puck through Airey’s five-hole, giving the Spartans an early one-goal advantage.
The Spartans have a record of 15-1 when scoring first this season., Spartans’ leading scorer Isaac Howard spoke on the importance of scoring first.
“Your win percentage will go up a ton when you get that first goal,” Howard said. “Coming out on time, being ready for the puck drop, obviously it’s something you can’t control every game but when you get out early it’s definitely nice.”
MSU goaltender Trey Augustine was perfect for his ten save opportunities in the first period. But, less than 30 seconds into the second period, Golden Gophers’ center Oliver Moore scored his sixth goal of the season to tie the game at one apiece. Augustine would finish with 27 saves.
Spartans’ defenseman David Gucciardi had a great game, contributing his first two-goal game of his career. This is a surprising performance for the senior defenseman who traditionally isn’t much of a scoring threat.
“I might have had three [goals] when I was about nine years old but that’s about it,” Gucciardi said.
In the third period, Howard scored two goals, reaching the 20-goal mark in just 25 games played.
When Howard skated off the ice the Munnsters began to chant, pleading for their star forward to win the Hobey Baker Award. Some of Howard’s teammates are also pushing for Howard to earn the title of the best player in college hockey.
“I think 20 goals at this point in the season is pretty good,” Gucciardi said.
In Nightingale’s first season as head coach, the Spartans took a tough 8-0 loss to Minnesota, it was clear that the two programs were on two different levels. Two years later, the Spartans made their statement with their win on Friday, that they are at, if not above the level of the Golden Gophers.
“It is part of taking over a program and flipping a mindset, we respect everyone we play but we don’t have to take a back seat either,” Nightingale said, who has 63 wins since the start of the 2022-23 season. “Recruiting is really important, in getting guys that can play at that pace and that’s not discrediting the guys we had before they did a heck of a job. But a combination of that, believing that if we do things the right way we can be a pretty good hockey team and not come to the rink and be scared to play.”
With the win, the Spartans are now in control of first place in the Big Ten Standings, four points clear of the Golden Gophers. If MSU can secure the sweep on Saturday, they will have a clear path to their second straight Big Ten regular season title.
Puck drop is set for 6 p.m. on Saturday at Munn Ice Arena for game two of the series.
