EAST LANSING – Michigan State welcomed Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday night for a two-game series that showcased the No. 1 team in the nation versus the No. 7/8. The Badgers come into this series with a split against Ohio State, and they looked to continue to rise on the Big Ten standings against the Spartans.
Wisconsin head coach Mike Hastings gave Eli Pulver the start in net for this series, which would be the first start of the season for the sophomore out of Vancouver, B.C.
Game 1 – Spartans Lose in high-scoring contest
Michigan State showed their strength on both sides of the ice early to start the contest. Wisconsin had a great chance to take an early lead just seconds into the game, but junior goaltender Trey Augustine made a great save to keep the game scoreless. Down the other way, senior forward Daniel Russell drew first blood eight minutes into the contest. Freshman forward Porter Martone chased a puck dumped deep into the Badgers’ zone, drawing attention from multiple Wisconsin defenders. Martone found an open Russell in the slot for a quick wrister, who beat Pulver to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.
It didn’t take long for Martone to record his second point of the night, capitalizing on a Wisconsin penalty late into the first period. Sophomore forward Shane Vansaghi found Martone with a beautiful cross-ice pass, leading to Martone’s 8th goal of the year, and giving Michigan State a two-goal lead heading into the second period.
Wisconsin responded quickly, scoring just over a minute into the second period. Capitalizing on a roughing penalty from sophomore defenseman Colin Ralph, senior forward Christian Fitzgerald scored his ninth goal of the season just five seconds into the power play. Fitzgerald has played a key role in Wisconsin’s dominant special teams, recording seven power play goals so far this season.
The Badgers kept their momentum going, scoring once again early in the second period. Senior forward Simon Tassy scooped up a loose puck and brought it with him behind the net, which drew the attention of multiple Michigan State players. Tassy continued to wrap around the net before passing to an open Blake Montgomery, a freshman forward out of Bowie, Md. Montgomery quickly shot past an out of position Trey Augustine to tie the contest up 2-2.
Wisconsin wasn’t satisfied with a tied game, as they continued a dominant second period by scoring again just past the halfway mark. Montgomery won a puck battle between the blue lines and skated ahead into the Spartans’ zone. Patiently waiting for teammates to catch up, Montgomery skated backwards before passing the puck to Adam Pietila, a sophomore forward out of Hartland, Mi. Pietila took his time before firing a wrist shot that beat Augustine’s glove side, giving the Badgers a 3-2 lead.
With four minutes remaining in the second period, the Spartans made a push and applied great pressure in the Wisconsin zone. In doing so, Michigan State overcommitted, and all five Spartan skaters were deep in the offensive zone. When the Badgers were finally able to get the puck out, they caught Michigan State’s defensemen sleeping and created a 2 on 1 situation. Freshman forward Vasily Zelenov skated forward with the puck and drew the attention of the lone Spartan defender. Zelenov quickly found Tyson Dyck, a senior center from British Colombia, who placed a puck top shelf on Augustine’s glove side to make it a 4-2 game.
The Spartans showed no quit, however, as Freshman forward Ryker Lee cut away at the lead midway through the third period. Freshman center Eric Nilson showed great hustle as he laid out on the ice for the puck, which untimely ended up in front of the net. Pulver was unable to handle the puck, and Lee capitalized by putting it in the back of the net, making the game 4-3 still in favor of the Badgers.
Wisconsin wasn’t done yet as Dyck stole a puck in the neutral zone and skated to Augustine’s stick side before firing a shot on goal. Augustine made a great pad save, but it deflected right to a waiting Ryan Botterill, a sophomore out of Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Botterill fired the puck into an open net to put the Badgers up 5-3 with just under 12 minutes remaining.
The Spartans made one last push as Russell skated behind the Badgers’ net before sending a back-handed pass to Martone in the slot. Martone fired a shot that beat Pulver stick side, scoring his second goal of the evening. This concluded the scoring for the night, leading to a 5-4 Badger victory in game one of this series.
“It was a tough night,” said Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale. “I’d like to start by giving Wisconsin credit. The second period they took it to us, a lot of up and down the sheet and I don’t think that is a recipe for success for our team. I thought they transitioned well and made us pay.”
Game 2 – Spartans lose in heartbreaking fashion
The second game of this series did not start like the first, as both sides remained scoreless until past halfway through the contest. Following a Nilson tripping penalty, Montgomery was able to capitalize on the power play. Montgomery received a pass from Zelenov at the blue line and slowly skated towards Augustine to size him up. The Spartans were unable to pressure Montgomery properly due to being a man down, so Montgomery had a free lane to fire a shot that beat Augustine to make it a 1-0 in favor of the Badgers.
The game proceeded to go back and forth with both teams having great scoring opportunities for the remainder of the second period and throughout the third period. Augustine kept the Spartans in the game stopping multiple breakaway opportunities and helping to kill a penalty late in the third period. Any scoring opportunities the Spartans had were quickly shut down by Pulver, who held the game scoreless until the final seconds of the third period.
The Badgers received a delay of game penalty with 1:03 remaining in the contest, allowing the Spartans to have a 6 on 4 opportunity to tie the game. Wisconsin held strong and were able to clear the puck out of their zone twice before the Spartans had any good opportunities. However, the two-man advantage was too much for the Badgers to contain, as senior center Charlie Stramel found Martone in front of the net, who buried it with just 39.8 second remaining.
The goal sent the Munn faithful into a frenzy, and this contest would go to overtime.
The extra period started off with a breakaway opportunity for Tommi Mannisto, a junior forward out of Finland. Mannisto tried to put a move on Pulver, but the Badger goaltender didn’t bite and saved his shot to keep Wisconsin alive. Mannisto was visibly frustrated when his shift was over, knowing he had the game on his stick.
Just moments later, Ryker Lee found himself in a breakaway opportunity. Those who weren’t already standing rose to their feet knowing that Lee could end the game with one of his signature dekes. Pulver once again came up big for the Badgers and gloved Lee’s shot, which earned applause from the Wisconsin bench.
Following the faceoff in the Badgers’ zone, Fitzgerald found himself with the puck in the neutral zone skating with speed into enemy territory. To his right was senior defenseman and captain of the Badgers, Ben Dexheimer, who was awaiting a pass to end the game. Fitzgerald sent in a puck that was too far for Dexheimer to reach, leading to the captain diving for the puck to poke it past Augustine for a Badgers victory.
“That was a tough weekend for us for sure,” said Nightingale. “Credit to Wisconsin – I think they’re the best team we played this year. They make it hard on you. You have to be willing to play real hockey. I thought we did a better job tonight than we did yesterday. Proud of the guys, they stayed with it, easy game to get frustrated with, we had some opportunities. And I thought both goalies were really good. To stay with it, to tie it up with 20 seconds there, I think that says a lot about our group and what we want to be as a program.”
What’s Next
The Spartans fall to a 3-3 record at home and hope to bounce back this Wednesday and Friday in a two-game series against Colegate at Munn Ice Areana.
Michigan State will likley lose their No. 1 ranking to the University of Michigan and will have to earn it back by beating Michigan in their series early in December.
