EAST LANSING, MI – Michigan State hosted the Minnesota Gophers Friday night for the first game of a two-game series. There were plenty of emotions surrounding the arena before puck drop, as a tribute to Dan Sturges played on the big screen, honoring the late director of hockey operations for the Spartans.
Michigan State didn’t take long to get things started, as freshman forward Ryker Lee put on a show around six minutes into the first period. Freshman forward Eric Nilson skated around a gopher defender along the right boards before finding Lee, who was calling for the puck. Lee collected the puck from just outside the crease and spun into a backhand shot that easily got past junior goaltender Luca Di Pasquo. Many fans were seen doing the surrender cobra as the Spartans mobbed Lee after his pretty goal.
Before the second period got underway, the annual Teddy Bear Toss took place in Munn Ice Arena where fans threw their stuffed animals onto the playing surface to be collected and donated to charity. Although there is no official total, it would be safe to assume that the Spartan fans were able to create a pile of a few hundred stuffed animals that will go to a great cause.
The first action in the second period came on back-to-back penalties. Junior defenseman Patrick Geary was found guilty of a facemask, followed by sophomore forward Beckett Hendrickson colliding with junior goaltender Trey Augustine for an interference penalty. Both teams struggled on special teams, and the contest remained scoreless.
With a little under half of the period remaining, freshman forward Anthony Romani skated past a Gopher defender to create on odd-man advantage in Minnesota’s zone. Romani turned and fired a pass to junior forward Gavin O’Connell in the slot, who quickly beat an out of position Di Pasquo to give the Spartans a two-goal edge.
Michigan State did a great job of holding the puck in the Gopher’s zone throughout this game, and it paid off to start the third period. Senior forward Tiernan Shoudy held the puck behind Minnesota’s net before finding junior defenseman Maxim Strbak near the blue line. Strbak confidently fired a shot that found the roof of the net while Di Pasquo was screended by junior forward Griffin Jurecki.
Late in the third period, two Spartan penalties led to a 4-on-3 advantage for Minnesota. Michigan State was able to hold strong until around 30 seconds into the special teams when freshman forward LJ Mooney fired a prayer from the blue line that beat Augustine glove side to put the Gophers on the board.
In the final minutes of the game the Spartans kept excellent pressure on Minnesota who were unable to pull Di Pasquo until the final 30 seconds of the game. With time running out the Gophers couldn’t get anything going despite a man advantage, and Michigan State were able to park the bus to deny any last second chances.
Strbak scored or assisted on every Spartan goal, racking up three points on the night. O’Connell had nothing but praise after the game, “Maxim does a lot for the team it’s cool to see him get rewarded for that.”
Michigan State will have a chance to sweep Minnesota tonight at 6:00 at Munn Ice Arena.
