Spartans advance to Big Ten hockey final against Wolverines

East Lansing — No. 1 seed Michigan State defeated No. 7 seed Ohio State, 2-1, on Saturday to advance to next Saturday’s Big Ten Tournament championship.

The Spartans will play Michigan, which beat Minnesota, 2-1, in Saturday's other semifinal.

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"It was a back-and-forth, tight-checking game," Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale said. "I thought Trey (Augustine) made some big-time saves for us, I thought their guy made some big saves for sure (Logan Terness)."

Senior Nash Nienhuis’ wrist shot in the third period was the winning goal, handing the Spartans a 2-1 lead a mere 13 seconds after the Buckeyes had finally found a way to score on freshman goaltender Augustine.

"(When) we got scored on it would've been easy — especially with a younger team — to melt," Nightingale said. "And 13 seconds later, Nash (has) a big-time play for us and got us the lead, and we were able to hang on."

Michigan State clung to that lead until the very end, leaning on goaltending to ice the victory. 

"We've learned how to win different ways," Nightingale said. "We've won high-scoring games, low-scoring games, tight games. We've come back and we've held onto leads, and those are all valuable things to have in our back pocket. I think it speaks to the leadership on our team and poise."

Sophomore Daniel Russell’s tip-in goal in the opening minutes of the second period was the only other goal of the evening, breaking a 0-0 stalemate after a first period full of near-misses and physicality. 

Augustine finished with 37 saves and a .974 save percentage in what was a matchup decided by inches. 

"It felt like a goalie game out there," Augustine said. "With games like that, I just kind of do everything I can to make sure the next one doesn't get behind me."

The first period was a physical, evenly-contested affair. The tone was established quickly with both teams finishing checks on the boards and laying hits to stymie offensive-zone entries. 

Each team tallied 13 shots on goal and failed to cash in on their power plays through the period. The goaltenders were the stars of the show, Augustine and OSU junior Terness, who gloved some near misses at the crease. MSU had a couple of scoring chances that missed by mere inches, highlighted by a shot from junior Red Savage that rang off the right post. 

Russell broke the scoreless tie less than two minutes into the second period, tipping in a wrister from sophomore Karsen Dorwart at the front of the net. 

The Spartans nearly added some cushion to their lead just a few minutes later courtesy of senior Jeremy Davidson. However, the goal was wiped off the board thanks to fifth-year senior Nicolas Müller’s presence in the crease. 

A tripping penalty on Russell gave the Buckeyes a chance to shift momentum back in their favor. However, MSU’s penalty kill put up its second strong performance of the evening, rarely allowing Ohio State much time to breathe in the offensive zone. 

Michigan State went into the second intermission with a 1-0 lead and a 27-22 advantage in shots. Augustine had another strong 20 minutes with 12 saves. 

The Buckeyes found the tying goal less than three minutes into the third period. Freshman Max Montes slipped the puck in with a wrap-around to Augustine’s left side.

Nienhuis slid deep into the offensive zone and flicked a wrister from the hashmarks to recapture a one-goal lead for the Spartans just 13 seconds after the OSU goal. 

Ohio State almost knotted things up again just over two minutes later with a deflection near the right faceoff circle. But for the second time in the game, a goal was wiped off the board, this time thanks to a video review determining offside. 

The visitors continued to press, surpassing Michigan State’s shot total roughly halfway through the third period. Augustine continued to do his best impression of a brick wall in net, gloving and deflecting each renewed attack from the Buckeyes. 

MSU’s offense pushed back as the period wound up, rarely allowing OSU the chance to put pucks on net. Ultimately, the one-goal cushion was enough and Michigan State walked away with a 2-1 win to advance to the final. 

Alex Faber is a freelance writer.