Michigan
11-7-3, 4-5-2
Michigan State
15-5-3, 9-2-2
Wolverines Dominate No. 7 MSU in Penalty-Ridden Road Win
1/19/2024 11:13:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» In total, 14 Wolverines recorded at least one point, while five had multi-point games.
» Michigan's top-ranked power-play unit scored four PPG and the PK unit added a SHG.
» With the win, the Wolverines handed Michigan State its first home loss of the season.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The nation's top-ranked power-play unit showed out on Friday night (Jan. 19) inside Munn Ice Arena to lead the No. 15th-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team to a dominant 7-1 win over No. 7-ranked Michigan State. The longtime rivals reacquainted themselves for the first meeting of the 2023-24 season -- and the result was a combined 168 PIM (94 for MSU and 74 for U-M).
Veteran Jake Barczewski earned the start between the pipes for the Wolverines. The fifth-year netminder turned aside 22 of 23 shots that he faced in his first game against MSU.
Michigan was whistled for the first penalty at 8:44 to put the Spartans on the power play when Frank Nazar III was given a minor for interference. U-M's penalty killers were up to the task and dismissed the chance, with Kienan Draper testing the MSU goaltender off a shorthanded rush.
Sophomore standout Rutger McGroarty opened the scoring at 12:01 when he was sprung for a breakaway off a stretch pass from the stick of Tyler Duke inside Michigan's defensive zone. Steven Holtz notched the secondary assist on McGroarty's seventh goal of the campaign.
Michigan State embarked on the game's second power play with 7:03 left when Josh Eernisse was given a minor penalty for cross-checking. With time winding down on the home team's second man-advantage, Draper dashed down the ice and muscled an attempt on net that trickled across the goal line to give Michigan a 2-0 lead.
U-M took its first turn on the power play with 4:32 remaining in the first period. With 37 seconds remaining in the initial advantage, another penalty compounded the problem for MSU.
Just after the first infraction expired and U-M returned to a 5x4 advantage, sophomore blueliner Seamus Casey skated below the MSU goal line and weighed his options. Dylan Duke skated to the front of the net and banged home a feed from Casey to make it 3-0 and extend his active point streak to nine games. McGroarty collected the secondary helper on Duke's 11th tally of the year.
Michigan carried a three-goal lead into the dressing room fueled by an 11-8 edge in shots on goal. Each team had won eight faceoffs, but the U-M power play unit had been able to convert on one of its two chances while Michigan State was stymied twice.
Early in the second period, Marshall Warren was forced to take a penalty for hooking to disrupt a breakaway chance for the Spartans. MSU pressured the U-M zone on its third power play, but the visiting penalty killers succeeded in keeping the three-goal lead intact.
Junior forward Mark Estapa picked up a minor penalty in a post-whistle scrum in front of the Michigan State net at 11:34, but the corresponding Spartan was given a major penalty for face masking to give U-M three minutes of power-play time following the expiration of Estapa's infraction.
The elder Duke, Dylan, potted his second power-play goal with 4:15 left by skating directly to the right post and banging in a perfectly-placed cross-crease pass from Gavin Brindley to make it 4-0. McGroarty earned the secondary assist for his third point of the night.
Following the expiration of the major penalty, Michigan's power play sat at 2-for-4 and the team possessed a four-goal lead.
The Wolverines made it 5-0 in the first two minutes of the final frame when Josh Eernisse collected a pass in Michigan's defensive zone and jetted down the ice on the left flank. The big sophomore kept to the outside and blew by a pair of Spartans before swooping in toward the net and putting a chance on goal. After the initial try was turned aside, T.J. Hughes arrived on the scene and batted in the rebound.
Freshman Nick Moldenhauer added a sixth goal for the Wolverines at 5:56 on the power play -- the team's third tally of the night coming with an extra skater. Ethan Edwards and Nazar were rewarded with the assists that made it 6-0.
Dylan Duke was sent off at 6:25 for a nudge after the whistle to give MSU its fourth power play of the night. Once again, Michigan dismissed the advantage to stay perfect on the penalty kill.
Michigan went on a power play with 10:53 left in regulation after a Spartan sprayed Barczewski. Following the ensuing faceoff, MSU took another penalty in succession to give U-M an extended 5x3 advantage.
The final 10 minutes of the game were filled with penalties and post-whistle scrums as each team sent multiple skaters to their respective locker rooms with misconduct penalties and the Spartans picked up an additional major with 6:05 left.
U-M finished the scoring with 1:07 left in regulation when Casey picked the top corner for the team's fourth power-play goal of the evening. Jacob Truscott and McGroarty assisted on the final goal of the night.
Entering the game, the Big Ten first-place Spartans hadn't suffered a regulation loss since Oct. 27 and were undefeated through their first 10 at home. This weekend's match-up also marked the first time since Dec. 30, 2011, that Michigan State outranked the Wolverines in a game. That contest, the 2011 Great Lakes Invitational championship game, was also won by the Wolverines when Kevin Clare scored in OT.
Today's win marked Michigan's largest margin of victory at Munn since Jan. 8, 2016, when the Kyle Connor-led Wolverines dominated Spartans, 9-2.
Tomorrow night (Saturday, Jan. 20), the in-state rivals will travel south to finish off the weekend series at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on B1G+.
