Michigan
14-11-3, 7-9-2
Michigan State
20-7-3, 14-4-2
Michigan Outdueled in the D for First Time Since 2016
2/10/2024 11:51:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» Gavin Brindley paced Michigan with two points with one goal and one assist.
» Dylan Duke scored U-M's first on the power play, his team-high 10th power-play goal of the season.
» Michigan's penalty kill unit continued its strong run with a perfect weekend.
DETROIT, Mich. -- A seven-year run with the Iron "D" trophy has come to an end for the 11th-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team, as the Wolverines fell to ninth-ranked Michigan State in the rivalry's annual "Duel in the D" by a 3-2 score on Saturday night (Feb. 10) at Little Caesars Arena.
The loss snaps a Michigan streak of beating MSU for the trophy in the state's largest city that goes back to 2016 as the Spartans captured the Iron "D" trophy for just the second time.
Michigan State (20-7-3, 14-4-2 Big Ten) opened the scoring at 12:05 when a Spartan skater found a loose puck in the slot and snapped a spinning shot into the back of the net after a Wolverine was unable to get his stick on the puck to clear it.
After one period of play in the Motor City, U-M trailed by one goal despite leading 13-9 in both faceoffs and shots on goal.
Michigan's top-ranked power-play unit took the ice at 2:36 after a Wolverine forward drew a penalty for interference while attempting to enter the offensive zone on the left flank.
Just over a minute into the advantage, Michigan tied the game at 3:42 when Dylan Duke notched his team-leading 10th power-play goal. He skated to the front of the net as the second man into the zone before finishing off a feed from Gavin Brindley to pull U-M even at one goal apiece. T.J. Hughes earned the secondary helper on the team's 39th power-play tally of the season.
MSU pulled ahead for the second time at 7:28 when they deposited a rebound chance to make it 2-1 after a shot from the point was initially turned aside by Barczewski, who finished the game with 33 saves.
Michigan State then doubled its lead at 16:19 to bump the score to 3-1.
With 20 minutes left to play, MSU carried a 3-1 lead into the dressing room. U-M held a 30-27 edge in shots on goal as well as a 28-22 lead in the faceoff dot.
Michigan began the third period at a disadvantage for a full two minutes after Rutger McGroarty picked up a penalty at the end of the second period that carried over. For the second time in as many tries, Michigan killed off the MSU power-play chance.
Later in the period, Brindley halved the Wolverines deficit at 10:51 when McGroarty fired a long-range pass toward the left side of the net that found Brindley's tape, and he tapped it in.
The Wolverines came close to tying the game with 35 seconds left and an extra attacker on. Dylan Duke missed out on a loose puck in the crease.
With 27.3 seconds remaining in regulation, head coach Brandon Naurato called Michigan's timeout. Led by Brindley and his classmates, the Wolverines nearly tied it up a number of times, but the final buzzer sounded before the team could put a third past the MSU goaltender.
MSU narrowly outshot U-M 39-38, but Michigan finished the night with a 40-32 edge in the faceoff dot.
Next week, Michigan will travel east for a two-game series at Penn State on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 16-17). Puck drop at Pegula Ice Arena is set for 7 p.m. on both nights, and the games will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
