Michigan
14-9-1, 8-6-0
Michigan State
19-3-2, 10-2-2
Michigan Splits Tense Weekend Series With No. 1 Michigan State
1/18/2025 11:07:00 PM | Ice Hockey
» T.J. Hughes stretched his point streak to seven games by scoring a late power-play goal.
» Evan Werner and Ethan Edwards notched the assists on Hughes' goal that ruined the shutout.
» Logan Stein made 28 saves on the night, facing 32 shots.
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Penalties played a far more prominent role in the weekend finale on Saturday night (Jan. 18) as the 10th-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team failed to generate enough offense in a 4-1 loss to top-ranked Michigan State at Munn Ice Arena.
For the second night in a row, veteran netminder Logan Stein earned the start in goal for Michigan (14-9-1, 8-6 Big Ten). He was under fire from the opening puck drop, and he finished the night with 28 saves on the 32 shots that he faced from the Spartans (19-3-2, 10-2-2 Big Ten).
Junior blueliner Luca Fantilli went down hard just 1:29 into the contest after being propelled into the corner from behind. After an official review, the Spartan offender was given a minor penalty for cross-checking. The Wolverines worked the puck around the zone in hopes of churning up the first goal of the game, but the unit failed to strike before returning to even strength.
The Spartans received a turn of their own at 5:28, and they wasted very little time before burying a power-play goal from the point just eight seconds later to take a 1-0 lead.
Junior forward Josh Eernisse drew a penalty for hooking to earn U-M's second power play, but the Wolverines failed to capitalize with the extra skater. Stein attempted to maintain the team's momentum by making a stellar pair of saves on an odd-man rush that developed out of thin air as the Spartans were returning to action after exiting the penalty box.
Sixteen seconds after returning to full strength, Tyler Duke was banished for slashing to flip the pendulum back in MSU's favor for a second opportunity. This time, the Wolverines were able to kill off the advantage to keep the deficit at one goal.
Michigan State went hard to the blue paint after the game had returned to 5-on-5 play, and the effort paid off with 1:57 left in the opening period when they poked a shot through Stein's five-hole to make it 2-0.
Eernisse and a Spartan were sent off with less than five seconds remaining in the frame to finish things out at 4-on-4; each ended the first period with four penalties apiece.
After one period, Michigan trailed 2-0 in addition to lagging behind in shots on goal (13-5) and faceoffs (13-12). The Wolverines contended with the high-volume MSU attack by putting together an 8-2 lead in blocked shots.
MSU returned to the power play at 3:56 when William Whitelaw was whistled for interfering with a discarded stick. On the ensuing advantage, the Spartans capitalized to make it a 3-0 game with a shot that snuck through traffic to find the five-hole at 5:43.
The Wolverines were given a power play at 6:26, but it was the home team that took advantage by potting a short-handed goal off a rush to make it 4-0 at 8:12 with a one-timer from the circle.
Momentum continued to trend in the direction of the Spartans when Mark Estapa was sent to the box for roughing the goaltender after his drive toward the crease ended up taking out the goalie. U-M successfully killed off the fifth power play of the night to limit the damage.
With two periods in the books, Michigan trailed their in-state rivals by four. The Wolverines used a 19-13 advantage in second-period shots to trim the overall deficit in that category to 26-24. They also fared better in the faceoff dot, winning 13 of 23 draws in the second frame.
Searching for an icebreaker in a 4-0 game, U-M embarked upon a power play after an MSU skater was called for hitting from behind. Once again, Michigan's power play failed to generate a goal as they dropped to 0-for-4 on the man advantage.
Late in the evening with the future of his six-game point streak on the line, T.J. Hughes buried a power-play goal with just 1:10 remaining in regulation to spoil the shutout and make it a 4-1 contest. Evan Werner earned the primary assist on Hughes' tally for his shot from the left circle that put the puck on net while blueliner Ethan Edwards notched the secondary helper.
The final 70 seconds were littered with lengthy discussions and penalties. Special teams played a critical role in deciding the game, as MSU finished the night at 2-for-8 on the power play (in addition to scoring a shorthanded goal) while U-M went 1-for-5.
Michigan will hit the road next week to take on Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday (Jan. 24-25) at the Kohl Center in Madison. Friday night's (Jan. 24) contest will begin at 7 p.m. CST and be streamed live on B1G+, while Saturday's (Jan. 25) finale is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. CST and will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
