Michigan State hockey falters in third period, falls to Michigan in NCAA tournament regional final

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – Michigan State's hockey team got the best of Michigan plenty this season. The Spartans would gladly trade one of those wins for this one.

Facing off for the sixth time, MSU and Michigan took the ice in an NCAA tournament regional final in suburban St. Louis, this time a trip to the Frozen Four on the line.

With the game deadlocked with just over seven minutes remaining, the Wolverines found two goals in 12 seconds to take the air out of the Spartans and avenge four straight losses, knocking MSU out of the NCAA tournament with a 5-2 win.

"It was a really good college hockey game and I don't think the score reflects it," MSU coach Adam Nightingale said. "It kind of got away from us in the end. ... But congrats to Michigan. They've had a really good push here and we have tons of respect for their program."

Michigan advances to the Frozen Four for the third straight year, where the Wolverines will face No. 1 overall seed Boston College on April 11 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

MSU's season comes to an end with a 25-10-3 record after winning the Big Ten regular season and tournament championships, the latter in overtime against Michigan, and winning the program's first NCAA tournament game since 2008.

"This season meant everything to me, and we really wanted to play in the Frozen Four, but everyone on this team, around the team, the staff, all meant the world to me," MSU fifth-year senior Nico Muller said. "To play for the Michigan State Spartans was an honor, and we came up short this year, but I'm 100 percent certain that the guys that stay will get it done."

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Michigan forward Dylan Duke crashed the net on a wide angle and was able to slide a puck past MSU freshman goaltender Trey Augustine for the Wolverines' go-ahead goal.

“Just got a nice pass in the neutral zone took a (defender) wide and just cut to the net and was fortunate to be able to bury that one,” Duke said of what turned out to be the game-winner.

On the ensuing face-off, Michigan forward Frank Nazar caught MSU on a 2-on-1, where he made a between-the-legs pass to sophomore forward Gavin Brindley, who blasted a shot past Augustine.

"I'll be the first one to tell you, I didn't make a good enough play there," MSU sophomore defenseman Matt Basgall said. "I gave him a wide angle and he took it. It's a team game, but I could have done better on those plays."

Duke would add a late power-play goal to make it a 5-2 final, and the junior was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Maryland Heights regional. MSU freshman defenseman Artyom Levshunov was the lone Spartan skater to make the All-Regional team.

Michigan scored seven goals in the third period of its two NCAA tournament games this weekend, including a 4-3 win over North Dakota on Friday.

“I think if you watched our team early in the year, we had a couple of rough third periods,” Duke said. "We talked about learning from them, for moments like this. We learned all year … and it showed the past two nights.”

Tied 1-1 entering the third period, Michigan defenseman Marshall Warren found open ice deep in the right circle, and Michigan's Jacob Truscott was able to funnel the puck his way, where Warren beat Augustine to give the Wolverines a 2-1 advantage.

MSU would respond midway through the third on the power play, when sophomore forward Joey Larson jumped on a loose puck in the slot and fired a one-timer past Michigan goaltender Jake Barczewski to level it up.

"It's a hockey game, a game of momentum, and a game of bounces," MSU graduate forward Reed Lebster said. "They seemed to be going (Michigan)'s way there at the end. We made a push at the end, but the bounces were just going their way at the end."

Michigan was the faster team to start, but an early penalty gave the Spartans a chance to score first. MSU freshman forward Gavin O'Connell redirected a point shot from sophomore defenseman Matt Basgall and the puck slipped past Barczewski to put MSU in front.

Michigan tied it early in the second period on a 3-on-2 rush. Forward Dylan Duke slid a pass over to defenseman Ethan Edwards, who fired a one-time shot past Augustine.

MSU scored both of its goals on the power play and limited Michigan's NCAA-leading power play to 1-of-6 on the evening, including a big 4-on-3 kill in the first period. Special teams often win in tournament games, but despite MSU's successes in those areas, it ultimately couldn't find enough offense at even strength.

"I think finishing our chances, (Michigan)'s goalie played well but we had some really good looks, especially in the second period," Nightingale said. "Credit to (Barczewski), I don't think he's gotten enough credit for making some big saves. I can think of a handful where we were right in the slot and he came up big. We generated enough to score, but it's about finishing at that point."

Michigan was without star sophomore defenseman Seamus Casey — a first-team All-Big Ten selection who had seven goals and 38 assists for the Wolverines this season. MSU was without junior defenseman David Gucciardi, who scored in Friday's regional semifinal win over Western Michigan.

Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on Twitter @Nathaniel_Bott