Following a short week after a series split with the Arizona State Sun Devils, the Michigan State Spartans took on the Minnesota Golden Gophers in a two-game series in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers swept the Spartans, winning 4-2 in Friday night’s contest, and
5-1 in Saturday’s game.

Game 1:

Ahead of the first game, Christian Krygier drew back into the lineup following the completion of his one-game suspension. Head Coach Danton Cole chose to dress seven defensemen, so Jake Smith drew out. Drew DeRidder got the nod for the Spartans, while Jack LaFontaine started in goal for the Golden Gophers.

Okayyyy, Jackson, we see you 👀 pic.twitter.com/oGioQHi9An

— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) February 20, 2021

The first period began with a ton of strong chances from the Golden Gophers, but the Spartans, headed by DeRidder, stopped them all. Michigan State had one massive chance to open the scoring when Charlie Combs had the puck on his stick, but it went off the crossbar. Just under halfway in, Matt Staudacher was called for elbowing, and despite Minnesota believing the call was questionable, Cole and the Spartans wanted to review it to see if it was anything more. The call stood as a two-minute minor, and the Spartans lost their timeout. Michigan State was unable to convert on the first power-play of the series. A.J. Hodges had a great opportunity behind the Golden Gophers’ defense, but LaFontaine made the save. With just over three minutes to play, Ben Meyers broke the scoreless tie, just beating DeRidder on a shot that just got by him. With under a minute left, the Spartans’ deficit grew as Jackson Lacombe put a one-timer past DeRidder to make it 2-0 Golden Gophers. After two, Minnesota had a 2-0 lead and an 11-7 shot advantage.

Second career shorty for Tommy Apap gets the Spartans on the board! pic.twitter.com/zQnMvsUDfT

— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) February 20, 2021

1:51 into the second period, Brody Stevens was whistled for tripping, and the Golden Gophers headed to the power-play early, but the Spartans killed it off. Just under six minutes in, Ben Meyers was called for a slash on Josh Nodler as he was trying to pry the puck, and Michigan State was granted a power-play, but it was killed by Minnesota. With about seven minutes left in the period, Brannon McManus took a changeup shot that slowly went past DeRidder on the other side of the net, giving the Golden Gophers’ a 3-0 lead. About a minute after, Mitchell Lewandowski was called for a trip and Minnesota headed to the power play once again. Before they could get any life on their power-play, the Spartans took advantage of a poor pass and Tommy Apap got in on a shorthanded breakaway to make it a 3-1 deficit. The Spartans killed off the Minnesota power-play after one wild play where McManus has an easy goal that Dennis Cesana swiped it off the goal line, and Sampo Ranta headed to the box for tripping Lewandowski, and the Spartans were given yet another power-play. The power-play did not result in anything for Michigan State as they had multiple chances. After two, the Golden Gophers had a 3-1 lead over the Spartans, and they had a 25-13 shot advantage.

Josh Nodler’s third of the year pulls the Spartans with two pic.twitter.com/e6IEUyqPE1

— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) February 20, 2021

The third period started strong for the Spartans, but with just under 14 minutes left, Minnesota produced a 2-on-0 after a turnover, with Ranta putting it in the net on a feed from McManus. With just over nine minutes left, the Spartans made it a two-goal-game as Josh Nodler potted home a pass from Adam Goodsir. With 2:44 to go in the game, Michigan State headed to the power-play as Cullen Munson headed to the box. LaFontaine stopped two grade-A chances on Charlie Combs and Lewandowski. The Spartans pulled DeRidder with 20 seconds left in the power-play and he was out the rest of the game, but they could not convert with the man advantage. The Spartans were defeated by the Golden Gophers, 4-2, and were outshot, 39-21.

Game 2:

Ahead of the second game of the series, there were no line changes made by Coach Cole. Drew DeRidder got the nod for the Spartans, while Jack LaFontaine was in goal for the Golden Gophers.

The first few minutes were somewhat quiet, as the first shot on goal came just over the five-minute mark. Blake McLaughlin had a great opportunity, but he sent it right over the wide-open net. Just over halfway through the period, Jaxon Nelson sent a nice pass to Cullen Munson to give the Golden Gophers a 1-0 lead over the Spartans. The floodgates opened from there, as Minnesota continued to pound Michigan State as with 5:50 to go, Scott Reedy made it 2-0, and Ben Meyers made it 3-0 with 4:18 left. They made one bad turnover that arrived on the stick of Kristof Papp, but he hit the pipe. Not long after, Jack Perbix made it 4-0 with 1:28 to go in the period. Pierce Charleson came into the game for his third appearance of the season after the fourth goal, as DeRidder was left to dry. After one period, the Spartans were down 4-0, and the Golden Gophers also had a 10-5 shot advantage.

That post goal smile though 🤩 pic.twitter.com/dQyd02cs7W

— Minnesota Men’s Hockey (@GopherHockey) February 20, 2021

The second period started slow with some shots taken on each side, but no impact was made on the scoresheet until the 12:29 mark to go as Sammy Walker made it 5-0 Golden Gophers. Matt Staudacher sent Brody Stevens into the boards and was slow to get up, and after a video review, there was no call against Staudacher. With 10:32 to go in the second, Christian Krygier was sent to the box for tripping, sending Minnesota to the first power-play of the game. With 5:16 remaining in the period, Gianluca Esteves tipped home a Stevens shot to make it 5-1 Minnesota. With 1:50 remaining in the second period, the Spartans went to the power-play for the first time as Ben Brinkman was whistled for tripping. The power-play was unsuccessful for Michigan State once again. Forty minutes in, the Golden Gophers had a 5-1 lead and were outshooting the Spartans, 20-16.

The third period of the game was somewhat slow for the first half, with the sides trading some opportunities, but the first real action came with just over ten minutes left in the period when Cole Krygier was sent to the box for hooking. Sammy Walker hit iron on the Minnesota man advantage, but they were not able to get the puck in the net. Minnesota came out of the game victorious, 5-1, outshooting Michigan State, 31-19.

The Michigan State Spartans are scheduled to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Friday and Saturday at Munn Ice Arena, the home of Spartan hockey.

SEF