By Neil Koepke
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Three weeks after winning the Big Ten regular season championship, No. 5 Michigan State on Saturday added another piece of hardware to its trophy case.
The Spartans and archrival Michigan hooked up in a highly entertaining shootout that wasn’t decided until 13:47 into overtime, as MSU outlasted the 10th-ranked Wolverines 5-4 in the Big Ten title game in front of a sellout crowd of 6,555 at Munn Arena.
Freshman defenseman Patrick Geary’s shot from the left point beat Michigan goalie Jake Barczewski over his left shoulder, setting off a wild celebration that hasn’t been seen in Munn Arena in several years.
The playoff title was Michigan State’s first since 2005-06 when the Spartans captured the CCHA championship at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
Geary said when he took a pass from teammate Reed Lebster at the left point, right next to the MSU bench, Spartan backup goalie Jon Mohr, on the bench, yelled “shoot.”
“He knew I had a lane open and he told me to shoot it,” Geary said. “I just put my head down [and] shot.”
Somehow, the puck went past a maze of players in front and ended a classic championship game that featured great scoring opportunities, quick goals, a reviewed goal, and clutch saves by MSU goalie Trey Augustine and UM’s Barczewski.
Augustine, the Big Ten tournament Most Valuable Player, made 33 saves while Barczewski stopped 30 shots.
Hang it in the Louvre.
Patrick Geary cements his spot in Spartan hockey lore.
His OT game-winner makes MSU just the third regular-season and tournament champion in the same season in B1G history. #GoGreen pic.twitter.com/8x39jzNNpd
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 24, 2024
“You talk about rivalry games and we have a ton of respect for Michigan. I thought they were really good in the first period and we had to find our legs,’’ MSU coach Adam Nightingale said. “In the second period, I thought it was pretty even. I really liked us in the third and in overtime.
“I think a big factor in that was our crowd. They really energized our team down the stretch.”
Michigan’s Frank Nazar, 58 seconds into the game, and MSU’s Tanner Kelly traded goals in the first period.
Daniel Russell gave the Spartans a 2-1 lead at 10:48 of the second period, but U-M scored twice in 2 minutes and 46 seconds to go up 3-2 on goals by Dylan Duke and defenseman Marshall Warren.
Then the Spartans went on a run, scoring two goals in 1:19. Jeremy Davidson tied it at 18:41 and defenseman Matt Basgall scored with 0.7 second left with a perfect shot from the right point to lift his team into a 4-3 lead.
Nazar scored his second goal 2:54 into the third period to tie once again. The rest of the period belonged to the goaltenders as Barczewski made 14 saves and Augustine made five.
Michigan State this season is now 4-1 against Michigan, winning four straight after the Wolverines won the first meeting 7-1 at Munn Arena in January. The last time MSU won four games against UM was in 1997-98.
“(Michigan State) deserves credit for what they’ve done this season. Two good teams and a great atmosphere tonight,’’ Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said. “The last 10 games we’ve played, I thought we played some good hockey.
“You’re never going to be perfect. But it’s a good team and they got the best of us tonight.”
Next up for Michigan State and Michigan are berths in the NCAA Tournament Regionals, which begin Thursday and Friday.
For the Spartans, it’s their first visit to the NCAAs since 2011-12. Michigan has reached the Frozen Four in each of the last two years.
The Big Ten All-Tournament Team
Goalie, Trey Augustine, MSU (MVP)
Defense: Seamus Casey, Michigan
Nash Nienhaus, MSU
Forward: Rutger McGroarty, Michigan
Forward: Gavin Brindley, Michigan
Forward: Daniel Russell, MSU
