The No. 2 Michigan State men’s hockey team and its All-American goalie Trey Augustine held on for a 3-2 victory over the Gophers on Saturday, Jan. 24, in East Lansing, Mich.
The Gophers (8-16-1, 4-10 Big Ten) have lost seven games in a row and were swept for a third consecutive weekend by a top-10 team. It was the 15th time in 26 games the Gophers had been limited to two or fewer goals.
The Spartans (18-5, 10-4), who won the series opener 3-1, led 3-1 early in the third period before the Gophers got within a goal with 7:24 remaining after Brodie Ziemer scored on a power play. The Gophers, who were outshot 14-0 in the first 10 minutes of the third period, had two shots on goal in the final eight seconds but couldn’t get the equalizer past Augustine.
Augustine, a junior who was a first-team All-American and Big Ten Goalie of the Year last season, had 29 saves and stopped 54 of 57 shots in the series. He went into the weekend second in the nation with a 1.75 goals-against average and .937 save percentage.
“Our guys fought their tails off,” Gophers coach Bob Motzko told KTLK radio after the game. “Both goalies were great. We put it off the pipe right there trying to tie it at the end.”
Brody Lamb gave the Gophers a 1-0 lead with an assist from L.J. Mooney with 13:04 left in the first period. The Spartans answered with Daniel Russell’s power-play goal with 7:42 left in the first period to tie it.
Matt Basgall broke the tie 2:44 into the second period to put Michigan State up 2-1, and Tommi Mannisto extended the lead to 3-1 only 3:12 into the third period.
The Gophers didn’t get their first shot on goal in the third period until there was 9:03 remaining. They went on a power play 30 seconds later, and midway through the man advantage, Ziemer scored his team-high 15th goal of the season. Nine have come on the power play.
