Michigan State ended its nine-game winless streak against the Gophers on Saturday night, rallying to beat Minnesota 4-2 in the second game of their Big Ten series before an announced crowd of 8,353 at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
The Spartans lost 7-2 on Friday and fell behind 2-0 in the middle of the second period in the rematch.
Tyler Sheehy, the senior captain for the Gophers (4-6-1, 2-2 Big Ten), scored both those goals on power plays, giving him four goals for the weekend and five for the season.
But Sheehy didn't score again. Neither did any other Gopher. And the Spartans' 0-8-1 slide against Minnesota came to an end.
Michigan State (5-7, 1-3) tied the score by scoring twice in the last two minutes of the second. Taro Hirose and Patrik Khodorenko got the goals at 18:03 and 19:14, and each had an assist on the other's goal.
Brody Stevens got the game-winner for the Spartans at 7:24 of the third, with Hirose getting the lone assist. Tommy Apap, a little over two minutes later, made it 4-2 Michigan State.
Drew DeRidder, who was pulled in Friday's game after giving up two goals on the game's first two shots, started the second game as well. He finished with 23 saves but only faced three shots in the opening period, when neither team scored.
Eric Schierhorn made 18 saves for the Gophers, who have scored one goal five times this season and now two once.
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