However, a change in net by head coach Tom Anastos sparked new life into the green and white, leading to three-unanswered goals en route to a 4-3 comeback win on Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena that won’t be forgotten by the Spartans anytime soon.

“That’s a big one,” sophomore forward Michael Ferrantino said. “Anytime you beat Michigan it’s huge, and then anytime you beat them at home, it’s huge and then if you come from behind, it doesn’t get a whole lot better than that.”

MSU (10-17-7 overall, 4-8-6-4 Big Ten) used its best scoring performance since Dec. 1 and two periods of shutout goaltending from senior goaltender Will Yanakeff to earn a weekend series split against U-M (17-11-4, 9-7-2-1). With the win, MSU will finish the regular season series 2-3 against the Wolverines.

MSU trailed for most of the game, surrendering the first goal only 1:15 into the game, but was able to fight back and get within one goal heading into the final intermission after senior forward Lee Reimer tipped one in for MSU with four minutes left in the second period.

From there, the Spartans were able to puck the past U-M sophomore goaltender Steve Racine twice in a 1:13 span during the third period to take the lead, never looking back.

Ferrantino tied the game at 3-3 on a hustle play that Anastos said his staff preaches daily. Ferrantino crashed the net and was able to chip a rebound over Racine’s left shoulder to electrify the home crowd. The rebound came off a shot from sophomore defenseman John Draeger.

Freshman forward Mackenzie MacEachern would quickly strike again, wristing one low into the net and giving the Spartans the team's first lead of the weekend. Junior forward Brent Darnell was able to give MacEachern a backhand pass from the boards, creating the scoring opportunity.

From there, MSU was able to keep the pesky Wolverines out of the net, including a final 1:22 where the Wolverines had an extra skater.

Anastos elected to go with Yanakeff for the final two periods, pulling sophomore goaltender Jake Hildebrand for the second straight night. Yanakeff finished with 24 saves in 40 minutes of scoreless play.

Yanakeff was emotional after the final buzzer rang, crying following the win. For Yanakeff, the comeback win is special after entering the season with high expectations but not seeing as much playing time as expected.

“It was really emotional, I’m not going to lie,” Yanakeff said “It’s a great feeling. It’s been awhile since I felt like this and I got to say I’m really happy things worked out this way.”

Outside of Yanakeff’s strong play in net for the final two periods, Anastos credited the team’s efforts in blocking shots as a difference-maker from last night’s embarassing loss. MSU was able to block 14 more shots on Saturday, something the team has prided itself on all season.

“Yesterday, the most telling stat besides seven goals was that we had 10 blocked shots, that’s not this team,” Anastos said. “So you saw guys laying out, today you have 24, that’s our team. That’s a key characteristic for us.”

Yanakeff also pointed to a blocked shot by Reimer in the second period, where Yanakeff was out of position, as a game-changing play on the evening.

Senior forward Greg Wolfe had the first-period goal for MSU.

Senior forward Luke Moffatt, sophomore forward Cristoval Nieves and junior forward Phil Di Giuseppe had the three Wolverine goals during the first period.

Anastos said another key factor in the game was the success of special teams for MSU. The Spartan power play finished 1-1 on the night and the penalty kill unit was able to kill all four U-M power plays.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, with Ohio State failing to win Saturday against No. 1 Minnesota, MSU will play the Buckeyes in the first round of the Big Ten tournament on March 20 in the four-versus-five seed game.

MSU will return to the ice next weekend against No. 5 Wisconsin in its final regular season series. Friday’s game starts at 7 p.m. and Saturday’s game at 4 p.m. Saturday night will be senior night.