Junior forward Bryan Lerg summed up the No. 4 Spartans' 4-1 loss at No. 5 Notre Dame on Friday night with just a few words.
"They out-hustled us, out-muscled us and they played with more energy," Lerg said.
Notre Dame had just won its ninth straight game and limited MSU's scoring chances with stingy defensive play and quality goaltending.
So how could the Spartans beat a Fighting Irish team that only had given up an average of 1.10 goals per game coming into the series?
By giving them a taste of their own medicine.
In Saturday night's series-closer at Munn Ice Arena, it was the Spartans (6-3-1 overall, 4-3-1 CCHA) who laid out all the hits, played near-perfect defense and controlled the play en route to a 2-0 win.
The victory secured the weekend split and gave Notre Dame (9-2-1, 4-1-1) its first conference loss of the season.
"Before the game, we identified that you can't be afraid to name a game 'a big game,'" MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "If we want to finish in the upper part, if we're legitimate as being one of the better teams, then we have to say, 'OK — this is a game you got to win.'"
After a scoreless first period, freshman defenseman Mike Ratchuk spotted Lerg at the side of the net for a tip-in power-play goal and the 1-0 lead.
"We were very, very good in the offensive zone — cycling the puck, getting pucks to the net," Lerg said.
Sophomore forward Tim Crowder doubled MSU's lead 1:18 into the third period when he beat Notre Dame goaltender David Brown on a shot from the top of the left circle.
"After the first two periods, we were talking in the locker room — 'We've got to get the puck to the net. One goal is not going to win this game — we've got to get the puck to the net,'" Lerg said. "That's what we did in the third."
Sophomore goaltender Jeff Lerg made 25 saves to earn his second shutout of the season and first star honors on the night.
Lerg's biggest save of the game came late in the third period when he robbed his friend and fellow Livonia native Eric Condra on a point-blank chance at the side of the net.
"You kind of got to create your own bounces," Jeff Lerg said. "(Saturday), we created our own bounces — we played well."
The only downside to Saturday's game was when Ethan Graham tangled with a Notre Dame forward in the first period and awkwardly fell to the ice before leaving the game. Comley said the senior defenseman hurt his knee on the play and may be out three to four weeks.
MSU returns to action Tuesday, kicking off a three-game road trip against Michigan.
