After a seven-year absence from the Frozen Four, the Spartans returned to college hockey's main event in 1999. But the road to the Frozen Four, which took place in Anaheim, Calif., was not an easy one.

After earning a first-round bye in the NCAA Tournament, MSU met Colorado College in the Madison, Wisc., regional game.

Down 3-2 with time running out, things weren't looking good for the Spartans.

"I remember I was on the bench and I was working the defense, and with about four minutes to go, I'm looking at the clock and I'm saying 'OK, now who are we going to have ready to go here when we pull the goalie?'" said MSU assistant coach Tom Newton, who was an assistant at the time under then-coach Ron Mason.

At 18:20 of the third period, MSU defenseman Andrew Hutchinson scored to tie the game at three.

"So I went, 'Oh, great, we're going to get this to overtime, and we'll get a rest and then we're going to get it,'" Newton said.

Although overtime loomed, it never occurred. Thirty-two seconds after Hutchinson scored to tie the game, forward Adam Hall scored to put the Spartans up, 4-3, and secure a trip to the Frozen Four.

"If you had asked me, 'Talk about one game that you've coached at Michigan State,' that's the game I'd talk about," Newton said.

"That was a great hockey game."

The Spartans wound up falling to New Hampshire, 5-3, in the Frozen Four, partially because of an unfortunate start.

"Real early in the game … (MSU forward Mike York) set (forward Bryan Adams) up on the side of the net," Newton said. "Bryan Adams missed, basically, an open net."

"If we would have got out on the right start — that would have been key."