After sporting a 3-0 lead early in the third period, No. 20 Michigan battled back and brought the score to 3-2, but MSU held on late to earn a 3-2 victory at Munn Ice Arena.

The Spartans have won all three games against their in-state archrivals this season.

As expected, the game was extremely physical and several scrums in the third period gave the Wolverines a slew of opportunities on the power play, which they capitalized on twice. U-M was 2-for-10 on the power play, while MSU was 2-for-9.

With 31 seconds remaining in the regulation, it appeared the Wolverines had tied the score at 3-3. The puck snuck through the legs of sophomore goaltender Drew Palmisano and the light went on. But the first referee on scene immediately whistled no goal.

The game was a split-second away from notched up. Yes, it was a wild third period.

“We like to make it interesting for you guys,” said junior forward Corey Tropp, who recorded two goals. “But we just have to be a little smarter in the third period and not get ourselves in situations that aren’t necessary.”

The first period was all MSU. The Spartans sprang three 3-on-1 odd-man rushes and where flying all over the ice.

Tropp recorded his first goal since Dec. 29 at 15:16 of the first period on the power play. Tropp slid a backhander through traffic into the net to give MSU a 1-0 lead.

“It’s nice getting the monkey off my back,” Tropp said of his seven-game scoring drought. “It’s always nice to get the goals to help the team. And obviously there’s no better team to score against than Michigan.”

At 17:21 of the second period, junior forward Andrew Rowe tacked netted his 12th goal of the season on a 2-on-1.

Then things started to get chippy.

At 2:04, freshman defenseman Torey Krug was involved in a scrum with U-M forward David Wohlberg. After the whistle, the two exchanged several shoves and jawed all the way to the penalty box, where both served delay of game penalties.

“It was good to see the younger guys get physical, especially Krug at the start of the third,” sophomore goaltender Drew Palmisano said, who made 22 saves. “It got the crowd back into it and that was a big part for us tonight.”

Less than a minute after the matching minors, Tropp tallied his second goal of the night – again on the power play – at 2:51 of the third period. The Spartans’ leading goal scorer (19) took a quick shot, gathered his own rebound and fired the puck into the net from a sharp angle.

Emotions continued to run high between the two rivals as the game wore on.

The penalty box became a crowded hangout at 3:18 of the final frame. A huge scrum after the whistle resulted in six penalties being called. MSU freshman defenseman Matt Grassi was issued a five-minute facemasking penalty and sophomore forward Daultan Leveille was called for holding, forcing the Spartans to play 5-on-3 for a full two minutes, then attempt to kill a five-minute major.

Six penalties were issued after the scrum.

“If that scrum doesn’t happen, I think (Palmisano) gets a shutout,” Comley said. “They had a chance to get back in the game, and they did that.”

The Wolverines tacked on a quick power-play goal with the 5-on-3 advantage at 3:50 of the third period.

Both teams continued to take penalties in the final frame and U-M made it a one-goal game with 3:20 remaining.

But it seemed the Spartans put the game out of reach moments later.

Rowe charged the net and banged home a rebound. The lamp lit and the referee signaled a goal. But when the officiating crew gathered to talk about the play, they deemed it no goal – and gave Rowe a penalty for checking from behind.

The Wolverines continued to press hard in the waning moments of the game, but MSU was able to hold on and preserve the win.

“That third period was a great period to play in,” senior forward and co-captain Nick Sucharski said. “Those are the games you live for, games with the intensity like that, they test your character and they test who you are as a team. It was great to come out on top with a ‘W’ tonight.”

The two teams meet for the final time in the regular season Saturday at 7:35 p.m. at Joe Louis Arena.

Although MSU head coach Ric, Comley was happy with the end result, he said the Spartans need to play more disciplined late in the game.

“The thing you still see with us is that we crack,” Comley said. “We didn’t break, but you take a game you have complete control of and instead of playing with your head, you start to get wrapped up in the physical part of it. The crowd loves it but it leveled the game.”