The Spartans generated chances in a tightly-contested first period, but couldn’t find the back of the net before the Wolverines got rolling late in the loss.

“I thought for 40 minutes, it was pretty good,” MSU head coach Rick Comley said. “We played really well in the first and had our chances to score. If you can, maybe it changes the whole mood of the game.”

U-M forward Carl Hagelin led the Wolverines with the first two goals of the night, and continued to be a thorn in the side of the Spartans as he’s been all season.

Hagelin had a goal and an assist in Friday’s game, and two goals in the Dec. 11 Big Chill, which U-M won 5-0.

He scored from the far corner 5:50 into the second period to give U-M the lead, then put the Wolverines in control when his shot from the point beat MSU junior goaltender Drew Palmisano 5:14 into the third, and he totaled five shots.

Forward A.J. Treais added a tally on a 5-on-3 for U-M with 4:40 remaining, and defenseman Mac Bennett added the final goal with 2:11 left.

Although Saturday’s game contained less of the chippiness that characterized Friday’s game, the Spartans were whistled for two roughing the goaltender penalties that set up Treais’ 5-on-3 opportunity.

Like Friday, the Spartans matched the Wolverines’ intensity in the first period, generating pressure in the first 10 minutes of the game and finishing the period with 10 shots to the Wolverines’ 12.

However, a great early effort by Hunwick, who shut the Spartans out for the second time this season, kept the Spartans off the board, and they closed the game being outshot, 40-28.

Palmisano similarly shut down the Wolverines early in the game, as his 36-save effort kept the Spartans alive for much of the match.

“He made some outstanding saves,” senior forward Dustin Gazley said. “That gave us a little boost there, but we didn’t do the little things to get the win.”

Palmisano made a nice save on U-M forward Chris Brown on a break eight minutes into the second period to keep the score 1-0, and also stopped a flurry by U-M minutes later.

Through two periods, the Spartans trailed by a goal and had recorded only three fewer shots on goal, but the Wolverines capitalized on four MSU penalties during a sloppy final period to secure victory.

“Even the start of the third, we really brought it to them, but we just had a couple untimely penalties, and that really killed us,” junior forward Trevor Nill said. “We’re two very good teams, and it showed in the first two periods.”

Sophomore forward Dean Chelios and his brother, freshman defenseman Jake Chelios, each had four shots to lead the Spartans.

The Spartans (8-11-3, 4-9-1 CCHA) will try to take whatever positives they can from Friday’s 4-3 overtime win at Munn Ice Arena, and try to put Saturday’s loss behind them as they prepare for two road games at Lake Superior State next weekend.

The Wolverines (13-6-4, 10-4-1 CCHA), took a 2-1 series lead on the Spartans this season before their final regular season match on Jan. 29 at Joe Louis Arena.

“We just got to keep fighting the battle,” Comley said. “The hard thing is just continuing to work and trying to get on that board early.”