MSU enters the historic tournament knowing the team will need to win it all to receive an invitation to the NCAA Tournament. MSU is the fifth seed in the tournament and will face fourth-seeded Ohio State in the first round.
All four games between the two teams during the regular season came down to the third period, with three games going to a shootout. The Buckeyes hold the advantage in the season series with a 1-0-1-3 record against MSU, but the Spartans led during the third period in all four games this year.
Head coach Tom Anastos has considered the series between the two conference foes very competitive, and expects another close contest on Thursday.
“I think the matchup is really close,” Anastos said. “If you go back to preseason, people were kind of predicting us to end right around where we did, maybe (the) opposite way, (and) we’re within a game of each other and all of our games have been close.”
One of the areas that could become a game-changer on Thursday is special teams. Ohio State boasts a top 10-ranked power play nationally, but has been struggling on the penalty kill, which is a good sign for MSU.
The Spartans have been strong on the power play as of late, scoring power play goals in each of their last four games — something they hadn’t done all year until recently. Senior forward Greg Wolfe said the latest success of the power play could bode well for his Spartans.
“Special teams are going to be the deciding factor,” Wolfe said. “Having success on the power play is great for us, obviously. It’s been an area that’s been tough for us this year, but I think we’ve been a lot more patient recently on the power play than before, so that’s a big role in it.”
The Buckeyes also enter Thursday’s game needing a win to continue their season. Ohio State head coach Steve Rohlik said he is looking forward to the single-elimination tournament because it provides teams like his squad and MSU the opportunity to make a run at earning the automatic bid.
The winner of the game will move on to face regular season champion No. 1 Minnesota in the semifinals the following night. Although Anastos said the team is preparing for the potential semifinal matchup with the top-ranked Golden Gophers, his Spartans are solely focused on the first task at hand.
“It’s a one-game season for us right now,” Anastos said.
