"Michigan Tech played a good game,” head coach Danton Cole said. “I thought we played alright, but we need to be better tomorrow."

After a slow start to the first period, junior defenseman Zach Osburn scored the first goal for the Spartans with five seconds remaining in their first power play of the night. The team would take the lead with only a few seconds remaining in the period after sophomore defenseman Logan Lambdin took a high stick to the face to gain their power play opportunity. 

At the start of the second period, Michigan Tech’s Alex Smith scored the first goal for the Huskies to tie the game against the Spartans. They would go on to score two more goals in the period to take the lead against the struggling Spartans.

Sophomore forward Patrick Khodorenko would redeem the team by decreasing the Huskies’ lead by one within the last minute of the period looking for a comeback in the game. 

The Huskies did not let the Spartans budge and went on to score two more goals to keep their lead throughout the game.

"I thought we played it pretty well, but couldn't find the back of the net,” Khodorenko said. 

The Spartans will play tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. against the Michigan Wolverines for third place at Little Caesars Arena. The third season matchup between the two teams will be televised on Fox Sports Detroit. The season series is currently tied at 1-1.

"A third place finish is better than a fourth place finish,” senior defenseman Carson Gatt said. “In my past four years here, we have only won one game in this tournament.”