But just like the rest of the season, it was not enough to compensate for a lack of scoring elsewhere and ultimately — it was not enough to pull off a win. 

For flashes of the game, the Spartans illustrated a hearty amount of resilience. Nearly halfway through the second period, a game misconduct penalty gave MSU five minutes on the power play. Down 2-0, it was a golden opportunity to start clawing back. 

The first couple minutes of the man advantage was an abject disaster. Michigan scored not one, but two shorthanded goals in the span of fewer than two minutes. Up 4-0, it seemed as though the Wolverines were simply continuing the previous night’s blowout. But the Spartans answered back, netting a pair of goals in the final three minutes of the power play to chop the deficit back down to two.

“I liked some of the pushback,” Michigan State Head Coach Danton Cole said. “Give up two shorties, and then come back and get two.”

Michigan State has had moments of resiliency throughout the season. The best example came in Big Rapids back in November. Down 3-0, MSU managed a thrilling comeback, securing a 4-3 win in regulation.

However, another team trait reared its head in Detroit: inconsistency.

With five minutes left in the second, Michigan scored its fifth goal of the night to stretch the lead three. Again, MSU responded—this time, less than a minute later. Despite the Wolverines holding a comfortable lead for a good stretch, the Spartans just kept sticking around.

Then, the wheels fell off. With just over a minute left in the second, junior forward Nick Granowicz scored the Wolverines' sixth goal of the night, giving the Spartans a three-goal deficit heading into intermission. MSU barely put up a fight in the third, notching just one shot on goal.

After keeping the game within reach for a spell, inconsistency came back to bite and ultimately sealed a resounding win for Michigan.

Offensive defensemen, a bit of grit and a heartbreaking loss. In front of a rowdy crowd at Little Caesars Arena, Michigan State stayed true to the faults and strengths that have plagued the team since the start of the season.

The end of the season is right around the corner with just four games left on the schedule but the Spartans are running out of runway to land the season on a high note. The losses have piled up. After an 11-8-1 start to the year, things have fallen apart completely as the Spartans have yet to win a game in 2022. Just like the 'Duel in the D', those moments of promise and determination have been overshadowed by the bad.

The only thing the team can do is stick together.

“We'll stick with it —there's no other option,” Cole said. “We'll stick together, we'll keep working.”