Even with the return of fifth year forward Mitchell Lewandowski, Michigan State hockey could not snap its losing streak. The Spartans 2-1 loss at home to Notre Dame was the team's 11th straight.
Michigan State outshot the Irish 37-22, but senior goaltender Matthew Galajda had an excellent night between the pipes for the Irish, stifling nearly every MSU scoring chance.
It was a classic MSU-Notre Dame matchup — a low-scoring affair with great goaltending and not a lot of consistent offense.
After a relatively uneventful 15 minutes to kick off the game, a penalty on the Irish gave Michigan State a chance to break to the stalemate.
The one-man advantage got to work quickly, creating a handful of quality scoring chances through crisp passes and quick puck rotation. With roughly 10 seconds left in the power play, Lewandowski glided forward into the slot, drawing attention from the Irish defensemen. He slid the puck to a wide-open junior forward Erik Middendorf, who slapped a one-timer into a yawning net.
The Spartans finished the period strong, finishing with a few efficient shifts in the offensive zone. After 20 minutes, Michigan State led Notre dame by one, outshooting the Irish 13-7.
Just a few minutes into the second period, Notre Dame answered with a power play goal of its own. Freshman forward Hunter Strand sniped it from the right faceoff circle.
Notre Dame snagged its first lead of the game almost five minutes into the final period just after a tripping penalty on senior defenseman Dennis Cesana expired.
A few minutes after the Irish goal, a hooking call on Notre Dame gave the Spartans an opportunity to tie things up on the power play. MSU had some solid movement on the unit, but ultimately, they couldn't pull the trigger.
With just under four minutes left in the game, Notre Dame nearly scored a dagger of a goal with a tip-in at the front of the net. However, the officials waived it off due to high sticking and Michigan State remained within one. A scrum at the front of the net following the no-goal led to dueling penalties and a disqualification for each team Senior defenseman Cole Krygier was disqualified for MSU.
Michigan State had some push in the final minutes, tossing a few quality chances at the net. However, in their best performance in weeks, the Spartans could not ultimately overcome a tough Irish defense and a great goaltender.
With tonight's loss, Michigan State still has not won a game in 2022. With the end of the season just three games away, MSU will be keeping a close eye on seeding for the Big Ten tournament.
Michigan State and Notre Dame are set to rematch tomorrow night at 7. The game will be streamed via BTN+.
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