Michigan State hockey rang in the new year with another comeback victory against a formidable Big Ten opponent in front of its home crowd Thursday night.
The No. 1-ranked MSU hockey program continued to play the blue-collar style it consistently preaches, coming back from a 3-1 deficit against the Wisconsin Badgers to take a 4-3 win, the team's first triumph in 2025.
“I thought we wanted things to be a little bit easy, and (Wisconsin's) a hard team to play against, but this ground has shown that they do a great job of making it about their next shift,” MSU head coach Adam Nightingale said postgame.
The Spartans were hot off of their first tournament championship at the Great Lakes Invitational since 2009, defeating Northern Michigan in a 2-0 shutout and No. 4 Western Michigan in the championship game, 3-1.
During the last series meeting between MSU and Wisconsin, the Spartans earned a split, losing in a 4-0 shutout on night one in Madison and earning a comeback 4-3 overtime victory on night two.
With MSU sophomore goalie Trey Augustine and sophomore defenseman Maxim Strbak participating in the International Ice Hockey Federation World Juniors Tournament, sophomore backup goaltender Luca Di Pasquo was in the net for his third consecutive start and his first career starting nod in the Big Ten on Thursday.
The Spartans were quick to bring speed and physicality to the first period, shutting down the Badgers within seconds of puck drop.
MSU initially showed dominance on all sides of the ice, shutting down Wisconsin quickly and using defensive power to its advantage, limiting the Badgers to just a single shot on goal for the first half of the first period.
MSU's forward lines showed their collective strength as junior forward Tiernan Shoudy lit the lamp first, rebounding a loose puck in front of Wisconsin's net.
But the Badgers wouldn’t leave the first period without a fight, jumping ahead to lead 11-10 in shots on goal by the end of the period and putting a goal on the board after knocking in a loose puck that Di Pasquo thought he smothered.
The first half of the second period turned into all Badger ice until a second-half spark from the Spartans.
With two power plays in just three minutes for the red and white, Wisconsin capitalized, taking a 2-1 lead. It wasn't long before Sawyer Scholl tagged on the Badgers' third goal of the night to give them a two-goal edge, the most dangerous lead to maintain in hockey.
This proved to be true as MSU showed a spark of momentum with five minutes and change remaining in the period: junior forward Karsen Dorwart ripped the puck into the top corner on Tommy Scarfone’s glove side for a needed score.
The Badger lead didn't last long into the third period.
Just 57 seconds into the final frame, the Spartans hit the equalizer. Junior forward Isaac Howard found the back of the net from the left circle, continuing to build off the momentum from Dorwart's goal. With the opportunities generated from MSU in the third, including key faceoff wins in the Spartans' offensive zone, junior forward Charlie Stramel and Howard helped MSU take the lead and cap off the victory.
A no-look, behind-the-back pass from Howard landed on the stick of a wide-open Stramel, who punched it into the back of the net.
“You can play really good hockey and lose a hockey game,” Nightingale said. “Just making sure our guys understand that, we’re not into stealing games, we’re not into not playing our best, that’s what it’s always about.”
Playing from behind
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Though the Spartans had a one-goal lead in the first period, the struggling Badgers played to their potential to leap ahead on the scoreboard. Surging from behind in the back half of a game to steal a win doesn't happen often, Nightingale said.
MSU's comeback victory wouldn’t have been without the help of Howard and Stramel, who each earned a goal and an assist.
“I think we’ve been playing really well together, keeping it simple, using our speed, getting pucks on net, getting pucks back, doing all the basic things and it’s been leading to some success,” Howard said.
This MSU team has the ability to excel when behind, leaving little doubt on the bench, Howard said following his two-point night.
“No panic on the bench, I think it is honestly exciting when we’re down like that,” Howard said. “We know we can come back. It’ll be a little uphill battle but it’s a long game. I love that we have that ability to just dig in, play our way, play our game and come out on top at the end.”
With the first win of the series in their back pockets and another comeback win on the season, the Spartans will head to Chicago to round out their series against the Badgers in a rare outdoor game at Wrigley Field on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 8 p.m.
