The program is now 5-2 in the postseason under the helm of head coach Adam Nightingale.

"I thought we did a lot of really good stuff, but a ton of respect for Notre Dame," Nightingale said. "You look at what they did to go on the road and beat a really good Minnesota team and then come in here and give us a heck of a game."

After a bye week filled with rest and preparation, MSU faced No. 7 seed Notre Dame, which had just upset Minnesota on the road. With goaltender Owen Say in net following a stellar series against Minnesota, Notre Dame posed a formidable challenge as playoff hockey returned to Munn Ice Arena.

Notre Dame’s top scorer, Cole Knuble, returned to the lineup for his third meeting against MSU, having missed the previous series in November.

For MSU, sophomore goaltender Trey Augustine — college hockey’s youngest starter — held his spot between the pipes. After allowing only four goals in the final weekend of conference play against the Irish in South Bend, the sophomore earned his spot back between the pipes for the first one-and-done game of the tournament. 

MSU set the tone early, opening with its high-energy line of sophomore forward Tommi Männistö, junior forward Tiernan Shoudy, and senior forward Tanner Kelly.

This physical, aggressive line wasn’t afraid to throw bodies and dictate play. With Männistö and his speed and Kelly and Shoudy with their pesky play, the three combined for 6-of-17 shots on goal in the first 20 minutes alone.

MSU dominated the first period, executing crisp passes, creating clean breakaways, capitalizing on rebounds and blocking shots to limit Notre Dame’s chances.

Even after allowing 17 shots on goal, the UND defense was quick to show out and loudly at that. The Fighting Irish completed the period with three blocked shots and were quick to get in-front of MSU forwards and protect their junior goaltender. But Owen Say needed no protection, coming off of a dominant series over the Gophers, he was the backbone of the Irish defense. 

MSU controlled the second period, holding Notre Dame to just five shots on goal.

The MSU defense controlled the ice and the offense helped just as much, putting 19 shots on goal. But the storied Say continued to cause problems for the Spartans, holding on to every puck, making great blocker saves and throwing himself from coast-to-coast to prevent MSU from taking a lead.

Both teams played with an insatiable hunger, especially the Spartans who had all but two players on the ice on the shot count. Two of those players being junior forwards Joey Larson and Karsen Dorwart, who finished the second with nine combined shots on goal and a mission to take into the final period of game play.

The Spartans made sure to set the tone in the final period, and quickly.

With 32 seconds left on a power play to open the third period, Hobey Baker candidate Isaac Howard delivered. The junior forward buried his 24th goal of the season and 100th career point — what would ultimately be the game-winner.

A pass from Dorwart through the offensive zone would land on the point leader's stick and he was able to snipe the puck into the net for a 1-0 lead. And that one goal lead would be all the Spartans needed at the end of the game to take the win.

"Obviously when you look at the score, there wasn’t a ton of events, but I think the quality of the play was really good," Nightingale said. "...I think staying with it was the message for our guys after the game."

MSU now advances to the Big Ten Championship, where it will host the winner of Penn State vs. Ohio State on Saturday, March 22.