“A good response by our group,” Head Coach Adam Nightingale said. “I thought we broke (the puck) out better today, for sure. And I thought we were able to possess the puck in the offensive zone. And, you know, I thought our guys, that's a good, good quality to have to be able to respond and show that growth. And we know we got to keep improving, but that's what practice is for.”

Senior forward Tiernan Shoudy broke his stick within the first minute of the second period, illustrating the aggressiveness of the night’s matchup. 

New Hampshire came out swinging with loud shots in the second from defenseman Conner de Haro and forward Morgan Winters – both snuffed by Spartan junior netminder Trey Augustine. 

Winters looked like he was going to have a breakaway but sophomore defenseman Owen West showed physicality to hold Winters in front of the MSU student section and prevent him from getting a shot off.

As done the previous night, the Wildcats swarmed the corners. However, freshman forward Porter Martone managed to escape the crowd, finding senior forward Charlie Stramel.

Immediately, the first liner dished it to Spartan captain senior defenseman Matt Basgall, who sunk the shot to put Michigan State ahead, 1-0, in the fourteenth minute of the second stanza. 

Freshman forward Ryker Lee wanted some of the action and looked like he would give the green and white another goal running down the right side, but was stopped by Wildcat goaltender Kyle Chauvette. 

Michigan State took its 1-0 lead into the third period and capitalized with a similar lineup. Just two minutes in, Martone found junior defenseman Patrick Geary from behind the net – who sent the puck in to put the Spartans up 2-0. 

The physicality continued to ramp up throughout the third, with three penalties including a five minute major on Wildcat defenseman Conn Reid. Stramel was also sent to the box for two minutes, just seconds after. 

Although Michigan State was unable to capitalize on its power play, the Spartans remained offensive threats until the very end of the game, when the Wildcats were forced to have an empty net. 

New Hampshire’s shot count was half that of the previous night as Augustine recorded 13 saves to give Michigan State the 2-0 shutout victory. 

Martone spoke about the consistency of the team’s performance after the game, adding that it showed in the third period – when the Spartans were in the Wildcats’ zone for the majority of the stretch. 

Nightingale attributed some of the previous game’s struggles to the team’s youth and the adjustment that college hockey is. Although the third line of freshman didn’t score for the Spartans, it showed sparks of what could be, especially in the fourteenth minute of the first – with six shots in the possession and three being on goal. 

“Hockey's a tough sport,” Nightingale said. “Sometimes you can do the right things and knock every word on the scoreboard right. So we want to try to do it, you know, repeatable. And again, we're not perfect. We're not there yet. We still have a lot of room to grow, but it was a good step.”

The Spartans will gear up for a road trip against their next opponent, No. 3 Boston University on Friday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. ET and Saturday, Oct. 18, at 7 p.m. ET.