“In the first I thought we did a lot of good stuff,” coach Adam Nightingale said. “We kind of played to our identity and I thought in the second, they pushed and obviously scored on the power play, and it's a tight game going into the third. And I thought we showed some poise.”

While the lines looked different with freshman forward Cayden Lindstrom out with a lower-body injury, the Spartans’ depth still created scoring opportunities.

MSU led the offensive charge from the puck drop, leading 9-2 in shots on goal just five minutes into the game. However, defense sparked the scoring.  

Nearly 12 minutes in, sophomore defenseman Colin Ralph fought off an Irish skater in the defensive zone, finding freshman forward Porter Martone to send the puck in the opposite direction. 

The first line skated in unison, the puck traveling from Martone to senior forward Daniel Russell within the neutral zone. Russell passed to senior forward Charlie Stramel slicing up the middle, before Stramel veered left. Stramel dished it to a cutting Martone, who buried the shot to put MSU up 1-0. Junior net minder Trey Augustine recorded 10 saves in the first to maintain the 1-0 edge. 

The Spartans extended their lead 6:05 into the second — with the man advantage team. 

A two-minute penalty on the Irish gave the Green and White a powerplay, allowing them to set up in their attack zone. MSU passed around until Martone banked a shot off the top of the net, right over the head of goaltender Nicholas Kempf to give the Spartans a 2-0 lead.

Five minutes later another Notre Dame penalty gave MSU an advantage and Martone was aiming for a hat trick, firing off a missed shot. Martone finished the night with two goals off six shots (2-0–2). 

The Irish returned to full strength unscathed, and the physicality continued with Martone fighting for position, losing balance and knocking the net on top of Kempf to prompt a media timeout.

Later that period freshman forward Ryker Lee had a chance to extend the lead with a breakaway, but the shot was wide. 

The second line sought a chance to convert as junior forward Gavin O’Connell connected with sophomore forward Shane Vansaghi from behind the net. Vansaghi jammed the shot into Kempf, trying to push it in but the play was called dead — and Vansaghi was shoved from behind. Vansaghi was then sent to the box on a two-minute penalty for slashing.

MSU’s penalty kill team started solid, sending the puck into the Spartans’ attack zone and getting fresh troops onto the ice. Augustine made a diving save to stop forward Cole Knuble’s shot, but defenseman Paul Fischer netted one past the goaltender just a minute later, trimming the lead to 2-1. 

Notre Dame showed some forecheck early into the final period and Fischer looked like he was going to repeat for the Irish, but his shot nailed the pipe instead of the net. 

Eight minutes into the final frame the Spartans converted on a won face off, with junior defenseman Maxim Štrbák sinking the shot off a pass from Stramel — earning his first goal of the season to increase the lead, 3-1. 

Halfway through the third MSU brought out the special teams again, firing off seven shots on goal and others off-target. Lee shot three of his own trying to bank it in, but Sparty couldn’t convert. 

"We got some pretty good opportunities and did a good job of getting to the inside a little bit," Nightingale said. "I think we're looking for it to look cute. And there's a time and a place for that, but we got to look to play direct."

In the final stretch Augustine performed crucial saves, including one off defenseman Henry Nelson that led to Lee scoring an empty-netter. Augustine recorded 24 saves for the 4-1 victory and Lee’s goal paved the way for another game highlight — the arrival of senior goaltender Dolan Gilbert. 

Throughout the night Gilbert remained on the bench, watching the game and a whiteboard at times. With 54 seconds left on the clock Gilbert entered his first game for MSU, after walking on in 2024.  

“We talked about before the weekend, if we could find a way to get him in there,” Nightingale said. “He does a lot of stuff for our guys, but he stays out every day, taking one-timers. He's out there with mock power play, playing all these different things, and he's great in the classroom. That wasn't a hand me out. He definitely earned it.”