“I thought we played a great game, full 60 last night, and kind of brought that into tonight as well,” senior forward Charlie Stramel said. “We were good at managing pucks at times and getting pucks to the net, you know, 40 shots both games, and just looking to continue to grow each weekend.”

Seven Spartans tallied points in the win, moving them to 19-5-0 overall and 10-4-0 in the Big Ten with 30 points. Their next series will be at Penn State on Friday, Jan. 30, and Saturday, Jan. 31. Saturday’s game will be played outdoors at Beaver Stadium.

Unlike yesterday, the game opened with both sides marking shots on goal in just the first 30 seconds. The Spartans killed off a power play early in the first period; however, the Gophers still struck first. 

After winning a faceoff in the defensive zone, Minnesota sent the puck down the ice, with MSU freshman forward Matt Lahey chasing after it. Lahey’s pass into the neutral zone was intercepted, allowing center Brody Lamb to fire a shot past junior goaltender Trey Augustine’s right shoulder for a 1-0 Minnesota lead. MSU does not often play from behind and is 17-2 when scoring first.

However, Augustine gave the Spartans an opportunity to respond, making multiple one-on-one stops throughout the first frame. 

MSU’s equalizer came from a 5-on-3 advantage. The Spartans remained patient on the attack, allowing Stramel to fire a hard shot from the slot, rebounded and buried by senior forward Daniel Russell to tie the game 1-1. 

“Give them (Minnesota) credit, they defended hard,” coach Adam Nightingale said. “I thought they were heavier on their sticks tonight than the night before. And we didn't win as many battles early, so I think that we got a little better at that throughout the game.”

The Spartans outshot the Gophers 17-13 in the first period, with several of their quality scoring opportunities being snuffed by goaltender Luca Di Pasquo. 

MSU extended its lead to 2-1 early in the second period with a one timer from senior defenseman and captain Matt Basgall, assisted by a pressured junior forward Tommi Männistö, from behind the net. 

Both sides raced up and down the sheet throughout the second period, MSU drawing several scoring opportunities both set up and in transition. The team got to its game in the second, Nightingale said. Despite a narrow 27-25 shot advantage and 2-1 lead entering the final intermission. 

The Spartans maintained their edge with pass disruptions, a successful penalty kill and a rock-solid performance from Augustine. The netminder finished the night with 29 saves for a .935 save percentage.

Männistö added insurance to MSU’s lead 3:16 into the final period. Junior defenseman Patrick Geary was set up in the slot and Männistö attacked, faking out Di Pasquo before sinking his ninth goal of the season for a 3-1 advantage. 

With significant time in the attack zone and aggressive checking, the Spartans outshot the Gophers 14-0 for nearly 11 minutes of the third period, Lamb ending the dry spell. 

“A lot of guys are mature, and our game's getting a lot more reliant and dependable,” Stramel said. “Up and down the lineup, we have a lot of strength in our depth, and just trying to lean on that every night.”

While MSU’s penalty kill was strong for the majority of the game, it finished 1-for-3 after winger Brodie Ziemer scored a power-play goal for a 3-2 score, keeping Minnesota in the game.

However, the Spartans’ Saturday night performance mirrored their effort on Friday, demonstrated by diving on the floor to win a puck and sticks that prevented passes before a transition could even develop.

“When we play on our toes, I think we got a chance to be a pretty good team,” Nightingale said. “I thought we saw that for good chunks of the game tonight.”

With regulation nearing an end, two Spartans missed long empty-net shots that would have iced the game, but Augustine secured the 3-2 win with vital saves in the final eight and four seconds of the game.

“Trey (Augustine) had to make some saves to keep us in that thing,” Nightingale said. “Late you give up a goal, it would have been pretty easy, a lot of emotion to fall apart. And I thought we really dug in and got the job done.”

The victory marks the Spartans' second consecutive sweep, including a road sweep against Wisconsin before the wins at Munn Ice Arena. Saturday’s game was “Star Wars” themed, featuring music from the films, Sparty with a lightsaber and a Millennium-Falcon tie worn by Nightingale. 

While the theme was planned at the start of the season, the tie was a tribute to Dan Sturges, MSU hockey’s director of hockey operations who died on Monday. Nightingale pointed out his tie after the game, adding that Sturges was fond of Star Wars.