Despite spurts of opportunities, the Spartans were outworked in a 5-1 loss to Ohio State on home ice. After the game, MSU head coach Adam Nightingale said it was one of the toughest games of his tenure.

“I give Ohio State credit,” Nightingale said. “They were the better hockey team. They beat us in all facets there tonight, for sure. And we got to be sharper… I thought we had a decent stretch in a second. But, you know, some of the O-zone penalties were not moving our feet, and we can't do that.”

MSU was outshot 39-23 and surrendered two power-play goals. Ohio State had eight power-play opportunities throughout the game, preventing Spartan momentum from building.

The Spartans remain at 45 points in the Big Ten with a record of 15-6-0 and 24-7-0 overall. They will close out the series Saturday, Feb. 28 at 8 p.m. 

MSU is still in a solid position to clinch the Big Ten regular season title. No. 2 Michigan finished conference play with 49 points after splitting its series with Minnesota this week. Both MSU and No. 5 Penn State have three games left, but MSU holds a five-point edge over the Nittany Lions.

While the game was an uncharacteristic effort from MSU, the situations provide learning opportunities. The Spartans have proven they can respond — in close contests, third periods and overtimes. But this game was the largest the team has ever trailed by this season. Its takeaways can help the Spartans grow as single-elimination playoffs approach. 

“I think in games like that too, is you gotta try to stop the bleeding a little bit, right? You're not gonna score them all in one shift,” Nightingale said. “I thought we started to do that in the second and we ended up taking a penalty… We've talked about this a lot, and unfortunately, we've had to talk about it because we haven't been in this situation, and now we're in that situation and we got to learn from it.”

A Quick Deficit

While both sides had scoring opportunities the game remained scoreless for nearly 12 minutes. Freshman center Eric Nilson missed a pass while cutting through the slot, but a hooking penalty was called and MSU went to the power play.

Freshman forward Porter Martone hit the pipe on the unit’s first shot, but Ohio State cleared the puck and MSU quickly took a penalty, resulting in four-on-four play.

Defenseman Bryce Ingles took the first shot out of the face off and scored his first collegiate goal for a 1-0 Buckeye lead. 

Center Jake Karabela made it 2-0 off a rebound in front of a crowded net and center Max Montes added another with a rebound goal of his own following an Ohio State rush.

Junior goaltender Trey Augustine stopped a two-on-one situation to keep the deficit at three, but MSU was outshot 13-7 and trailed entering first intermission. 

The only other time MSU trailed by three goals this season came in its 3-0 shutout loss to Michigan on Dec. 5, 2025.

Chances to Respond

Augustine set the tone for the second period early with a swift glove save 58 seconds in. 

MSU found itself on the power play again and set up good offense — hard shots, players positioned for tip-ins and screens on Ohio State goaltender Kristoffer Eberly. 

But the Buckeyes’ defense was solid and killed off the penalty. The Spartans’ momentum continued after the power play as they attacked and hounded rebounds, but the score held.

Augustine stopped dangerous breakaway and power-play chances, but the Buckeyes capitalized with the man advantage again. Montes wove through the defense before putting one into the right corner of the net for a 4-0 advantage.

“I thought they were more competitive. They were hungrier, more detailed than we were,” Nightingale said. “In all facets, they were sharper.”

The Spartans lacked the detail, speed and forecheck they normally showcase, missing passes and puck-watching. Ohio State was the hungrier team, Nightingale said. 

“[Ohio State is] very detailed in the D-zone, and they don't give up a lot off the rush,” Basgall said. “They always got three guys back. They played really well in transition and buried on their chances.”

Lone Goal

MSU’s singular response started with a defensive effort. 

Ohio State continued to break into the attack zone, but junior winger Gavin O’Connell stopped a dangerous rush with a dive to the ice, just as other Spartans had attempted earlier. 

Junior defenseman Patrick Geary gained possession after the sequence and sent it ahead to freshman winger Anthony Romani.

Romani deked out Eberly from the right slot and banked in a shot for a 4-1 score, giving the Spartans life. MSU had a couple scoring chances after Romani’s goal, but mostly played defense, killing off another Ohio State power play in the final minutes of the second period. 

The Spartans came closest to outshooting the Buckeyes in the second period, trailing just 12-11.

The Final Period

While the Spartans generated attacks, they did not connect on passes that could have led to additional chances.

Karabela scored his second goal of the night on a deflected shot to extend Ohio State’s lead to 5-1 less than three minutes into the final period. 

MSU didn’t convert on a power play and each time they connected on passes the Buckeyes blocked a shot or forced a disruption. 

Freshman winger Ryker Lee had one of the Spartans’ best shots on goal in the period. It hit the top of the pipe and may have crossed, but the referee signaled no goal. While Augustine made saves to limit the damage and allow for a comeback, the Buckeyes blocked shots each time the Spartans got a good look.

Up four goals with 4:10 left in the game, Ohio State pulled its goaltender for an extra skater. 

The result was a five-on-three Buckeye power play after freshman forward Porter Martone and senior forward Charlie Stramel took penalties battling for the puck.

The Spartans were forced to play damage control rather than attempt a comeback. Right after they killed off that power play, senior center Tiernan Shoudy was sent to the box and Geary followed shortly after. 

Augustine made saves in the final moments to keep the final score 5-1. He finished the night with 34 saves. Nightingale said he never considered pulling Augustine from the game. 

After the final horn, Nightingale stayed on the ice to talk with the referees.  

“I had no issue with the call, Nightingale said. “I just think my job is to coach our players, so I don't want the ref talking to our guys. His job’s to ref and my job’s to coach.” 

The Spartans lineup also looked slightly different than their most recent games.

Freshman forward Austin Baker replaced freshman center Cayden Lindstrom on the third line. Lindstrom served a game suspension after receiving a game misconduct penalty against Notre Dame last weekend, his third of the season. He will have to sit out one game for every additional game misconduct he receives this season.