Coach Adam Nightingale has frequently called the team enthusiastic and passionate. It is an asset that pushes them to play hard, but also must be harnessed.

“You can lose control of that at times, and it can boil over,” Nightingale said. “There was a little sequence there where we maybe went over the edge, and I don't think we're a good team if we don't get right to the edge.”

On paper, UConn looked like the better team. It outshot MSU 42-22, and Nightingale said the Huskies were the stronger opponent.

“We showed a lot of resilience,” said senior defenseman and captain Matt Basgall, adding that it was hectic because of UConn’s aggressive performance as the lower seed. “The underdogs really have nothing to lose. They come off flying. They're throwing the body around, chucking pucks all over the net. I think our guys did a good job of responding, staying steady.”

Augustine kept the Spartans in the game, stopping 41 shots — his most in a game all season. He found a way to stop shots when MSU broke down, and his teammates played well in front of him and during rebound opportunities.

The team regrouped during breaks from play, both Basgall and Nightingale said. MSU’s best hockey came in the third period, even though it didn’t score. It played with poise to win the game, which is easier said than done for a team with 11 freshmen in their first NCAA Tournament.

“I thought UConn for the first part of that game was a better hockey team,” Nightingale said. “The third, that's something to draw from… We've been in a lot of close games this year, and we found a way to put them away. And this was another example of just staying with it. But I would say it's less of adjustments, it's more mentality.”

The Spartans have competed in close contests, but this one had the highest stakes. The team was energetic from the start and saw early penalties from freshmen centers Cayden Lindstrom and Eric Nilson.

“[Lindstrom’s] a big, strong guy, and he needs to play physical,” Nightingale said. “On Nilson’s penalty, we probably had a soft play, breaking the puck out, and so Nilson’s in a tough spot. He takes a tripping penalty. So, (an) obvious thing to work on and clean up, but I also think we got to be right on the edge if we're gonna be a good hockey team.” 

Forward Tabor Heaslip scored UConn’s goal shortly after Nilson’s penalty was killed off. The Huskies had generated several chances prior and came at Augustine in a rush.

Lindstrom took another penalty after UConn’s goal, but the Spartans didn’t crack. They responded with another successful kill. 

Executing on opportunities — both offensive and defensive — is important in the NCAA Tournament, Nightingale said Sunday. That was highlighted by the Spartans’ two goals.

The first came from freshman winger Ryker Lee, who crafted one on a power-play opportunity to tie the game. The second came from freshman winger Porter Martone, who read a turnover and scored on a dish from senior center Tiernan Shoudy.

“Me and [Shoudy], just pressure, hard up the ice,” Martone said. “The [defense] coughed it up there. And I fed it back to [Shoudy], and he made it really easy on me. He put her into my wheelhouse. And froze the goalie pretty well. That was nice to see that go in and get the lead there.”

Taking penalties isn’t a recipe for success in the NCAA Tournament, Nightingale said. The team knows that and will need to improve in the next round. But the game also proved MSU can handle the adversity of playing shorthanded, and UConn’s competitiveness forced it to elevate its play.

“You're not winning the game after the whistles,” Nightingale said. “The brand that we want to play takes an extreme amount of focus to execute at the level that we need to execute to be a good hockey team. I thought the second half of the game, we were way better at that, and that's part of growing as a team. I know it's a tournament and it's the end of the year, but we try to look at every opportunity to keep growing. And I thought our guys grew today.”