Spartans battle adversity, with freshmen stepping up and veteran scorers delivering to secure a dominant victory.
The Michigan State hockey team finally returned from its long winter nap Friday night, squaring off against Ferris State in game one of the Great Lakes Invitational at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Spartans took the ice for the first time since December 6, when they split a home-and-home series with No. 1 Michigan, winning game two in Ann Arbor.
Michigan State did so without three of its star players. Ryker Lee and Shane Vansaghi are representing Team USA, while Porter Martone is captaining Team Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship. With those three away, the rest of the Spartan roster was tasked with keeping the season on track—and they delivered.
1st Period
With three regular contributors missing, new opportunities opened for players still waiting their turn. One of those players was freshman Cole Burke.
Burke, a Trenton, Michigan native and former captain of the NAHL’s Fairbanks Ice Dogs, suited up for the Spartans for the first time—and wasted no time making an impact. He fired his first collegiate shot straight into the back of the net for Michigan State’s opening goal of the night and the first goal of his college career. The bench erupted as the puck crossed the line—pure cinema.
Less than a minute later, Anthony Romani added his sixth goal of the season, tying Ryker Lee for fourth on the team in scoring. Romani intercepted a Ferris State pass at center ice, flew down the wing, and skated parallel to the goal line as the Bulldogs’ goaltender dove out of position. Showing tremendous patience, Romani held the puck and slid it just inside the post into an empty net.
Michigan State carried a 2–0 lead into the first intermission.
2nd Period
The Spartans wasted no time extending their lead. Just 35 seconds into the second period, a beautiful feed from Daniel Russell led to an easy tip-in for Charlie Stramel, making it 3–0.
Four minutes later, Tiernan Shoudy sent a puck out from behind the net to the middle of the ice, finding a trailing Tommi Männistö. Männistö buried the chance for his seventh goal of the season—third most on the team—giving Michigan State a commanding 4–0 lead.
Ferris State’s Carter Rapalje beat Trey Augustine late in the period to get the Bulldogs on the scoreboard, sending the teams to the locker room with Michigan State ahead 4–1.
3rd Period
Both teams added a goal in the final frame. Ferris State’s Josh Zary cut the lead to two with a power-play goal just over three minutes into the period.
However, Charlie Stramel responded only minutes later, scoring his second goal of the game and eighth of the season on a power-play laser. The goal moved Stramel into sole possession of second place on the team in goals, passing Männistö.
Overview
Despite missing three of their top players, No. 3 Michigan State took care of business against a scrappy Ferris State squad. Daniel Russell and Anthony Romani led the Spartans with four shots apiece. Cayden Lindstrom spent plenty of time in the penalty box, taking three penalties to lead the team. Trey Augustine stopped 19 of 21 shots as Michigan State secured the victory.
The Spartans will be back in action Monday, December 29, against Michigan Tech at 7:00 p.m. EST, with the Great Lakes Invitational title on the line. The Huskies are coming off a 5–2 win over Miami (OH). The game will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus (B1G+).