Martone's hat trick fuels an offensive explosion. Spartans dominate Notre Dame 8-2 in a chippy, physical season sweep.
The Spartans put a capper on the season series with the Fighting Irish. Two teams that don’t like each other left it all on the ice in their final matchup of the year. Porter Martone notched his first hat trick of his college career, and the Spartans erupted for an overabundance of goals, finishing with an emphatic 8-2 win.
It was a chippy game right from the drop. There was no love lost between these squads, and the lingering effects from last night’s epic, hard-fought battle were front and center. Extra-curricular activities needed no encouragement—Spartans were flipped into the bench, game misconducts were handed out, and fights broke out just 30 seconds in.
Porter Martone kicked things off with an early goal for Michigan State, scoring just over one minute into the game. He won the faceoff, Daniel Russell nudged the puck to Matt Basgall, who got it back to Martone at the top of the circle. Martone rifled a shot that somehow found its way through a Spartan screener and past the goalie—the puck turned into flubber and magically reappeared in the back of the net.
But like déjà vu from the night before, the Fighting Irish refused to let a goal go unanswered. After a cross-check from Charlie Stramel, Notre Dame earned a power play, and you could tell they had something cooking. They moved the puck like they were fighting for gold, and Mastrodomenico, Michael, scored his fifth goal of the season on a precise shot to tie it at 1-1.
The first period was a shots fest, with Michigan State winning the battle 14-10, but the game remained tied at 1-1.
The Spartans started making a habit of scoring around the first minute of periods. They struck again inside the opening minute of the second, as Ryker Lee netted his tenth goal of the season. He calmly skated into the zone, cocked, and unloaded a missile into the back of the net for a 2-1 Spartan lead.
Just a couple minutes later, Erik Nilson appeared to score his fourth of the season, cleaning up a rebound from Shane Vansaghi. But upon review, the refs waved it off due to a game misconduct on Cayden Lindstrom for targeting the head. Not only did the goal come off the board, but Notre Dame got a five-minute power play to boot. At one point it turned into a 5-on-3, yet one man stood on his head: the anchor of the Spartans’ ship, Trey Augustine. Doing his best Dominik Hasek impression, Augustine turned away shot after shot as Notre Dame briefly took the lead in shots but still trailed by one.
Porter Martone continued his excellence, scoring his second of the game (and 19th of the season) with a one-handed backhander—just like the night before. There’s a reason he was a top-six draft pick; it was his sixth goal against the Irish this season. An unassisted, man’s goal. A penalty was called, but Martone said, “We’re good on the power play,” and shoved the puck past the goalie to make it 3-1 as Munn Ice Arena erupted into “Go Green, Go White” chants.
The Spartans fought off the Irish comeback mentality—last time a goal was removed from the scorecard, but this time they struck quick again, and it stayed. Tommi Männistö scored a shorthanded goal (unassisted, his 11th of the season), streaking down the ice like Usain Bolt on the track and burying it for a 4-1 lead.
Goals were a dime a dozen tonight, coming faster than an average Joe can type. Still on the power play, the Fighting Irish cut into the three-goal lead just seconds later, slipping one past Augustine to make it 4-2.
The Spartans answered right back and kept the onslaught going. Owen West got in on the fun with his fourth of the season, firing a wrister from the blue line through a ton of traffic. The flubbery puck deformed and squeezed into the smallest nook and cranny for a 5-2 lead. That’s how the second period ended, with Michigan State ahead in shots 30-22.
Special teams were huge. Of the seven goals in the first two periods, only one came at even strength: Michigan State had three power-play goals and one shorthanded, while both Notre Dame tallies were on the power play.
The third period featured plenty of back-and-forth play, highlighted by the goalies—until 7:45 remained, when Martone finally accomplished the feat. Hats rained down like a supercell as he completed his first career collegiate hat trick to push the Spartans up 6-2.
We knew the teams didn’t like each other, and after Martone’s hat trick, the Fighting Irish came undone. The Spartans looked more like a pro team running warm-up drills on an under-16 squad. Griffin Jurecki scored his second of the season to make it 7-2, and just 20 seconds later, Ryker Lee added his second of the game (and 11th of the season) for an 8-2 final. Lee caught an uncalled cross-check in the back, forcing him into the net as the game’s feistiness continued to flare.
That’s how it finished: a series sweep delivered with old-school fight and an exclamation point. Porter Martone ended the four-game season series against Notre Dame with seven total goals, proving every reason why the Flyers drafted him sixth overall. The Spartans improve to 24-6 (15-5 in the Big Ten) and keep marching toward their third straight Big Ten championship and beyond.