Michigan State goaltender Trey Augustine made a career-high 41 saves as the Spartans defeated UConn 2-1 in the men’s hockey NCAA Tournament regional semifinal on Friday in Worcester, Mass.

The Huskies, who were appearing in their second-ever NCAA Tournament, showed they belonged on the ice against the Spartans, a blue blood of college hockey that earned the top seed in the region. The No. 4 Huskies got off 42 shots, but Augustine was brilliant, turning away almost everything.

UConn (20-13-5), with three seconds remaining, had one final chance to score, but Jake Richard’s shot attempt from right in front of the goal missed.

Now, Michigan State (26-8-2) will attempt to advance out of the Worcester Region and into the Frozen Four at Las Vegas. The Spartans will play the winner of the game between Wisconsin (21-12-2) and Dartmouth on Saturday (23-7-4) to determine which team heads west.

This is the third consecutive Big Ten championship and third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Spartans. It is their 30th tournament overall. 

The Spartans have played in 11 Frozen Fours and won three national championships.

The Huskies had their chances against a Spartans team that has 15 drafted players on the roster.

UConn scored first with Tabir Heaslip tallying his seventh goal of the season at the 15:27 mark of the first period, with Joey Muldowney and Anthony Allain Samake assisting.

Ryker Lee evened the game at 1-1 at 18:56 of the period as he got the puck past UConn goalie Tyler Muszelik on a bang-bang play.

The game was one of missed opportunities for the Huskies, whose speed had the Spartans racing up and down the ice.

They couldn’t capitalize on the man advantage, finishing 0 of 5. Michigan State was 1 of 2.

UConn is the only school in the nation to see its men's and women's hockey teams, and men's and women's basketball teams, qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

The women's hockey team won its opening game in the tournament, 4-1 against Princeton, on March 12. But the Huskies lost 3-0 to Penn State in the regional final -- the game that would have sent UConn to the Frozen Four.

Wisconsin won the women's championship on March 22.

Both basketball teams will be in action Friday in the regional semifinals. No. 2 seed UConn men will tackle Michigan State -- yes, another Huskies vs. Spartans match -- in Washington, D.C., and the No. 1 overall seeded Huskies women will play No. 4 UConn in Fort Worth, Texas.

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