MADISON, Wis. – Michigan State defeated Wisconsin 5-2 on Friday night behind graduate student Reid Rebster's game-tying goal in the third period and freshman Trey Augustin's 44-save performance. and won the program's first Big Ten title. And they won the conference title for the first time in 23 years.
“I'm proud of our players. We've played some really good teams with this group,” MSU coach Adam Nightingale said. “When we talk about regular-season championships, we want to keep playing hockey, but working night in and day out in a conference is something that will last a lifetime for these guys.”
After Revster's goal with 7:10 left put MSU up 3-2, fourth-year forward Jeremy Davidson and sophomore forward Tiernan Shordy added goals through the air to seal the victory.
As the final horn sounded, MSU's bench quickly mopped up Augustin behind the net, which he had guarded all night. Augustin's save on a breakout chance by the Badgers with 11 minutes remaining kept the game even, and MSU took the lead four minutes later.
“That sense of urgency and the idea that all we needed was one game, one period. We had 20 minutes and we were able to get it done,” Davidson said. “We've had some great accomplishments, but there's still a lot of time left in the season and a lot of work to do.”
MSU has officially clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and will receive a bye as it awaits its semifinal opponent next week at Mann Ice Arena.
MSU plays Wisconsin again on Saturday night with puck drop at 9pm ET.
We'll show you everything that happened with live updates.
Badgers attack early
19:13 – Junior defenseman Daniel Raasch whistles a point shot through traffic in front of MSU goaltender Trey Augustin, giving the Badgers a 1-0 lead just 47 seconds into the game. Ta.
Levshunov ties the score due to McClellan's mistake.
14:32 – MSU settles down for the first five minutes after allowing an early goal, until freshman defenseman Artyom Levshunov gains a zone and takes a shot, hitting the glove of Wisconsin goaltender Kyle McClellan. It hit me directly.
It was a mistake typical of McClellan, who boasts a save percentage of .932 and a goals-against average of 1.90.
First chance with man advantage for both sides
11:11 – Wisconsin defenseman Anthony Koehler trips MSU forward Tomi Manisto, leading to the first power play of the game.
With six seconds left on the power play, MSU forward Joey Larson commits a hooking minor, giving the Badgers a power play as well.
Penalty kills have a huge impact on both sides.
13:11 – MSU defenseman Maxime Stback and Wisconsin forward Simon Tassey exchanged some heavy blows in front of MSU's net, but neither team was able to capitalize on the power play.
Wisconsin outscored the Spartans 12-4 in the first period.
MSU takes the lead early and late.
1:49 – Two Wisconsin players collide in the middle of the ice, graduate student Reed Rebster picks up the spilled puck, and the Spartans break 2-on-1.
The Revster handed off a pass to senior forward Jeremy Davidson, who fired a one-time shot past McClellan to give MSU a 2-1 lead late in the first period.
Shaudi to the box of sin
19:20 – Sophomore forward Tiernan Shordy cross-checks Wisconsin forward Charlie Stramell in the Badgers' offensive zone, leading to a power play opportunity that could carry over to the start of the second period.
Spartans lead 2-1 after the first period.
After allowing a goal on the first shot of the game, Augustin continued to lead MSU with 18 saves, including a big save on Wisconsin's power play opportunity.
“In the first period, we were kind of chasing a little bit,” Augustin said. “I mean, there's not much more you could ask for to get us out of there. I just did my job there to give the boys confidence.”
MSU took advantage of two of Wisconsin's turnovers in the first period and had seven shots on net.
In the second period, MSU had 1:21 left on a Shordy cross-check penalty.
MSU goals: Levshunov (9), Larson (16). Shordy (9) at 5:28. 18:11 Revster (11) to Davidson (9).
Second period underway
3:10 – MSU and Wisconsin are back on the ice in a battle for the middle spot, and the Spartans are able to get back to full strength by killing time in the minors from Shordy.
Moments later, MSU forward Isaac had a great chance, but his shot went wide.
Mr. Stobach punished with large check
10:29 – Strabach takes a big hit on Wisconsin forward Mathieu de Saint Phalle along the boards in the neutral zone.
After a lengthy review, Strbach was handed a significant penalty for boarding despite no foul play during the match. Wisconsin went on a 5-minute power play.
Badger levels up
12:33 – Having suffered the brunt of Strubak's serious penalty, Saint Phalle gets revenge when defenseman Ben Dexheimer fires a point shot past Augustin, tying the game at 2-2.
MSU would have less than three minutes left in the kill on a significant penalty for Strbak's boarding.
Spartan limits damage to one
15:57 – Strbak's penalty is completed and Saint Phalle's equalizing goal is the only damage.Augustin makes 4 saves on man advantage and Spartans are back to full strength.
Everything is connected through the two
MSU and Wisconsin would enter the final 20 minutes tied at 2-2 thanks to St. Phall's tying power-play goal.
MSU trailed the Badgers 34-14 through two periods, but trailed 33-18 in the faceoff circle.
3rd period underway
2:27 – MSU and Wisconsin are back on the ice, both looking to break the stalemate in the final frame. MSU freshman forward Gavin O'Connell nearly makes it on a 2-on-1 rush, but McClellan makes the save.
Big opportunity for Spartans
5:25 – After the whistle, Wisconsin's Sawyer Scholl heads into the box and hits MSU's Tanner Kelly. The Spartans went to the man advantage to try to take the lead.
Badger returns to full power for 20 seconds
8:07 – MSU gets a few shots off McClellan, but their most threatening chance is thwarted as the Badgers are able to finish off Scholl Miner.
But a few seconds later, Koehler made a slashing minor and MSU returned to the power play. Augustine made a big break save on Tassie midway through the power play to keep the score tied.
Revster takes the lead over MSU
12:50 – The Revster jumps on a loose puck, gains the offensive zone, finds the back of the net, then slides a shot between McClellan's legs, putting MSU just over seven minutes away from the Big Ten regular season title.
Spartans are slowly approaching
18:00 – MSU is two minutes away from beating Wisconsin in regulation. Augustin made 44 saves, and Wisconsin used a timeout to bring in McClellan as an extra attacker.
Sky netter seals the deal
Davidson scored his second empty-net goal of the night with just under two minutes left, and Shordy added one with 30 seconds left to put the Spartans out of the game.
Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @Nathaniel_Bott.
