The weekend started out promising with a dominating victory on Friday but the Saturday close loss and upcoming schedule puts the Spartans in big hole to win the conference. State trails the conference leader
by 8 points which isn’t an impossible task, but it definitely narrows the margin of error significantly.
Friday’s game was a fun one! The Spartans had three goals in a matter of 23 seconds. An absolutely beautiful move by Romani to start things off left Buckeye goaltender Eberly with his jaw dropped. Martone and Stramel connected on the other two goals in the 23 second onslaught. Martone connected again late first period to give the Spartans a 4-0 end of the first lead. It also ended the night for Eberly as OSU went with Hillebrandt for the remainder of the game. OSU scored one in the second and another in the third. Stramel got his second of the night.
Spartans had their fair share of penalties again but did a decent job on the kill. The hot 23 seconds was the big difference make though. A four goal deficit after one is a tough comeback and the Spartans were able to close it out.
Saturday’s game was a very different story. MSU was out shot and manhandled on face-offs. The first period was all defense as neither team found a rhythm. OSU jumped out early in the second. After a post shot by Strbak, Lahey forced a turnover in the Buckeye zone and found Martone for his fifth point of the weekend. OSU snuck behind the defense and beat Augustine in a one on one. MSU managed 5 shots on goal with the extra skater but couldn’t come up with the equalizer.
MSU has been outshot this season but this one felt much more lopsided than the 35-27 difference. MSU is used to getting nearly 50 shots per game and the Buckeyes defense did a fantastic job of blocking lanes and preventing any momentum form developing. It’s been an odd season for MSU as it can feel so dominant and so talented and then lay some odd games out there. It’s impossible to win them all but some of their losses have been against teams they should take care of. MSU seems dependent on a hot start. If they can’t get something going in the first, it has spelt trouble. I’m not sure what the answer is in those moments because there are a lot of dependable players on this team. Hopefully, this is a trend that is corrected soon. Again, it really boils down to getting hot at the right time.
Things don’t get easier as MSU heads to Wisconsin for a Thursday/Friday battle against the number 3 ranked Badgers. Wisconsin swept MSU earlier this season and a return of that favor would be a nice start to gaining that momentum needed to push through the season. Let’s hope Martone and Stramel stay hot and pass on some of that magic. I’d like to see Lee and Romani with a bit more ice time too. What do you think Spartan Nation, is the conference three peat still an option or does it feel out of reach? Let me know your thoughts in the comments. Game thread will be out Thursday for the Badger series. Go Green!
