No. 1 Michigan State downs Notre Dame on 1986 National Championship throwback jersey night

EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State had the No. 1 ranking next to its name for the first time since November heading into Thursday night’s game against Notre Dame and responded with a 4-2 win over Notre Dame, but not without some difficulties. Michigan State showed a bit of rust, coming off of an idle weekend. The Spartans were outshot by the Fighting Irish 39-31 and Notre Dame controlled the puck for stretches throughout the game. Charlie Stramel had a goal (19) and an assist for the Spartans. Trey Augustine made a season-high 37 saves before a sellout crowd of 6,555 at Munn Ice Arena. “I give Notre Dame credit, I thought they were the better team,” Michigan State Head Coach Adam Nightingale said. “I said that to our guys when we played them earlier in the year, you look at their team, their coaching staff does a great job and I think they’re a Top 20, Top 15 team all day long.” (MORE inside SpartanMag. Join SpartanMag: $1 to get started, and enjoy a complimentary year of The Athletic included with your membership. Get Deal Now! 👉 https://www.on3.com/teams/michigan-state-spartans/join/)