'No sense whining about' 4-3 OT loss; Michigan State eyes rematch in Detroit

vansaghi Michigan State — Rugged winger Shane Vansaghi scored his third goal of the season, Friday. | Photo courtesy of @MSU_Hockey

ANN ARBOR, Mich. - In the first-ever No. 1 vs No. 2 meeting between Michigan State and Michigan in hockey, the Spartans accepted a heartbreaking, 4-3, overtime loss, but will carry motivation to try to get even on Saturday in Detroit. Michigan’s Jayden Perron scored during a four-on-three power play, 3:10 into overtime to lift the Wolverines to a 4-3 victory before 5,800 at Michigan’s hockey arena. Michigan State squandered leads of 1-0 and 3-1 in dropping a bitter defeat. “Tough finish but I thought it was a great hockey game,” said Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale. Charlie Stramel (his 17th of the season), Shane Vansaghi (3rd) and defenseman Owen West (3rd) scored goals for the Spartans. The teams will play again at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday in the annual Duel in the D game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit (BTN). TURNING POINT: PENALTY IN OT A tripping penalty called against Michigan State second-line center Eric Nilson turned the usual three-on-three overtime session into a four-on-three power play for the Wolverines. (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/)