MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – It was a matchup of the year between two former CCHA teams who have not been brought together out on the ice since 2021 when Western Michigan took down Michigan State at the Great Lakes Invitational.
With the next team advancing to the second round of the tournament, the Spartans were able to pull off a 5-4 overtime victory over the Broncos at the Centene Community Ice Center to move on to the Sunday game. But it wasn’t without a couple bumps in the road, as well as being down 4-2 a whole third period of hockey left to play.
With just a minute to go in the third period, the Spartans tied up the game on a Karsen Dorwart goal, but it was a rip from senior forward Jeremy Davidson in the sudden-death overtime that gave the Spartans the victory.
“Karsen was one of the guys driving to the net and I had some time and space and just ripped it on net and it hit the guy’s (western defenseman Daniel Hilsendager) stick and went in,” Davidson said. “Thank God it did.”
“’Davy’ (Davidson) has been great,” MSU coach Adam Nightingale said. “He’s been through a lot, you know. He obviously started at UMass and then went back to juniors and then came in here. Really thankful for him to come in here and buy in.”
Both teams had some good looks in the first period, but WMU’s Matteo Costantini was the first of either team to have a look at the net and slip a puck past MSU netminder Trey Augustine on his glove side to put the Broncos up 1-0 early.
Between the two teams, the physicality was very high, as the well-oiled veteran team of the Broncos was quick to use that to their advantage, but MSU quickly crawled back into it to use their own push against them.
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“Up 4-2, we had lots of chances to make it 5-2,” WMU coach Pat Ferschweiler said. “And then overtime, that unfortunate bounce, they make a good play by going north, so give them credit for sure, and then we turn around and it’s in our own net, so not the way we’d like to lose a hockey game, but certainly proud of this team.”
The playoff style of hockey meant that the game would be what was thought to be a low scoring one to say the least and going 25 minutes with no goal on the board, the Spartans put a tie to the game after Daniel Russell took a pass up the ice from Patrick Geary and ripped a puck past Western goalie Cameron Rowe.
But the game proved to be nothing less than low scoring.
Michigan State started buzzing against just halfway through the second period when they finally took a lead on the Broncos, but it didn’t last long when a power play for Western Michigan came along and the Broncos scored on the man advantage, and then again just a minute later to take back a one-goal lead.
With WMU leading with a minute to go in the third period and Augustine pulled from the goal, the Spartans tied the game on Dorwart’s goal to send the game into overtime, where the Spartans pulled off their second overtime win in two weeks to keep their season moving along.
“Obviously it’s tough, probably the toughest loss I’ve ever had in my hockey career,” Western Michigan captain Luke Grainger said. “This program has meant the world to me and it just sucks, and that’s the way I leave here. Obviously, it’s really tough.”
The Spartans will face off against the winner of the game between North Dakota and Michigan on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. CDT at Centene Community Ice Center.
“Obviously really proud of our guys, that was a really special game for us, but it’s a quick turnaround,” Nightingale said. “Our goal was to come here and win the tournament, so our group has done a good job of being even keeled. All we’re asking for is best effort every day and then have the best attitude and be the best teammate.”
