It wasn’t your typical Michigan-Michigan State hockey game. 

At least, it wasn’t in the first thirty minutes of the game. With no goals on the board and no penalties awarded to either team, the scene looked very different compared to the last time these two clubs met. 

The last thirty minutes, however, looked eerily similar to the previous meeting with the Spartans. 

On Friday, No. 11 Michigan (14-10-3 overall, 7-8-2 Big Ten) succumbed to defensive troubles in the third period. In doing so, the Wolverines let the game slip through their fingers and allowed No. 9 Michigan State (19-7-3 overall, 13-4-2 Big Ten) to walk away with the 5-1 victory. 

“I think we just have to find a way to play 60 minutes hard,” senior defenseman Jacob Truscott said. “Every game matters. It’s gotta be 60 from here on out. We just didn’t do that tonight.”

The opening frame looked like an adjustment period for the Wolverines as the defense looked to find its footing. Turnovers behind the net and fumbles along the boards characterized Michigan’s difficulty connecting on defense early. 

By the second period, though, the Wolverines began to force turnovers of their own. Michigan generated several close-scoring opportunities, ringing pucks off the pipe and scoring just past the referee’s whistle. 

That’s when sophomore forward Gavin Brindley decided to call his own number halfway through the second period. 

Speeding down the right wing with a head of steam, Brindley toe-dragged the puck around the stick of the Michigan State defender. He then ripped the puck past goaltender Trey Augustine to secure the 1-0 lead and highlight-reel goal.  

“I didn’t even see it go in at first,” Brindley said. “(Sophomore forward Rutger McGroarty) started celebrating, so that was a big goal for us.” 

But before the cheering even stopped, the Spartans had an answer as Michigan State tied the game off a nifty backhanded goal. 

Heading into the third period, with the game knotted at one goal each, the win looked up for grabs. The Spartans made sure they were the team that took home the three points at the end of the night. 

In the final frame, Michigan State took advantage of a lackluster defensive performance by the Wolverines. The first two goals scored by the Spartans highlighted that best. 

In one instance to start the third period, Michigan struggled to communicate on defense. The disconnect enabled Michigan State forward Daniel Russell to sneak into the slot unmarked. 

And Russell made them pay for it. Fluttering the puck past the shoulder of the Wolverine netminder, the Spartans capitalized on the miscue to secure the 2-1 lead. 

It’s important to note that the game was still well within reach at this point in the game. The Wolverines still had 15 minutes left to respond and fight for the win. 

That’s why the second major defensive lapse of the period proved so costly. 

With eleven minutes to go, Michigan State forward Maxim Štrbák threw the puck at the net in a seemingly harmless play. The goal trickled past Barczewski to extend the Spartan lead. 

Slamming his stick on the ice, Barczewski’s frustrations were evident. The goal symbolized Michigan’s shortcomings on defense more broadly.

The Wolverines dug themselves into a two-goal hole, and they never recovered. The deflating sequence, later compounded by two empty-net goals, proved too much to overcome. 

“We did a lot of good things in the first two periods and then kind of got away from being physical,” Michigan coach Brandon Naurato said. “We got beat up the ice, didn’t get it in and it cost us.” 

The Wolverines strayed from the game plan in the third period, and it cost them. As a result, Michigan ended the game much like it did the last time the two teams met: 

With a set of Big Ten points stranded, and a single-period defensive collapse to blame.