MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. — ‘Little brother’ had all but lost its meaning.

The Michigan hockey team was riding a four-game losing streak against its biggest rival. Highlighted by a Big Ten Championship victory just last weekend, Michigan State had taken thorough control of the rivalry. The Wolverines couldn’t claim the Spartans as their ‘little brother’ anymore. In fact, Michigan State could’ve made a case to turn the moniker on its head.

But on Sunday, with everything on the line, Michigan brought its meaning back.

Behind another late-game surge, the third-seeded Wolverines (23-14-3 overall, 12-11-2 Big Ten) got their revenge over the top-seeded Spartans (25-10-3, 16-7-3) in the NCAA Regional Final. With the 5-2 win, Michigan ended Michigan State’s season and earned its third straight Frozen Four berth.

“We came into this game with the mentality to just win a game, not for personal battles or to get involved in all that extracurriculars after the whistles,” junior forward Dylan Duke said. “We came to win a hockey game, and we did that tonight.”

Although it wasn’t part of the game plan, getting involved in extracurriculars was almost inevitable in a matchup like this. Tensions ran high from start to finish, with 10 total penalties levied throughout the night.

The Spartans were the first to capitalize, cashing in on an early power-play opportunity and jumping out to a 1-0 lead. The Wolverines created a number of quality chances in hopes of responding, but their shots either skidded wide or were turned away by Michigan State goaltender Trey Augustine.

Midway through the second period, though, Michigan broke through and scored an equalizer. Spurred by quick passes on the rush, junior defenseman Ethan Edwards found space to shoot and made the most of it, sniping one past Augustine to knot the score at 1-1.

Throughout the rest of the second — and especially on the penalty kill — graduate goaltender Jake Barczewski heated up in net. He turned away a number of good looks from the Spartans, preserving the tie as the Wolverines slowed down on offense.

So it all came down to the final period. Twenty more minutes with everything up for grabs. A ticket to the Frozen Four was at the forefront, but for the Wolverines, revenge and name-calling rights were in the back of their minds.

And in a dominant final stretch, Michigan earned it all.

“If you watched our team early in the year, we had a couple of rough third periods,” Duke said. “We talked about learning from them for moments like this. We learned all year … and it showed the past few nights.”

About six minutes into the third frame, graduate defenseman Marshall Warren fired a one-timer from the doorstep and found the back of the net, giving the Wolverines a one-goal advantage. It didn’t last long, as the Spartans stormed back with another power-play goal. But after Michigan State pushed, Michigan shoved.

Just a few minutes after the Spartans tied it back up at 2-2, junior forward Dylan Duke took matters into his own hands. Duke charged to the net, eluding three Michigan State defensemen before stuffing the puck behind Augustine.

The Wolverines barely had time to celebrate that go-ahead goal before scoring another. Picking up a cinematic between-the-legs pass from sophomore forward Frank Nazar III, sophomore forward Gavin Brindley put Michigan up 4-2, just 12 seconds after Duke’s score.

“It’s huge,” Brindley told The Michigan Daily. “I think any shift after a goal is big with the momentum. So anytime you’re on the ice after a goal, you try to keep that momentum. That was a big goal for sure.”

Michigan State took another penalty in the waning minutes, giving the Wolverines their fifth power-play opportunity — and this time, they capitalized. Duke scored his second of the game, and Michigan iced the victory with just under two minutes left.

“We got that big goal at the end,” Nazar said. “Yeah, we gave up two on the PK but we were able to score that one on the power play at the end and shut the game down.”

Even without one of their most important players in sophomore defenseman Seamus Casey — who was sidelined after an apparent injury in Friday’s game — the Wolverines rode their third-period momentum to the final buzzer. They locked down on defense, with Barczewski standing tall behind them, and kept their season alive and well.

The Spartans might hold a 4-2 record over Michigan this season, but the Wolverines showed out when it mattered most, with their season on the line. 

Above all else, Sunday’s victory earned Michigan another trip to the Frozen Four. But perhaps as an added bonus, the Wolverines punched that ticket by way of ending their biggest rival’s season — and with it, they finally brought meaning back to the ‘little brother’ label.