Survive and advance. That is the name of the game in the NCAA Tournament and the Spartans epitomized that statement on Thursday afternoon. In a dog fight of a game against UConn, the Spartans outlasted the Huskies, 2-1 to move onto the regional final.
After falling behind 1-0, Ryker Lee got the party started for the Spartans, with a power play goal that may go down as the goal of the tournament. The game winning goal from the Spartans came by way of Porter Martone, who scored on a gorgeous one-timer pass from Tiernan Shoudy in the second period.
A scoreless third period ensued, and the Spartans punched their ticket to face the winner of Dartmouth and Wisconsin on Saturday.
It was a masterclass performance from Trey Augustine, who showed a lot of haters that he has postseason stones, saving 41-of-42 UConn shots in the game. The Huskies outshot the Spartans, 42-22. The Spartans did however make their money in the faceoff circle, winning in the dot 35-25.
The Spartans now await their next opponent, who they will play for a berth in the Frozen Four, which would be the Spartans first since 2007.
Click here to read the full game update
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on X @Rex_Linzy
This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Spartans survive UConn, advance to regional final
Reporting by Cory Linsner, Spartans Wire / Spartans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
