Melee Breaks Out During No. 7 Michigan State's 7-1 Loss vs. No. 16 Michigan
Michigan State hockey is in the running for its first Big Ten regular season championship since 2001, but the Spartans ran into a road block on Friday night against their fiercest rivals.
In front of a packed house at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing, No. 7 Michigan State was hit in the mouth early and never recovered in a 7-1 defeat at the hands of No. 16 Michigan.
UM 7, MSU 1 | Final | 21 hours until the rematch. pic.twitter.com/W1GElySY1j
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) January 20, 2024
The Wolverines jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period, and went ahead by as many as six goals before the Spartans finally got on the board midway through the third period. Michigan State finally showed some fight — literally — in the third period, when a melee broke out between both teams immediately following the Spartans' only goal of the game.
MSU scores (to make it 6-1) and fights break out. pic.twitter.com/IbGbjRJWi5
— Graham Couch (@Graham_Couch) January 20, 2024
The loss drops Michigan State to 15-5-3 overall and 9-2-2 in Big Ten play, and the Spartans remain tied with No. 4 Wisconsin atop the conference standings. However, MSU has a mental gap to overcome against their in-state rivals, as Michigan has won 15 of the last 17 games in this series. The Spartans will get another shot at the Wolverines tonight at 7 p.m. in the second game of this weekend's double-header, this time in Ann Arbor.
For more coverage of Michigan State Athletics:
- Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @SpartanNationPodcast
- Follow us on Facebook: @SpartanNation
- Follow us on Twitter: @mlounsberry_SI | @a3danm | @Dylan3ngels
