No. 1 Michigan State Wins GLI Championship, Bests No. 4 Western Michigan 3-1
No. 1 Michigan State capped off 2024 with a statement.
The Spartans defeated No. 4 Western Michigan, 3-1, to win the Great Lakes Invitational Championship at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids on Monday.
"That's a tough team to play against," said Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale. "Well-coached, disciplined, and that's a good one to have in our back pocket down the stretch here that we know we can play different styles of games and still be a good hockey team."
Michigan State was led by another tremendous performance from sophomore goalie Luca Di Pasquo, who had filled in for Trey Augustine in the two-game tournament. A night after shutting out Northern Michigan, Di Pasquo made 29 saves, a new season-high.
The Broncos drew first blood as freshman forward Zach Nehring scored a power-play goal to give Western Michigan an early 1-0 advantage nearly eight minutes into the opening period. That was the only power-play goal of the contest; there were four power plays in total -- two for each team.
Michigan State immediately answered, though, as junior forward Tiernan Shoudy scored to even the contest again. That was just his third goal of the season.
The game remained tied up until early in the third period when junior forward Joey Larson scored the go-ahead goal nearly 4 minutes into the period. The Spartans held the one-goal edge for just over 11 minutes.
Larson's goal extended his total to six on the year, the third-most on the team. He finished the game with 2 points, as he also assisted on the third goal.
It wasn't until late that Spartan junior forward Isaac Howard sent one between the pipes to give Michigan State a comfortable two-goal lead.
That marked Howard's 11th goal of the season, as he continues to lead the team in total goals.
Michigan State would hold on for the win, and in doing so, secured its first Great Lakes Invitational title since 2009.
The Spartans improve to 15-2-1 on the season and are well-positioned going into its two meetings with Wisconsin. Michigan State will host the Badgers on Thursday before the two teams face off in The Frozen Confines at Wrigley Field on Saturday.
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