Spartan Goaltender Named GLI Tournament MVP and Big Ten First Star
The No. 1 Michigan State Spartans (15-2-1) are coming off an extremely impressive feat that was achieved earlier this week, defeating No. 4 Western Michigan in the Great Lakes Invitational Championship behind a sensation performance from their backup goaltender.
Sophomore netminder Luca Di Pasquo stepped up in a massive role over the past few games as he was carrying the load as the starting tender with sophomore Trey Augustine playing for Team USA in the World Juniors Ice Hockey Championships.
Di Pasquo was named the tournament MVP as he allowed just 1 goal in over 140 minutes, across two games within the GLI tournament. The Spartans went 2-0 with wins over Northern Michigan, 2-0, and defeated the Broncos by a score of 3-1. Di Pasquo could not have been more important for his team.
The Livonia, Michigan native has now allowed just two goals on 77 shots for a .975 save percentage. Di Pasquo also took home the Big Ten First Star Award after his performances over the past two games. Playing in just three games before the tournament, Di Pasquo rose to the challenge and executed.
It marks the Spartans' first GLI title since 2009. Coach Adam Nightingale spoke to the media following the championship win and spoke about Di Pasquo's talent, attitude and consistency in preparing for each game, no matter if he is the starter or backup. He is truly a team player.
"Every time we're going into a game, I always tell the guy whoever's starting, more times than not, it's Trey [Augustine]," Nightingale said. "I tell Luca, 'Trey's starting,' and just to give him a heads up, and there's never an attitude, there's never moping, there's never pouting, he just always looks at me, says 'coach, I'll be ready when you call my number.' I think that's a really good message for the rest of our group, right? You got to prepare for if your time comes, not when, and you don't know when it's going to come, but when it does, obviously he was ready for it. We know he's a great goalie, and [he] gives our guys a ton of confidence."
Michigan State will look forward to the first of a two-game set against the Wisconsin Badgers (9-10-1) at home on Thursday night. It has now won three straight and will look to continue its streak with Di Pasquo maintaining his position as the starting goalie for the best team in the nation.
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