Locked in a drawn-out battle to secure home ice for next month's Big Ten Tournament, the 13th-ranked University of Michigan ice hockey team to a 2-1 win over No. 2 Michigan State on Friday night (Feb. 7) following a last-minute goal from sophomore Garrett Schifsky at Munn Ice Arena.
With the victory, U-M (16-11-2, 10-8-1 Big Ten) added three conference points and provided a boon to its standing in the Pairwise rankings.
Freshman goaltender Cameron Korpi started in net for Michigan for the second game in a row and racked up 38 saves on the 39 shots that he faced.
The top-ranked power-play unit in the Big Ten was activated for the Wolverines at 6:22 when the Spartans took the first penalty of the night. After 1:24 of power-play time, Will Horcoff was whistled for interference while standing on the blue line in anticipation of his linemates entering the zone to even things up for 36 seconds before MSU would be granted its first advantage.
MSU opened the scoring with a power-play goal shortly thereafter by moving the puck around the offensive zone to force Korpi to move laterally and open up space for a one-timer from the left side of the ice that made it 1-0 at 8:43.
Michigan's power-play unit was called back to the ice at 9:54 following an interference call on a Spartan defender. Before play resumed, head coach Brandon Naurato challenged the previous play for a high hit on Jackson Hallum. An official review determined there was indeed a major penalty for contact to the head, so U-M embarked on a 5-on-3 power play.
The two-man advantage worked wonders as the group patiently passed the puck around a collapsed Spartan penalty kill unit until Ethan Edwards calmly threaded a pass through a chaotic scramble onto the tape of T.J. Hughes, who was waiting backdoor to hammer home a one-timer and tie the game at one. Michael Hage collected the secondary assist for his role in zipping the puck around the zone.
After one period of action, the teams were tied 1-1. Each side had put 10 shots on goal while U-M had built up a 15-10 lead in the faceoff dot.
The game remained tied 1-1 after two periods despite MSU putting together a strong period and surging ahead in shots on goal, 30-17. Korpi made several saves to keep the game knotted heading into the third period.
Following a key block by Luca Fantilli in the defensive zone, the Wolverines carried the puck down the ice seeking a last-minute goal. Hage moved the puck over to Edwards, who sent a low shot on goal with Schifsky in the slot and shooting lane with his stick on the ice. The sophomore forward redirected Edwards' shot past the Michigan State goaltender and into the back of the net to pull the Wolverines ahead, 2-1, with 56.7 seconds left to play.
Schifsky's last-minute go-ahead goal was the first time U-M pulled ahead in the final minute of regulation since Jake Slaker against Vermont on Oct. 20, 2017. It also marked the second time this season that Schifsky tallied a game-winning goal against Michigan State.
The Spartans pulled their netminder in search of a late equalizer, but the Wolverines held on for the final minute to earn a critical regulation win over MSU. Michigan State finished the contest with a 39-27 advantage in shots on goal while each side ended the night with 32 faceoff wins to split in that category.
On Saturday night (Feb. 8), the teams will travel to Detroit for the rivalry's annual "Duel in the D" at Little Caesars Arena. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m., and the game will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network with the Iron "D" Trophy on the line as the teams finish the regular-season series.
