For the first time in more than a year, Michigan State
managed to sweep an opponent.
The Spartans recorded a two-step sweep of Big Ten opponent
Ohio State on Friday and Saturday at Munn Ice Arena, besting the visiting Buckeyes
by 4-1 and 2-0 scores, respectively. The last time MSU swept an opponent was
Jan. 17-18, 2014 against visiting Penn State by 3-0 and 3-2 scores.
Brett Darnell scored the game-winning goal and also
had two assists for MSU in Friday’s win, while Jake Hildebrand made 33 saves
for the Spartans. The next night,
Darnell scored an insurance marker on a power play after Ryan Keller had put
MSU ahead late in the second period. Hildebrand made 22 stops on Saturday as MSU
finished the weekend 2-for-6 overall with a man advantage.
MSU now sits at 9-11-2 overall (3-3-2 Big Ten) and
has also moved up to third place in the conference, while OSU fell to 7-13-2
(2-6-0). The Spartans return to action against archrival Michigan on Friday at
Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, where the Wolverines posted a 2-1 win on Dec. 29 in
the 2014 Great Lakes Invitational championship game.
