Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast: Recapping Michigan Hockey Series, Previewing Minnesota

We’ve got a top-five matchup coming to Munn Ice Arena this weekend as No. 2 Michigan State hockey will host No. 4 Minnesota.

The Spartans and Golden Gophers last met in December when Michigan State nearly swept then-No. 1 Minnesota, leaving Minneapolis with a tie (shootout win) and come-from-behind win after trailing 3-1 in the third period.

This weekend’s matchup will follow the Spartans’ series with No. 10 Michigan, one that concluded with a dominant 4-1 win for Michigan State after falling in overtime the night before.

On this episode of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast our Aidan Champion and host Bryan Anthony Davis recap the Michigan series before previewing the Minnesota series.

You can watch the episode below:

Below is a partial transcript from Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale’s postgame press conference that followed the Spartans’ win over the Wolverines last Saturday:

Opening statement:

Nightingale: “Well, I thought it was a good game by us, good response, right? We obviously went down in their building; I liked us in the first period, I liked us for stretches of the second. I thought they did a great job hanging in there when we really pushed, and obviously, they tied it up and we go to overtime, and they end up winning the hockey game. And I thought we were a lot more determined offensively, I thought we played more on the inside tonight, and I thought the crowd was awesome. They were really into it. So, that was a good win for our program, and thankful to be part of the rivalry. I think that it’s a blessing to — it forces you to be better. And obviously, last night, we needed to be better, and I think that’s what’s special about this rivalry is it forces you and pushes you to improve your team and obviously, we’ve got some areas to improve, and I thought we did that tonight.”

Q: How important was it to hold off Michigan early in the second period?

Nightingale: “Yeah, good job. I mean, that’s why you’ve got a goalie, and that’s Trey’s [Augustine] job, and I thought we did a really good job of staying in our structure and keeping things to the outside. And if you look at high-danger chances, I thought we were able to limit — you’re not going to limit all of them if you’re playing a good hockey team and they can tax you defensively, for sure, but yeah, I thought our guys kept their heads and kept things to the outside. And you’re playing a good team, right? They’re going to push and they got pride, but I liked our response in that way.”

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