EAST LANSING - In a tie game at a sold-out Munn Ice Arena, Michigan State carried the play in the second period.
The Spartans racked up 20 shots over the 20 minutes but all 20 were denied by Michigan freshman goalie Cameron Korpi. Nothing got through.
"I thought the second period was as good as we've probably played this year. ... You just can't leave it to chance," Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale said.
The score remained knotted and the game appeared headed for overtime before Michigan struck in the final minute. Defenseman Patrick Geary couldn't handle the puck along the boards and the Wolverines kept it in the zone before Garrett Schifsky tipped in a blue line shot from Ethan Edwards to secure a 2-1 win on Friday night.
"I thought we gave ourselves plenty of chances and created enough to give ourselves a chance to win the hockey game," Nightingale said. "That's what I've respected about this group is there's a humility. It's not blaming the refs, it's not a lucky bounce - we're not into that. We're into we've got to get better and tomorrow that's our goal, we've got to be better."
No. 13 Michigan (16-11-2, 10-8-1 Big Ten) has now won two of three in the rivalry this season against No. 2 Michigan State (21-5-3, 12-4-3). The teams will meet again for the final time of the regular season at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday (8 p.m., BTN) for the annual Duel in the D.
"Like I said to our guys, we're disappointed but never discouraged," Nightingale said after the team suffered its first home loss since October, snapping an 11-game unbeaten streak at Munn, "and we've got a big-time opportunity tomorrow."
With Michigan owning the third-best power play in the nation, Nightingale placed a premium this week on avoiding the box. The Spartans were whistled for six penalties in the opening period alone and 10 for the game. Although the Wolverines finished only 1-for-5 with the man advantage, being shorthanded was a drain for Michigan State.
"We were taking dumb penalties and we can't have that," forward Joey Larson said.
The lone goal Michigan scored on the power play came from T.J. Hughes in the first period amid a 5-on-3 that included a five-minute major and game misconduct on Daniel Russell for contact to the head. That meant Michigan State's top-line wing and third-leading scorer played less than 10 minutes.
"I thought we got ourselves in penalty trouble for sure to start," Nightingale said. "I thought we did a heck of a job on the kill."
Although Korpi was peppered in the second period and Michigan State out-shot Michigan 39-27 overall, he prevailed in a matchup between young netminders from South Lyon. Michigan State sophomore Trey Augustine, a first-round pick by the Red Wings, made 25 stops while taking the loss.
"We had opportunities to put it away and they did a good job in front of their net," Nightingale said of the Wolverines. "There was some loose change and we couldn't get to it so credit to them."
Michigan State, which won the program's first Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles last year, has been in the top five of the national rankings all season, including five weeks at No. 1. The Spartans are also 12-0-2 in the second game of a weekend series.
"I think that our guys are willing to learn and I think that's important," Nightingale said. "Our game's not a perfect game and mistakes are going to happen and our job is try to coach our guys and adjust in areas we need to be better at. ... What our guys do need to understand is we're getting down to the end of the season here where you don't have that opportunity the next night."
It's not single-elimination time yet but the Spartans will need to rebound quickly if they want to retain the Duel in the D trophy and salvage a season split against the Wolverines. They're also clinging to a two-point lead in the Big Ten standings over Minnesota, which is off this week.
"It's a quick turnaround," said forward Karsen Dorwart, who scored Michigan State's lone goal on Friday. "I think we know we did a lot of good things tonight but the biggest thing is we can't take that many penalties. We've just got to stay out of the box tomorrow."