Michigan State Wins the Big Ten Hockey Tournament

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Freshman defenseman Patrick Geary scored the biggest goal of his collegiate career with the overtime game-winner to lift No. 1 seed Michigan State to a 5-4 victory over No. 4 seed Michigan in the Big Ten Hockey Tournament Championship Game Saturday evening. The contest was played before a sellout crowd of 6,555 at Munn Ice Arena and a Big Ten Network viewing audience.

Michigan State (24-9-3) captured its first Big Ten Tournament title, adding to the Big Ten regular season championship it also won for the first time this season. The fifth-ranked Spartans receive the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament, which begins next week. The 16-team field will be revealed tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

Tenth-ranked Michigan (21-14-3), which had won the last two championship games, needed just 58 seconds to open scoring as Frank Nazar III scored the second-quickest goal in championship game history. The first period ended deadlocked at 1-1 after Tanner Kelly put MSU on the board midway through the stanza.

The second period produced five goals as the lead changed hands three times. Dylan Duke and Marshall Warren struck for Michigan while Daniel Russell, Jeremy Davidson and Kelly scored markers for MSU. Kelly's second goal occurred with less than a second left in the period to give the Spartans a 4-3 lead.

Nazar III scored his second goal of the night 2:54 into the third period, evening the contest at 4-4 and setting up the fourth overtime game in the event’s 11-year history.

Michigan State and Michigan dominated the all-tournament team with MSU freshman goaltender Trey Augustine earning the Most Outstanding Player Award.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

Gavin Brindley, F, MICH

Rutger McGroarty, F, MICH

Daniel Russell, F, MSU

Seamus Casey, D, MICH

Nash Nienhuis, D, MSU

Trey Augustine, G, MSU

MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER

Trey Augustine, G, MSU