MSU scored three first-period goals as junior goaltender Trey Augustine made 30 saves in a 4-1 road victory.
After withstanding a late rush to earn a 4-3 win on Thursday, the No. 4 Michigan State hockey team knew a good start would be critical in the series finale with No. 2 Wisconsin on Friday, Jan. 16.
Well, sophomore Shane Vansaghi got the message.
MSU's bruising forward scored just over a minute into Friday night's game, and the Spartans would use two more first-period goals and a terrific performance from junior goaltender Trey Augustine to skate away with a 4-1 win to complete the road sweep and earn six points in the Big Ten standings.
"I thought the guys did a heck of a job," MSU coach Adam Nightingale said. "Handling success I think is harder than failure. ... We had success the night before and to respond and play the way we did, it was a good weekend for us.
"I thought we defended hard and executed at a high level offensively."
The series was a turnaround from the teams' first meeting in November when the Badgers swept the Spartans in East Lansing.
Following Vansaghi's goal, senior forwards Charlie Stramel and Daniel Russell broke free on an odd-man rush while the Spartans were shorthanded, and Russell ultimately beat Wisconsin goaltender Eli Pulver to put MSU up 2-0.
Danny Russell scores a shorty to make it 2-0! pic.twitter.com/KRTJMQ5U0B
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) January 17, 2026
Then on the Spartans' first power play chance, Russell would put the puck into an empty net for his second goal after a dazzling individual effort from freshman forward Ryker Lee pulled Pulver away from his net.
That goal, MSU's third in just over seven minutes of action, led to Pulver being pulled and replaced by freshman Daniel Hauser – the Badgers primary starter.
Freshman forward Anthony Romani would add a second-period goal, deflecting a shot past Hauser for his ninth of the season and a 4-0 MSU lead.
Lee finished with two assists, while Porter Martone, Cayden Lindstrom, Eric Nilson, Matt Lahey and Colin Ralph all had one assist each.
Augustine finished with 30 saves but was denied what would have been his NCAA-leading fourth shutout by a power play goal from Wisconsin defenseman Logan Hensler with just 50 seconds remaining.
What's next
MSU will return home for a regular-season series for the first time in two months when it hosts Minnesota on Jan. 23-24.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State hockey rolls Wisconsin to earn important series sweep
Category: General Sports
