Great Lakes Wire

The Northern Michigan University (NMU) hockey team was defeated 2-0 by the top-ranked Michigan State Spartans in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Invitational (GLI) in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Wildcats initially thought they had scored, but Aidyn Hutchinson's goal was reviewed and disallowed. Shortly after, Michigan State also had a goal called back before successfully scoring two goals in quick succession during the first period.

Ryan Ouellette, NMU's goaltender, made 41 saves with a .953 save percentage over 55 minutes before leaving late in the third period. Ethan Barwick replaced him and stopped all five shots he faced. The game marked only the second time in NMU's history that neither team received a penalty; the last occurrence was on November 24, 1978.

The Wildcats blocked 23 shots compared to seven by the Spartans. Rasmus Larsson and Tynan Ewart led with four blocks each. For Michigan State, sophomore goalie Luca Di Pasquo recorded a shutout with 15 saves in his third start of the season. He filled in for Trey Augustine, who is playing for Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championships.

Karsen Dorwart scored his first game-winning goal of the season and Isaac Howard netted his tenth goal for Michigan State. Joey Larson and Austin Oravetz provided assists.

NMU will now face Michigan Tech in the third-place game after their loss to Western Michigan in overtime. The match is scheduled for 3:30 p.m., while Michigan State will play Western Michigan at 7 p.m. to decide the GLI champion.

During the game, both teams had early scoring opportunities nullified due to infractions involving kicked pucks into nets. Ultimately, Dorwart opened scoring legally for Michigan State after Ouellette denied several attempts from close range. Howard later added another goal for MSU following a fortunate bounce past NMU defenders.

The second period saw NMU's Hutchinson intercept an MSU pass leading to a breakaway opportunity which was thwarted by Di Pasquo’s aggressive goaltending.

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