The Michigan Hockey team could not complete the weekend sweep against Michigan State, getting blown out at Little Caesars Arena in the annual Dual in the D:
In the ninth edition of the Duel in the D, the No. 13 Michigan Wolverines (16-12-2, 28 points Big Ten) fell to the No. 2 Michigan State Spartans (22-5-3, 43 points) on Saturday night, 6-1.
Little Caesars Arena played host to the 352nd overall meeting between these schools, and it was as animus as ever. There were fights, heavy hitting and mass gatherings in the penalty box.
After Friday night’s thrilling comeback victory , Michigan had to deal with a particularly fiery Michigan State group on Saturday. Emotions were running high with a split crowd at the best rink in the state and the Iron D trophy up for grabs.
As if this game needed any more juice, it capped off an iconic day of hockey for the Duke family. Earlier, former Wolverine (2021-24) and current Tampa Bay Lightning forward Dylan made his NHL debut and recorded his first career goal against the Detroit Red Wings at LCA. Now, it was Tyler’s turn.
However, the younger Duke got off to an unfortunate start when he was booked for cross-checking in the first period. While it wasn’t the most egregious call, it was a little surprising considering the physicality of the early goings.
At numerous points, it seemed as if the tension would boil over into a full-on brawl and there were plenty of extracurriculars after the whistle. None of this is surprising, but it makes sense why the linesmen tried to keep a lid on this affair.
Michigan State operated smoothly on the power play and eventually buried a rebound to take a 1-0 lead. Jacob Truscott was unable to fend off two Spartans situated in the crease.
Just over halfway through the second period, Duke had his redemption moment. A strong Michigan forecheck caused some chaos on the boards and TJ Hughes was able to settle the puck. He backhand flipped it across the offensive zone to a streaking Duke, who ripped it past goaltender Trey Augustine to even the score.
At 3:00pm, Dylan Duke scored his first NHL goal in front of his family at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit…
At 9:00pm, his younger brother Tyler scored for Michigan in front of his family on the same net at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit pic.twitter.com/ZfpoyQljcs
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 9, 2025
In proper brotherly spirit, Tyler simply could not let Dylan have all of the glory on Saturday. With the assist, Hughes also extended his point streak to an NCAA-best 13 games.
That was the end of the glory, though, as Michigan State quickly flipped this game around. First, it was an odd-man rush that resulted in a top-shelf rip past freshman goaltender Cameron Korpi. He was peppered by 40 shots on Saturday, but after a 38-save outing Friday night and making his third consecutive start, he seems to have taken the starting role, pushing graduate netminder Logan Stein into a reserve role.
But who knows? If Korpi had been spectacular on Saturday, there would be no doubt who goaltends for Brandon Naurato’s team. Now, after a shaky performance, the competition could reopen.
A mere two minutes later, the Spartans struck again. They had a forward all over Korpi’s vision and a shot snuck past his right pad. It looked like Korpi had no clue where the puck was and just couldn’t locate it in time.
Heading into the intermission trailing by two, it was time for a refresher and a strong push out of the gates in the third. But the Wolverines continued to reel and Michigan State owned the period, firing another three goals by Korpi and cruising to victory.
With less than six minutes left, Michigan’s frustration culminated in a Kienan Draper/Tiernan Shoudy fight. Both players were given roughing minors and 10-minute misconduct penalties. Three other pairs engaged in semi-combat, too.
Ethan Edwards would join in on the fun, too, as he exchanged blows later in the contest. Somewhat amazingly, Mark Estapa, who is usually right in the middle of these types of scrums, had nothing to do with the team’s 10 penalties and 39 penalty minutes.
The Wolverines are in dire need of late-season victories, and this was a crushing letdown. Plus, keeping the Iron D in Ann Arbor would have been a highlight of the 2024-25 campaign. They just didn’t show up for the sweep and will need a strong end of the year to sneak into the NCAA Tournament.
Michigan finishes the season with a series at home against No. 3 Minnesota (Feb. 14-15) and at No. 9 Ohio State (Feb. 27-28). The Wolverines should get to the big dance with at least three wins across those four games.