But the Spartans couldn’t make it happen. Two minutes before sweeping the No. 1 Wolverines, junior forward Matt Schepke attempted to clear the puck. Instead, it went off from his glove and over the left shoulder of junior goaltender Jeff Lerg.

The teams skated to a 2-2 tie at Munn Ice Arena.

“(The team) is very subdued, very disappointed,” MSU head coach Rick Comley said. “They shouldn’t be down. They shouldn’t be disappointed.

“I’m not saying it’s Matt’s (Schepke) fault by any means. You’re frustrated it happened that way, but you just have to deal with it.”

This is the 8th tie in the last 23 meetings between the two squads.

Despite tying Saturday’s game, the Spartans walk away from the two-game weekend series with three of the four needed points.

“Three out of four (points) against the No. 1 team in the nation just shows how we can play with anyone,” senior defenseman Daniel Vukovic said.

Vukovic scored the first Spartans goal of the evening on the power play in the second period. Shortly after the tying 1-1 goal — just 46 seconds later — senior junior forward Tim Crowder would put the Spartans up 2-1.

The Spartans take on Nebraska-Omaha next weekend at Munn.