Portillo's near-shutout helps Michigan split series with Michigan State
The Michigan and Michigan State hockey teams met this weekend in the first rivalry series of the season. The teams first met at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing on Friday night before they visited Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor on Saturday.
The Spartans got the best of the Wolverines on Friday night, but Michigan goaltender Erik Portillo shut out Michigan State for 59 minutes and 55 seconds on Saturday before the Spartans finally found the back of the net. Michigan State broke Michigan's six-game winning streak in the rivalry, but the Wolverines were able to pick up three points with their win on Saturday.
Michigan forward T.J. Hughes found the back of the net first on Friday night, but Michigan State answered with a shorthanded goal later in the first period to tie up the game. The Spartans bested Portillo once again in the second period, and that was all they needed to come away with the victory.
Spartan goaltender Dylan St. Cyr was magnificent between the pipes with 22 saves and just one goal allowed.
Despite the loss, Michigan came out with revenge on its mind on Saturday in front of a maized-out crowd at Yost. The Wolverines jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to a power play goal from Dylan Duke and a second goal in as many nights from Hughes.
Erik Portillo was just seconds away from his first shutout of the year, but Michigan State's Jagger Joshua slapped the puck in out of mid air with just 5.1 seconds remaining in the contest. However, the game had already been decided at that point, and Michigan celebrated its first rivalry win of the season.
The Wolverines are now 12-7-1 overall, and 4-6-0 in Big Ten play. Each team is awarded three points per conference win, and currently, the Minnesota Golden Gophers are dominating the league with a 10-2-0 record, which is good for 30 points.
Michigan won't play another meaningful game until Jan. 13 when it welcomes Ohio State to Ann Arbor for a two-game series. The puck will drop at 6:30 p.m. on Friday the 13th and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday the 14th.
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