EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State's Jeremy Davidson scored his second goal of the game with 3:54 remaining in the third period to break a 1-1 deadlock and lift the Spartans to a 3-1 victory over Miami Friday night. The RedHawks (1-2) battled for 60 minutes in a very evenly played game, outshooting MSU 29-28 on the night and 14-8 in the third period, but couldn't break through offensively other than Joe Cassetti's second-period equalizer.
 
Michigan State (2-1) added an empty-net goal with 25.7 seconds remaining to account for the final margin.
 
Davidson started the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period, while the RedHawks went 0-4 on their chances with the man advantage.
 
With the game tied 1-1, both teams saw the puck go in the net in a wild 90-second span of the third period, but neither play ended up counting as a goal; Michigan State was called for interference on a 3-on-2 with just over 12 minutes remaining, and Miami's apparent go-ahead goal a few moments later came after the play had been whistled over.
 
Ludvig Persson made 25 saves on the night for Miami, while Michigan State's Pierce Charleson had 28 stops, with half of them coming in the decisive final period.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• 08:16 1^st (Michigan State 1-0) | The first penalty of the game, a hooking call against MU, led to the first goal of the game. The Spartans were able to keep the puck in the offensive zone for an extended period of time, ultimately converting as Mitchell Lewandowski slid a pass across to the left side of the goal and Jeremy Davidson knocked it home. Dennis Cesana also picked up an assist for the home team.

• 11:36 2^nd (Miami 1-1) | The RedHawks answered back shortly after the second-period media timeout to level the score at 1-1. Off a pass from Thomas Daskas, PJ Fletcher poked the puck ahead beautifully from near the blue line and Joe Cassetti did the rest, finishing a picture-perfect juke move by beating Pierce Charleson between the goalie's legs to tie things up.

• 16:06 3^rd (Michigan State 2-1) | Dennis Cesana made the most important play of the night with a wraparound move, taking the puck all the way behind Miami's net and coming out the other side to set up Davidson's second goal of the evening and pick up his second assist. Kristof Papp assisted on the game-winning goal as well.

• 19:34.3 3rd (Michigan State 3-1) | With the net empty, Jagger Joshua went coast-to-coast for an unassisted goal from an inch away to cap the scoring and put the game out of reach.

 
GAME NOTES:

• Miami controlled 36 of the 66 faceoffs, including Michael Regush's game-high 13 wins.
• Jack Olmstead led the RedHawks with four shots on goal, including three of Miami's eight in the first period.
• MU blocked 12 shots in comparison to Michigan State's nine; Ryan Savage was credited with three blocks.
• Cassetti scored his second goal of the season, matching his 2020-21 season total in just the third game of the year.
• Miami captain Derek Daschke played in his 100th career game for the Red and White.

 
WHAT'S NEXT:
The teams meet again to finish off their non-conference series Saturday at 7:00 p.m. in East Lansing.