Michigan State hockey swept by Minnesota with 7-1 loss

The Michigan State Spartans hockey team fell to the Minnesota Golden Gophers, 7-1, on Saturday, giving the Gophers a sweep of the two-game series.

Brent Darnell had the lone score for the Spartans, and it came late in the third period. Spartans head coach Tom Anastos said that he's not going to make any excuses, and that the Gophers are executing at a level where they want to be.

And execute they did, as the Gophers got on the board just 1 minute, 25 seconds into the first period when Erik Haula put the puck in net off of a rebound that forced a Spartans player into his own goalie. Just three minutes later, Kyle Rau fed Nick Bjugstad, who put it into the wide-open net. Tom Serratore and Ben Marshall added goals in the first period as well, giving the Gophers a 4-0 lead.

Just 30 seconds into the second, Rau made it 5-0. The Gophers managed six straight minutes of power play time after three consecutive Spartans penalties, but the penalty kill was on point for the Spartans. Still, they couldn't get things done on five-on-five play.

The Spartans will open at home next weekend with a two-game series against Niagara.