An illegal stick penalty against the Seminoles opened the game for the Spartans to jump in and take the lead. It took the Spartans 45 seconds of their extra man offense to tie the game at two when freshman Josh Nemes found junior captain Connor Bush for a lay up against the Seminoles. Less than two minutes later junior Patrick Nemes found sophomore Michael Baily for a goal that would give Michigan State their first lead of the game. The Spartans continued to dominate the second quarter with two more goals from Patrick Nemes and Dan Witt to put the Spartans up 5-3 heading into halftime.

Despite momentum heading into halftime, Michigan State’s offense went cold for the rest of the game. The Spartans could not seem to find any rhythm against a staunch Seminole defense. Spartan goalie Dean Hall did his best to keep Michigan State in the game stopping Florida State’s offense with 27 saves and boasting a season high 77% save percentage. But the Seminoles were able to jump out to a one goal lead after netting three goals in the third quarter. Piled on by two more goals by Florida State late in the fourth quarter would seal the loss for the Spartans.

Michigan State ultimately lost the game on hustle stats, Florida State picked 38 ground balls to the Spartans’ 30, as well as a 75% success rate on faceoffs.  However, one shining statistic for the Spartans was not allowing a single man down goal despite five extra man opportunities for the Seminoles.

The Spartans have a three week break to tweak their schemes before their next game against no. 3 Simon Fraser following spring break on March 14. Be sure to check the team’s twitter page and homepage for any updates.