"I am very proud of this group of guys. They have worked so hard to get this program to the next level. I think this will be a turning point for MSU,” Hicks said, “I’m looking forward to going to Denver and using this momentum to help us go even higher. You never know what can happen at a tournament like this. We’re in a good position right now.”

The Spartans earned a no. 9 seed and will face Brigham Young University in the first round of the tournament. If fate holds true, the Spartans have an opportunity to see the Wolverines again in the second round of the tournament and recapture a victory that was snatched away from them in the final quarter of the CCLA tournament.

In the championship game of the CCLA tournament, Michigan State jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Wolverines with goals from attackmen Michael Baily and Pat Nemes. Two minutes later the Wolverines answered back on a goal scored by attackman Craig McIntyer. However, following the Wolverines goal, the Spartans converted on an extra man opportunity with an assist from Pat Nemes to Michael Baily to up the score to 3-1 in favor of Michigan State. Michigan would net two unanswered goals from attackman Trevor Yealy and midfielder Svet Tintchev to notch the game at three apiece with a minute left in the first quarter. However, with 0:14 seconds left Pat Nemes ran past the Wolverine defense and put a shot past Wolverine goaltender Mark Stone to give the Spartans the lead heading into the second quarter.

Only 0:35 seconds into the second quarter the Spartans upped their lead to two on a goal scored by junior attackman Dan Witt. Michigan would answer right back on an illegal procedure call on freshman face-off specialist Scott Wisniewski which gave the Wolverines a fast break opportunity that would lead to a goal from senior midfielder David Reinhard. Michigan State increased their lead back to two with another goal from Witt assisted by Pat Nemes. But following a timeout freshman midfielder Joe Hrusovsky scored to slash the Spartans’ lead to one. Over the next four minutes, Michigan State jumped out to the biggest lead of the game with back-to-back goals from sophomore midfielder Mike Degenhardt to up the score to 8-5. The Wolverines did not panic and after a pushing penalty on junior defensemen Mike Schneider, Michigan converted on an extra man opportunity to cut the lead to 8-6 heading into halftime.

Following halftime and a goaltender switch by Michigan to pull Mark Stone after allowing eight goals on 13 shots, the Spartans offense cooled down after a barrage of goals in the first half. The Wolverines cut the lead to one, a mere 0:40 seconds into in the second half, Trevor Yealy notched his second goal of the game. Five minutes later Pat Nemes found Dan Witt again for Witt’s third of the day and upped the lead back to two. Both offenses went stagnant for eight minutes until freshman midfielder Josh Nemes hit freshman attackman Pat Green on the crease for a goal on an extra man opportunity. The Wolverines answered back with 0:18 seconds remaining into the third quarter Stephen Levitt scored to cut the lead to 10-8 heading into the fourth quarter.

Michigan State could not hold off the Michigan offense for four quarters, the Wolverines rallied off five goals in the fourth quarter with only one goal scored by the Spartans. The 13-11 victory solidifies Michigan’s tenth CCLA championship and a number one seeding in the MCLA tournament.

”You have to give Michigan credit, they were down the entire game but would not give up. That’s why they’re the best team in the country,” Hicks said, “But we should be proud of this game and how we played. We were 10 minutes from being the CCLA Champions. That’s why you have to play the whole game. Lesson learned.”

Regardless of the loss, the Spartans have the chance to see the Wolverines again in the MCLA National Tournament. Michigan State will play at 7:00 p.m. against the no. 8 seeded Brigham Young University on Tuesday, May 11.