On Saturday night, the Big Ten semifinal games took place, as Philadelphia Flyers prospects Porter Martone and Shane Vansaghi of the Michigan State Spartans faced off against the Ohio State Buckeyes. In a tightly contested battle that needed overtime, the tournament favorite was ultimately sent out.
Ohio State 3, Michigan State 2 (OT)
With a trip to the Big Ten championship game on the line, and a chance for Michigan State to three-peat, the pace was high right from puck drop. Michigan State controlled play early and generated the better looks out of the gate, but Ohio State pushed back from an early shot deficit to flip the script.
The Spartans opened the scoring early, with Vansaghi finding the back of the net on a one-timer.
Shane Vansaghi gives us a 1-0 lead on the one-timer! pic.twitter.com/CgYQ1ewGG5
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 14, 2026
It was just his fourth goal in 33 games, but his offensive game does seem to have picked up a bit since moving to his off-wing a few series ago. He’s been getting more chances. Interestingly, while his goal came from the left side, he was back primarily playing right wing in this one with Cayden Lindstrom back as his center.
Despite an early shot advantage heavily favoring Michigan State, Ohio State found the equalizer around the midway point of the first period.
With under a minute remaining in the opening frame, Maxim Strbak and Felix Caron were assessed coincidental roughing minors, setting up carryover 4-on-4 play to begin the second. Right off the bat in the middle frame, Daniel Russell took a tripping minor, giving Ohio State a 4-on-3 power play. Jake Karabela capitalized on the ensuing advantage, ripping a shot home from the right faceoff circle to give the Buckeyes their first lead of the night.
The physicality started to ramp up from there. Strbak was on the receiving end of a hit that easily could have been called boarding, but no penalty was assessed. From that point on, he in particular seemed to play with a bit more of an edge, seemingly in response. Both teams followed, and while it never crossed the line, the temperature of the game definitely rose.
With 3:33 remaining in the second period, the Spartans went to the power play after Eric Nilson was called for high-sticking. About a minute into the man advantage, Martone finished off a pretty passing sequence to tie the game at two.
Power play goal for Porter Martone makes it 2-2! pic.twitter.com/VM0QqD6Qgn
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 15, 2026
When it comes to the power play, the story remains the same: Martone is a legitimate threat to score from the left circle whenever he gets the puck. This goal, in particular, was a full-team effort, with some excellent deception from Ryker Lee and Daniel Russell, but Martone’s shot from that spot on the ice continues to give goaltenders trouble, whether it’s a one-timer or a wrister.
Early in the third period, after Charlie Stramel was called for high-sticking off a faceoff, the Spartans were forced to kill off an abbreviated 5-on-3. They managed to survive it, keeping the game tied and setting up an exciting third period.
Michigan State pushed hard in regulation’s final frame and looked like the more dangerous team for long stretches. The Spartans rang multiple shots off the post in the third, including hitting back-to-back iron on one sequence alone. It was probably their best period of the night, but they just could not solve Kristoffer Eberly for a third time.
Those missed would opportunities come back to bite them.
Just 2:36 into overtime, Caron received a drop pass off the rush and wired a slap shot through a Spartan defender, beating a screened Trey Augustine to send Ohio State to the Big Ten Final. The Buckeyes will now face Michigan for the Big Ten Championship.
Looking back and looking forward
While it is obviously a disappointing finish to conference play, Martone absolutely lived up to the hype this season. His 1.42 points per game ranked second in the Big Ten and fourth nationally, while his 0.72 goals per game led the conference and ranked second in the country, trailing only Dartmouth’s Hayden Stavroff. Considering Stavroff is putting up those numbers in the ECAC, it adds a little more weight to what Martone has done in the Big Ten.
Just as impressive, though, has been how steady the production has been all year. Looking back as far as mid-November, Martone was pacing for 23 goals and 23 assists across a projected 34-game season. In reality, he finished with 24 goals and 23 assists in 33 games. There were hotter stretches and quieter ones, sure, but he consistently hovered right around that pace all season long.
For Martone, Vansaghi, and the Spartans, the focus now shifts to the NCAA Tournament. Michigan State is still safely in the field, so the real question is where they land in the bracket. The Spartans finished the year 25-8-2, a strong record, but their Big Ten tournament run ends rather abruptly after just one postseason game following a first-round bye.
