East Lansing, Mich..  -- Michigan State scored an important 3-0 victory over No. 20/17 Notre Dame on Friday night at Munn Ice Arena.  MSU snapped a four-game winless streak against the Irish, and look for a weekend sweep in Saturday's matinee rematch. 
 
Spartan goaltender Dylan St. Cyr – a Notre Dame graduate who spent four years with the Irish – shut out his alma mater with 32 saves, his third shutout of the season and 13^th of his career. 
 
No. 17/19 MSU killed off a major penalty in the first period and then held off Notre Dame in the final five minutes when it pulled goaltender Ryan Bischel (24 saves) for the final five minutes of regulation.  MSU only allowed one shot on net in that 6-on-5 period, and was thwarted on two great attempts by Notre Dame blueliner Nick Lieverman, who made two impressive blocks with just over two minutes remaining to keep his team's hopes alive.    
 
Jagger Joshua tipped home a Matt Basgall blast six minutes into the second period to start the scoring for Michigan State.  Erik Middendorf followed with a goal from the same spot just over five minutes later to give the Spartans (14-13-2, 8-9-2 B1G) a lead they would never relinquish.  Nicolas Muller assisted on both of MSU's first two goals and then scored an empty netter with under a minute remaining for a three-point night. 
 
 
The teams meet for the series finale at 4 pm on Saturday.  The Spartan 10-man senior class (Jagger Joshua, Christian Krygier, Cole Krygier, Justin Jallen, Erik Middendorf, Miroslav Mucha. Nicolas Muller, Ryan Nolan, Dylan St. Cyr, and Michael Underwood) and two senior managers (Adam Dec and Patrick Trout) will be honored in a post-game ceremony. 
 
 
 
 
 STATISTICS OF NOTE 

• Dylan St. Cyr stopped 32 shots and recorded his third shutout of the season.  It was the 13^th of his career, tied for fourth among active Division I netminders
• Nicolas Müller had assists on the first two Spartan goals, his first multiple-point game since the Miami series in November.  It pushed him to 20 assists on the season. He also potted an empty-net goal for a three-point night.
• Jagger Joshua had his 12^th goal, which ranks seventh in the Big Ten. 
• Erik Middendorf, who set up a would-be goal in the first period, got his point back with his second period goal. 
• MSU was 1-for-4 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, extinguishing 11 total minutes of penalty time. 
• The Spartans improved to 10-4-1 at Munn Ice Arena this season, its first campaign with double-digit wins at home since 2011-12. 
• MSU has now earned a win against all but one opponent in the Big Ten this season. MSU dropped all four games to league-leading Minnesota, and had earned a tie after a loss to the Irish when the teams met back in late October. 

 
 
 
 
PERIOD SUMMARIES
 
First Period:   Michigan State's penalty kill got to work nearly immediately, having to work on a five-minute kill after a checking from behind call whistled against Christian Krygier.   St. Cyr made seven of his 11 saves in the period during that kill, allowing MSU to avoid an early deficit.  The Spartans appeared to have a goal at 17:30, as Basgall streaked into the zone up the right side as Middendorf came up the left, and Middendorf's perfectly placed pass was there for Basgall to tip past Bischel.  The play was reviewed, however, and called back due to Basgall being a hair offsides.  The period ended in a scoreless deadlock, with the Irish holding an 11-6 edge in shots on net. 
 
Second Period:     The Irish were whistled for delay of game after Ryan Heliwell covered the puck in the crease while already down a man – so after a 15-second 5x3, MSU had the puck in the offensive zone.  Matt Basgall picked up the puck at the top of the left circle from Nicolas Müller at the top of the left circle, wheeled across the high slot, and ripped a shot from the top of the right; Joshua was stationed at the top of the crease to tip the shot for the Spartan goal, his 12^th goal of the season.  Just over five minutes later, the Spartans were able to double the lead on an Erik Middendorf goal, as he took a feed from behind the net from Müller and popped home his seventh of the season.  The teams each put 12 shots on net in the period, but the Spartans were the ones with the lead headed into the locker room. 
 
 
 
Third Period:    The Irish made the bold move to pull Bischel with just over five minutes remaining in regulation in an effort to break up the shutout.  Lieverman blocked two shots in front of his empty net with two minutes to play to keep the Irish hopes alive, but  the Spartans were just as strong at the other end, allowing just one shot to reach St. Cyr in that final five frantic minutes for the Irish. Muller finally got one into the empty net with 51 seconds remaining in regulation after the puck was chipped ahead by Jeremy Davidson for the final 3-0 margin of victory.  Shots were an even 9-9 for the teams in the frame.    
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