For the 11th straight season, the Illinois hockey club swept its opening series, dominating Michigan State on Friday and taking a thrilling series finale 5-4 in overtime on Saturday.

On opening night at the Ice Arena on Friday, the Illini jumped to a comfortable lead and were never threatened, winning 5-2 thanks in part to a hat trick by junior forward Johnny Liang. Illinois took a shutout into the third period before the Spartans netted two inconsequential goals.

In game two on Saturday, though, Michigan State showed why it is the reigning ACHA Division II national champion.

The Fighting Illini came out firing again, jumping out to a 3-0 early lead before the Spartans led a furious counterattack, coming back to tie the game late in the second period.

The orange-clad crowd was then silenced in the final period as Michigan State forward Joe Snook put the visitors ahead with 5:03 remaining.

“We played well in the first period, and then it was downhill from there,” head coach Chad Cassel said.

Illinois’ young defense was a big factor in the Spartan comeback. Cassel called the Illini’s defensive play “lazy” and faced the challenge of splitting time between two young goaltenders, Mike Burda and DJ Kohler, who played in games one and two, respectively.

“Hopefully, one guy steps up and takes the starting job,” Cassel said.

The key to spelling the fledgling defense was Illinois’ depth at forward.

The Illini were clearly the aggressors on offense throughout the game, taking 46 shots on goal compared to 25 for Michigan State. The puck simply wasn’t finding the net.

“I credit their goaltender,” said Liang of the Spartans’ Justin Sand. “He played really well and covered a lot of ground.”

Cassel said the Illini didn’t take advantage of their opportunities.

“We just have to bear down on the puck and finish,” he said.

The game appeared to be in the hands of the visitors until junior forward Jason Nemeth scored a clutch power play goal with just twelve seconds left to force overtime.The Illini had all the momentum in the sudden death period, denying Michigan State any shots on goal and consistently challenging the Spartan defense. With 24 seconds separating the game from a tie, junior forward Jordan Pringle became the hero and sent the Harrassing Illini into a frenzy, scoring the game winner and clearing the Illinois bench.

“Johnny (Liang) laid it in there for me and I put one just under the bar,” Pringle said.

While the win was a positive, the late charge by the Spartans revealed some errors to correct as the season wears on.

“It’s definitely a confidence boost, but we know that we have to go back to work,” Liang said.