DETROIT – Three times this season Michigan State seemed on the verge of defeating Michigan Tech.
Three times this season, despite holding the lead late in the third period in each game, the Spartans failed to hold on and ended up with a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching non-victory.
For MSU, the third time was the worst.
On Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena, the Spartans were less than a minute-and-half from beating the Huskies and advancing to the finals of the 51st Great Lakes Invitational.
Instead, they saw a 2-0 lead disappear in the third period, as Michigan Tech tied it 2-2 with 1:26 left, and then won it 3-2 with 1:02 left in overtime to spoil MSU’s quest to play in the GLI title game for the second straight year.