A beleaguered Minnesota men’s hockey team stumbled one step closer to the conclusion of a woebegone season with a 7-1 loss to visiting Michigan State on Thursday night inside 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The second-ranked Spartans (25-7-1 overall, 16-6-1 Big Ten) scored the first six goals of the game before Tanner Ludtke put a small band-aid on the scoreboard with Minnesota’s lone tally of the contest at 7:49 of the final period. Michigan State managed one last power-play goal with 72 seconds to play to send the hosts to the showers after an evening of on-ice manhandling.

Luca Di Pasquo and Nathan Airey split time in goal, making 26 and 12 saves, respectively, while their Gophers teammates put 24 shots on Michigan State goalie Trey Augustine.

Minnesota (11-21-2, 7-15-1) closes out the regular season with one more game against the Spartans at 7 p.m. Friday. The game will be televised on Fox 9+ and BTN+.

The Big Ten postseason tournament is scheduled to begin on March 11.

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