The Spartan hockey team comes together after defeating Michigan Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena. Despite freshman goaltender Will Yanakeff taking 35 shots on goal, the Spartans defeated the Wolverines 2-1. Matt Hallowell/The State News —

Senior forward Joey Shean scored on a rebound with 7:34 remaining to put the Spartans ahead 2-1, and MSU weathered a 4-on-4, penalty shot and some good Wolverine chances to defeat No. 6 Michigan and split the season series, 2-2.

Detroit — If Saturday’s game was any indication of how MSU hockey head coach Rick Comley will finish his final regular season with MSU, the near future looks satisfying.

The energy was rampant from a mostly-filled Joe Louis Arena, and the Spartans (11-13-4 overall, 7-11-2 CCHA) matched their opponent’s energy from start to finish, giving Comley a fitting end to the regular season rivalry.

“Everything about it was good,” Comley said. “We’ve had some tough luck against Michigan over the years. Now that’s two wins this year to split the series, and that’s not an easy thing to do because they’re a very good team.”

Comley, who has coached the Spartans for nine seasons and in the CCHA for 38, announced his retirement on Tuesday, but said he hopes for a strong finish the rest of the season.

Saturday’s game was a step in the right direction as MSU defeated the Wolverines for the second time in three weeks, and played tough defense against the CCHA’s second-place team in a game that featured up-and-down play and great scoring chances.

After Shean scored on a rebound with 7:34 left to score his first goal in more than a season-and-a-half, the teams were called for off-setting penalties with about 5:30 remaining.

When U-M forward Kevin Lynch was hooked on a breakaway with 5:10 remaining, he was awarded a penalty shot, but was turned aside when his shot was turned aside by the pad of MSU freshman goaltender Will Yanakeff.

“It was definitely nerve-racking, but it was just like any other shot,” Yanakeff said. “You just have to be ready and confident that you’re going to stop it.”

Yanakeff made 34 saves, and as he has been doing when called upon this year, came up big when the Spartans needed him.

The game was tied 0-0 late in the second period when the action started.

With the Spartans on the power play, freshman Jake Chelios, who was moved from defenseman to forward to help create scoring, pounced on a loose puck and shot it past U-M goalie Shawn Hunwick from point blank range to put MSU ahead 1-0 with 53 seconds remaining.

Barely 30 seconds later, U-M answered when forward Louie Caporusso tied the game at one when he gathered the puck in the crease and tied the score with 16 seconds left.

Through two periods, the Spartans had outshot U-M 24-21 and had been involved in plenty of exciting play.

After Hunwick made a great save on an MSU breakaway midway through the second period, Yanakeff kicked aside a U-M chance.

Hunwick then stopped freshman forward Greg Wolfe on a point-blank attempt to keep the score 0-0 with eight minutes left in the period.

Sophomore defenseman Torey Krug went to the box less than a minute later for high-sticking, and the Spartans killed the penalty.

In the first period, junior forward Brett Perlini recorded a great chance four minutes in that was stopped by Hunwick, and five minutes later, Yanakeff made a stop on the Wolverines’ Caporusso to keep the game 0-0.

The Wolverines outshot the Spartans, 35-30, but the play was even and game tightly-contested.

The Spartans are 5-3-1 in their last nine, and will try to use this win to their advantage as they move forward.

“It was quite an experience,” Shean said. “It was good to finally play a whole game.”