CHICAGO — As the team with the nation’s top offense, Michigan’s defensive corps seldom steals the spotlight.

But that was the case in the Coyote Logistics Hockey City Classic at Soldier Field on Saturday, as goals from sophomore defenseman Michael Downing and freshman defenseman Cutler Martin paced the Wolverines to a 4-1 victory over Michigan State. Sophomore goaltender Zach Nagelvoort made 31 saves in the win, which helped keep Michigan atop the Big Ten standings.

"I thought our forecheck was better, our 'D' zone was better, our neutral zone was better and I thought our second effort was better," said Michigan coach Red Berenson. "We had more second effort, more physicality and we were more invested in the game than we were last week.”

Despite unfavorable ice conditions that resulted in nearly a two-hour delay, the Wolverines (8-2 Big Ten, 16-8 overall) came out of the gates with a sense of urgency. Downing netted his fifth goal of the season just 1:43 into the game off a feed from freshman forward Tyler Calderone.

“It was really important for us to not let them get into their trap, their neutral zone which is really good defensively,” said junior forward Andrew Copp. “Scoring the first goal was important to us.”

Michigan would go on to score three unanswered goals by the end of the second period. Martin, an East Lansing native who opted for a hockey career in Ann Arbor, added a tally of his own with 6:44 left in the second period. A failed clearance ended up in Martin’s glove before he dropped the puck to his stick and fired a shot from the high slot that beat goaltender Jake Hildebrand on his blocker side.

Michigan’s defensemen have netted 12 total goals this season, a mark that has already doubled last year’s total. Even on nights when the Wolverines’ plethora of scoring threats up front don’t find twine, reinforcements are typically looming on the blue line.

Even more impressive was the stout defensive play for a team that ranks in the lower half of the nation in team defense. Michigan concedes an average of 2.96 goals per game and continues to rely on its offensive aptitude to make up for its inconsistencies on the defensive end. Saturday marked a break from a season-long tradition, but it stands as a break that Michigan will gladly accept.

“I think we kept the game a lot simpler than we did last game,” Martin said. “We really tried to play more defense tonight and focused on that, even though a couple of us had a few goals here and there, but I think that was a result of playing good defense.”

The Spartans (4-4-2, 10-12-2) did begin to mount a comeback after the second intermission, but not before Copp was able to extend the lead to three by jamming one home late in the second period.

Michigan State would finally strike twine five minutes into the final period when Spartan forward Matt Deblouw found the puck in the middle of a scrum and slipped one past Nagelvoort.

Still, Nagelvoort’s successes outweighed his lone error.

“I thought (Nagelvoort) was smart with the puck, outside of the one rebound which they scored, on a loose puck,” Berenson said. “He covered up everything around the net. It was hard because the puck was bouncing."

Though Berenson has needed to sift through a season-long goaltending competition, Nagelvoort has started the last three games and has conceded just three goals. He says Nagelvoort is “in a good place” right now.

It was a successful stay in the Windy City for the guys in front of him, too. Junior forward Justin Selman’s empty-net goal with 1:12 left in the game put the seal on another chapter of one of college hockey's most historic rivalries. And in 302 meetings, the bitterness between the schools hasn’t faded.

"We could go fishing and it would be the same," said Michigan State coach Tom Anastos.