This Story was written by NMU Sports Information

DETROIT — Robbie Payne's overtime goal lifted the Northern Michigan hockey team to a 2-1 victory over Michigan State in the Great Lakes Invitational consolation game Wednesday afternoon at Joe Louis Arena. 

With less than five minutes remaining in regulation, Dominik Shine netted a power play goal to even the score and set up Payne's heroics.

Just 1:06 had ticked off the clock when the Spartans opened the scoring. From the left point, Travis Walsh fired a shot on net that Mathias Israelsson couldn't glove. The puck squirted out to Joe Cox, who buried it to give the Spartans an early 1-0 edge.

Northern Michigan was awarded the game's first man advantage at 13:16 in the first. Jake Hildebrand came up with two big saves to preserve the Michigan State advantage, first fighting through a Cohen Adair screen to turn aside a booming Zach Urban point shot and then denying Payne at the side of the net after a Brock Maschmeyer rebound bounced out to him.

In the scoreless second period, the Wildcats were outshot, 10-7, but had three of the better scoring opportunities. At around the 12:10 mark, Shine was sprung on a shorthanded breakaway, but he couldn't settle the puck down enough and Hildebrand sent his shot wide. Shortly before that, Darren Nowick picked a Spartan pocket in the neutral zone and rushed back the other way; Hildebrand turned his shot aside, and a trailing Adair was tied up by a Spartan and couldn't reach the rebound.

Early in Northern Michigan's second penalty kill of the middle stanza, with just under four minutes remaining, Gerard Hanson corralled the puck and took it the length of the ice, picking up a charging Maschmeyer. Hanson found Maschmeyer in front, but he couldn't deflect the pass past Hildebrand.

The Wildcats finally found the back of the net after Brennan Sanford was assessed a boarding penalty at 14:20. On the resulting man advantage, John Siemer sent a pass to Nowick near the corner, who gave it right back to him. Siemer curled around the net, drawing the Spartan defender stationed in front, which left Shine open to net the equalizer.

Payne's winner came after a flurry of Wildcat chances and a draw win by Zach Diamantoni that kept the puck pinned in the Michigan State end. Ryan Trenz fired a shot from the point that deflected off of Diamantoni's skate right to Payne, who beat a screened Hildebrand to lift Northern Michigan to its second overtime victory of the season.

The Wildcats, now 7-7-6 (5-5-4 WCHA), return to the ice Jan. 8 when they open their final regular-season series against WCHA frontrunner Minnesota State in Mankato, Minn.