Did Michigan State Make a Move to Reclaim Top of Big Ten? Puck Drop

It seems like a strong possibility that the team to finish atop the Big Ten regular-season standings in men's hockey will be the top-seeded team for the national championship tournament, and No. 4 Michigan State appeared to make a move to do just that on Thursday night.

Senior forward Charlie Stramel had an electric goal and his 28th assist of the season, junior goaltender Trey Augustine made 24 saves, while senior Daniel Russell, junior Gavin O'Connell and freshman Ryker Lee all found the back of the net as the Spartans won at No. 2 Wisconsin, 4-3.

Michigan State took control in the second period with three straight goals ay the Kohl Center, although the Badgers did come back from a 4-1 deficit. They outshot the Spartans 28-23, with freshman Oliver Tulk getting UW's first goal, Kyle Kukkonen snapping a 10-game scoring drought, and Tyson Dyck making it a one-goal game in the third period.

"We did make the push, but not enough," Wisconsin head coach Mike Hastings said. "Sometimes the ones that hurt the most, you learn the most from."

MSU improved to 16-5 overall (7-4 Big Ten) and trails the Badgers by one point in the league standings. Wisconsin is 15-4-2 (8-3) heading into the season series finale on Friday night. Of course, both are chasing No. 1 Michigan, which have a goaltender other than Jack Ivankovic (knee) start for the first time this season. He's listed as out "indefinitely."

With the result, Michigan State moved up to No. 3 in the Men's National Collegiate Percentage (NPI) Index, which will be used to determine the seedings and field in the NCAA Tournament, while Wisconsin dropped to No. 6.

But can the Spartans get the sweep?

"It was a heck of a game playing a really good team on the road," Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale said. "I like our start, thought we got to our game and had some spurts in the second. Obviously, there were going to push and it came down to the wire. I thought we learned a lot in this game, some things we definitely can be better at. It's going to be a big-time test tomorrow."

OH MY GOODNESS CHARLIE STRAMEL 😱#NCAAHockey / @MSU_Hockey pic.twitter.com/qdxEZjnnbf
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) January 16, 2026

Puck Drop: Friday, January 16, 2026

• Jane Daley scored two goals to tie the IIHF single-tournament goal record with 11 total as the U.S. Under-18 Women’s National Team topped Hungary, 9-0, in the quarterfinals of the 2026 IIHF Under-18 Women’s World Championship in Nova Scotia. The U.S. had a six-goal first period and outshot Hungary 56-8. Emily Pohl, who had two goals and an assist, was named the player of the game. Saturday's semifinals are the same as last year: U.S. vs. Sweden; Canada vs. Czechia.

• Wyatt Cullen had two goals, including one shorthanded, and an assist to be named the player of the game for the 2026 Chipotle All-American Game at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich. Cullen, the son of former NHL player Matt Cullen, plays for the U.S. National Under-18 Team and is committed to Minnesota. Dayne Bueker, also of the NTDP team and a Denver commit, had a three-point game with one goal and two assists. Boston College commit Ryan Cameron of the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders made 17 saves on 18 shots for Team Blue, which pulled off a 5-4 victory over Team White.

Yeah I’ve seen enough… get him a jersey next season 👀〽️ https://t.co/HV8Ljp2FIx
— Gopher Hockey 365 (@Mariucci_Guy) January 16, 2026

Incidentally, check out what happened after the game ended. Remember, this is for an all-star game:

This is wild. NTDP teammates Casey Mutryn and Abe Barnett get into it after the final-period horn, then Lucas Zajic and Mutryn get into it. #ChipotleAAG pic.twitter.com/cr2uejDBMx
— Ryan Sikes (@rms_hockey) January 16, 2026

• Arizona State landed a commitment from defenseman Jonas Woo, from the Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL). Maine picked one up from forward Reese Tracy, who hails from Florida and is playing this season with the 16U Woodbridge Wolfpack and USHLs Chicago Steel.

• Former UConn center Tage Thompson had a hat trick and two assists for Buffalo in a 5-3 win against the visiting Montreal Canadiens. Former Arizona State right wing Josh Doan had a goal and an assist. The Sabres have won 15 of their last 17 games. “There’s nothing that beats winning,” Thompson said per NHL.com. “This is the most fun I think I’ve had here my entire career. We’ve got something really good going, and it doesn’t feel fabricated. It feels real, and I think everyone in the room believes it as well.”

• Roger McQueen Looms as Major Threat in BC Men's Hockey's Showdown With Providence

Men's College Hockey Thursday Score

Big Ten
No. 4 Michigan State 4, No. 2 Wisconsin 3

Women's College Hockey Thursday Score

Hockey East
No. 5 UConn 8, Merrimack 1

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.

Men's College Hockey Friday Schedule

AHA
RIT at Canisius, 7 p.m. ET
Air Force at Holy Cross, 7 p.m. ET
Niagara at Mercyhurst, 7 p.m. ET
Bentley at Sacred Heart, 7 p.m. ET
Robert Morris at Army, 7 p.m. ET

Big Ten
No. 1 Michigan at Minnesota, 7 p.m. CT
No. 4 Michigan State at No. 2 Wisconsin, 7 p.m. CT
Notre Dame at No. 8 Penn State, 7 p.m. ET

CCHA
Lake Superior at Bowling Green, 7 p.m. ET
No. 17 Minnesota State at Michigan Tech, 7 p.m. ET
Bemidji State at No. 19 St. Thomas, 7 p.m. CT
Ferris State at No. 15 Augustana, 7 p.m. CT

ECAC
No. 7 Quinnipiac at Colgate, SNY, 7 p.m. ET
No. 18 Princeton at No. 13 Cornell, 7 p.m. ET
Clarkson at No. 10 Dartmouth, 7 p.m. ET
St. Lawrence at Harvard, 7 p.m. ET
Yale at RPI, 7 p.m. ET
Brown at Union, 7 p.m. ET

Hockey East
UMass Lowell at No. 20 Boston University, 7 p.m. ET
Vermont at No. 11 UConn, 7 p.m. ET
Massachusetts at Merrimack, 7 p.m. ET
Northeastern at New Hampshire. NESN, 7 p.m. ET
No. 14 Providence at No. 12 Boston College, ESPNU, TSN2, 7 p.m. ET

NCHC
No. 6 Minnesota Duluth at St. Cloud State, 7 p.m. CT
Omaha at Miami, 7:05 p.m. ET
No. 9 Denver at No. 5 North Dakota, 7 p.m. CT

Non-Conference
Alaska-Anchorage at Alaska, 7 p.m. AT
Stonehill at Lindenwood, 7 p.m. CT

Women's College Hockey Friday Schedule

AHA
Delaware at Lindenwood, 3 p.m. CT
No. 4 Penn State at Syracuse, 6 p.m. ET
Mercyhurst at RIT, 6 p.m. ET

ECAC
No. 10 Cornell at Brown, 6 p.m. ET
Rensselaer at No. 11 Clarkson, 6 p.m. ET
Harvard at No. 9 Princeton, 6 p.m. ET
Dartmouth at No. 6 Quinnipiac, 6 p.m. ET
Union at St. Lawrence, 6 p.m. ET
No. 12 Colgate at No. 13 Yale, 6 p.m. ET

Hockey East
No. 5 UConn at Merrimack, 2 p.m. ET
Providence at Boston College, 2 p.m. ET
Maine at Vermont, 6 p.m. ET

NEWHA
Stonehill at Sacred Heart, 2 p.m. ET
Assumption at Long Island, 3 p.m. ET
Post at Franklin Pierce, 7 p.m. ET
Saint Anselm at Saint Michael's, 7:20 ET

WCHA
No. 1 Wisconsin at St. Thomas, 2 p.m. CT
No. 15 St. Cloud State at No. 8 Minnesota Duluth, 6 p.m. CT
No. 2 Ohio State at No. 14 Minnesota State, 6:02 CT
No. 3 Minnesota at Bemidji State, 7:02 CT

This Date in Hockey History:

January 16, 1938: Michigan Tech forward Lou Angotti was born in Toronto.

January 16, 1955: New Hampshire forward Gary Burns was born in Cambridge, Mass.

January 16, 1960: Providence defenseman Scot Kleinendorst was born in Grand Rapids, Minn.

January 16, 1966: New Hampshire right wing Steve Leach was born in Cambridge, Mass.

January 16, 1970: The first hockey game in Minnesota State University history was played, an 8-2 loss to St. Cloud State. Jim Lang scored the first goal. The game was scheduled to be played on an on-campus outdoor rink but was moved to Shattuck Academy in Faribault because of weather.

January 16, 1974: Miami defenseman Todd Rohloff was born in Grand Rapids, Minn.

January 16, 1992: Denver left wing Jason Zucker was born in Newport, Berach, Calif.

January 16, 2002: Former St. Cloud State defenseman Bret Hedican was traded by the Florida Panthers along with former Miami center Kevyn Adams and prospect defenseman Tomas Malec, in exchange to the Carolina Hurricanes for defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh and prospect Byron Ritchie.

January 16, 1990: Former Western Michigan goaltender Glenn Healy made 51 saves on to lead the Islanders to a 3-0 win over Vancouver. At the time, it was the second-most saves made in a shutout by an NHL goaltender.

January 16, 1991: Former Clarkson right wing Dave Taylor played in his 922nd game, the most in Kings history. Los Angeles took a 4-3 loss to Hartford.

Hockey Quote of the Day

I was kind of smart enough when I was young, 14 or 15 years old, to realize that if you're ever going to do anything and step out of the shadow of your own dad — not only in hockey, but in life itself — you're going to have to learn you're Brett and not 'Bobby's son.'
Brett Hull (UMD)

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We'll Leave You With This ...

Former Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara had his No. 33 retired by the Boston Bruins.

Congratulations, Zdeno Chara 🙌 pic.twitter.com/NJxzveG49Q
— NHL (@NHL) January 16, 2026