Glancing at Michigan State Hockey's Season Entering Winter Break
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There probably is not a team on the Michigan State campus with a better shot at a national title than the Spartans' hockey team.
MSU is currently 12-4-0 on the year and is 5-3-0 in Big Ten play. The Spartans are ranked third in the USCHO poll, only behind top-ranked Michigan and No. 2 Wisconsin. UM and the Badgers account for all three of MSU's conference losses.
On this episode of the Michigan State Spartans Insider Podcast, let's break down how the season has gone so far for the Spartans and provide some analysis on how it might translate down the line in their chase for a third straight Big Ten title and that potential deep run in the NCAA Tournament everyone is waiting for.
Video of the entire episode can be viewed below.
Watch the MSU Spartans Insider Podcast here:
Game 1 Difficulties
One level of concern for the future, more specifically, the NCAA's single-elimination, 16-team tournament, is that Michigan State has generally been better in the second game of each series than the first to this point.
Three of the Spartans' four losses have come in their first game against an opponent. The only game two loss was against Wisconsin, and that was technically a better result, since MSU lost that game in overtime, while the first game was a regulation loss.
College hockey is a sport where one would prefer their team to be better in the first game, simply because that's how a team needs to be in order to win a national championship. In my personal opinion, the NCAA having a single-elimination tournament in a sport like hockey that has an element of randomness to it is ridiculous, but that's the format.
Even though the regular season features 34 total games and usually has teams face one another two times in a row, there is no second game when it's time to determine a national champion. Basketball season is a similar length and is single-elimination, too, but series aren't a thing there, and the tournament is much bigger.
Plus, the larger amount of scoring in basketball makes it less likely for upsets to happen, which is why upsets are more common in the NHL playoffs than in the NBA playoffs, even though more leagues use best-of-seven playoff series. Reducing the "series" down to a game-seven-like scenario adds some of that randomness back.
This bit Michigan State in the NCAA Tournament last year. The Spartans were a No. 1 seed in the tournament, but were upset by fourth-seeded Cornell in the first round, 4-3, despite out-shooting the Big Red 37-21. A best-of-three format would make more sense, but that's not how it is, resulting in an unceremonious ending to MSU's season.
Keep up with all our content when you follow the official Spartan Nation page on Facebook, Spartan Nation, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be sure to share your thoughts on how MSU hockey has done this year when you join our community group, Go Green Go White, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE. Don't forget to give us a follow on X @MSUSpartansOnSI as well.
Previous Episode - Examining MSU's Pat Fitzgerald's Job at Retaining Talent So Far
A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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