No. 7 Michigan State Looks To End Losing Streak To No. 8 Minnesota
There is no doubt Michigan State has turned around its hockey program.
On the back of their best start in recent memory, the Spartans have surged to No. 7 in the country following a 10-3 overall record and 5-0-1 start in Big Ten Conference play. MSU head coach Adam Nightingale has a nationwide buzz surrounding this team after the Spartans’ recent two-game sweep over then-No. 1 Wisconsin last weekend. The Spartans will have everyone's attention when they travel to Minneapolis to take on 8th-ranked Minnesota tonight (8 p.m./BTN+), in the first of two games against the Golden Gophers this weekend. MSU and Minnesota will conclude the series on Sunday (2 p.m./BTN).
In recent history, the Gophers have bullied the Spartans, winning 14 consecutive contests between these two programs dating back to February 2020. If Michigan State wants to end its losing streak in this series, it will need to stay out of the penalty box. This past weekend, MSU gave the Badgers eight total power plays in the series sweep. The Spartans were fortunate to now allow a goal on any of those power play opportunities, which is a credit to their defensive prowess. So far this season, Minnesota is scoring on 18% of their power plays. The Gophers have a lot of young talent such as Jimmy Snuggerud, the Big Ten scoring co-champion last season with 36 points in conference play. Nine of those points against the Spartans. Of Snuggerud’s 21 goals last year, eight came on the power play.
Michigan State will hope for a big weekend from sophomore forward Karsen Dorwart who, like Snuggerud, was a freshman standout a year ago, and has almost matched his freshman season stats in half the games this year. Unfortunately for the Spartans, Dorwart hasn’t scored since early November, in a 6-0 victory against Ohio State. The sophomore didn’t log a single point in the sweep of Wisconsin, but Dorwart has had help during his drought. Fellow sophomore and the newly-acquired Isaac Howard, who transferred from Minnesota-Duluth, has been great at setting up his teammates with a team-high 12 assists.
The Spartans struck gold when they were able to flip freshman goaltender Trey Augustine from rival Michigan in recruiting and bring him to East Lansing. Since Augustine stepped on campus, he’s had an immediate impact on Michigan State’s roster, starting 13 of 14 games for MSU with nine wins in goal. Augustine’s .792 win percentage which is tied for first in the country, and the freshman has backed his winning percentage by stopping 91% of all shots he’s faced. Augustine has been helped out by fellow freshman defenseman, Artyom Levshunov, who leads the team with a positive-15 plus-minus rating. Another big help on defense is sophomore defenseman Matt Basgall who leads the Spartans with 19 blocked shots.
If Michigan State can shut down Minnesota’s young core and create chances at their own end of the ice, the Spartans will have a great chance at beating the Golden Gophers for the first time in just under four years and build upon their current lead in the Big Ten Conference standings.
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