MSU Star Forward Earns Big Ten Honors

Michigan State junior forward Isaac Howard continues to add to his list of accolades this season.

On Tuesday, the Big Ten announced Howard had earned the Big Ten First Star of the Week following his performances against Penn State this past weekend.

The veteran was stellar in the Spartans’ 6-4 victory over the Nittany Lions on Friday, where he netted a season-high four goals and an assist. The junior’s four-goal performance was just one goal short of the Michigan State program record of five in one game.

In game two, Howard contributed another goal, but the Spartans would go on to lose in a shootout, which went down as a tie, but Penn State was able to gain an extra point in the Big Ten standings.

For the fourth time this season, Howard has received honors from the Big Ten, tying the program record for a single season. Even more impressively, Howard is the first skater to be recognized four times in one season in Michigan State history.

The Hudson, Wisconsin native is the leading point-scorer on the Spartans, the No. 1 team in the nation. The forward has 33 points this season, 15 points ahead of second place on the team.

Howard is a contender for the Hobey Baker Award for the best player in college hockey. He is the leading goal scorer in the entire country with 18 goals this season.

The last Michigan State player to win the Hobey Baker was goaltender Ryan Miller in 2001 and the last Spartans’ skater to win was forward Kip Miller in 1990.

A Big Ten player has won the award in two of the last four seasons, with Wisconsin forward Cole Caufield winning in 2021 and Michigan forward Adam Fantilli in 2023.

Despite not getting the extra point against Penn State, the Spartans remain the leader of the conference with 28 points, 1 point ahead of the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who rank No. 3 in the national polls.

Michigan State will continue conference play as they face off against in-state rival, the Michigan Wolverines in the first of four regular-season contests on Friday in Ann Arbor.

Michigan has taken a step backward this season as it is No. 5 in the Big Ten with 18 points through 12 conference games.

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