MSU Hockey Tightening Grip on Title Race After Sweep

There is a chance that Michigan State hockey will have another Big Ten regular season championship sealed by the end of next weekend.

Top-ranked MSU is seeing its "magic number" towards clinching its third straight conference title. The Spartans are technically one point behind arch-rival Michigan for first place in the Big Ten, holding 45 points to the Wolverines' 46, but UM has just two games remaining to Michigan State's four.

Michigan State's Gavin O'Connell celebrates what he thought was a goal against Notre Dame during the second period on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, at the Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing. The goal was called off. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The number to know now is eight. If Michigan State gets eight more points out of the 12 possible ones it could get, it will win the conference outright. Seven would clinch a share. That number also drops by any points that the Wolverines fail to get, though MSU needs to get six points to ensure that third-place Penn State cannot catch it.

This means there is a realistic chance that the Spartans can lock it up this coming weekend. Michigan State is set to host unranked Ohio State on Friday and Saturday night. If the Spartans take all six points and sweep the Buckeyes and then have Michigan drop two points against Minnesota during its final regular season series, that would do it.

More on the Path Ahead for MSU

Michigan State's Maxim Strbak, left, celebrates his goal in front of Notre Dame's Niko Jovanovic during the first period on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026, at the Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The simple quest still remains for MSU: just keep winning, and the rest will take care of itself. Clinching the Big Ten title with a week to go would be great, but even if both Michigan State and Michigan have six-point weekends, that would just mean the Spartans would need one point to seal up a share of the conference title and two would clinch the whole thing.

This is true for all goals that Michigan State has. MSU is more than a lock to make the NCAA Tournament, but there is real importance in getting the No. 1 overall seed. That would match the Spartans up with the lowest-rated team in the 16-team field, and it would allow them to get first dibs on their regional location, which would probably be in Albany, N.Y.

That first seed in the Big Ten Tournament also carries weight. Michigan State has been the first seed in the conference's postseason tournament in back-to-back seasons and has also won it in back-to-back seasons.

There is some issue with the amount of rust that comes with it, as MSU might end up playing two games over the course of several weeks, but playing that best-of-three series increases the likelihood of some sort of injury that impacts the Spartans' roster right before the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan State's head coach Adam Nightingale talks with players on the bench during the second period in the game against Michigan on Friday, Jan. 19, 2024, at Munn Arena in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

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