Task Clear for MSU Hockey in Final Showdown vs. Minnesota

The Big Ten title race is going to come down to the final weekend.

No. 2 Michigan State's task is simple, and it knows exactly what it needs to do. Top-ranked Michigan sits at 49 points through 24 conference games, but doesn't play in the final week of the regular season. MSU is at 47 points through 22 Big Ten games with two games left against Minnesota.

That means that if the Spartans get two points this weekend, they split the conference's regular season title (Michigan State would get the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament). If MSU gets three points, it clinches the Big Ten championship outright. One regulation win is all it would take, and it gets two more shots at it.

"We've come to this point where, the last two years, we've been in this spot," head coach Adam Nightingale said Tuesday. "We've had to go on the road and win to win a championship. We talked about that. I told our guys, 'Hey, we're playing a really good team, and for us to have success and win, we need everyone's best.'"

Michigan State's Charlie Stramel battles through Notre Dame on a face off during the third 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

What Title Would Mean for MSU

Michigan State forward Porter Martone (22) celebrates scoring a goal against Michigan during the first period of Duel in the D at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, February 7, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Winning a third regular season title in a row would be something Michigan State's program has never seen. MSU has won back-to-back such championships in the CCHA in 1985-86, 1989-90, and 1998-99, and now 2024-25 in the Big Ten.

Michigan State's Eric Nilson, right, closes in on Notre Dame's Pano Fimis during the third 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

If the Spartans get three points, it would be the team's second outright championship in three years. Michigan State split the title with the Golden Gophers last season, with both teams finishing with 50 points apiece.

The year before that, MSU's 52 points were two ahead of second-place Wisconsin for the championship. The Spartans can also end up surpassing both of those seasons' point totals with a six-point sweep this weekend.

Also potentially at stake is positioning for the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. Michigan surpassed Michigan State on the NPI, which is used to seed the tourney, last weekend after the Spartans lost and tied against Ohio State at Munn, while the Wolverines won and lost against the Golden Gophers.

The good part about this weekend is that UM can't do anything but watch and hope. The gap between MSU and Michigan in the NPI is small enough that the Spartans would almost certainly take back over the No. 1 overall spot with a sweep. That will be challenging on the road, but Michigan State's fate is in its own hands.

Michigan State and Minnesota wear 'DS' patches in honor of the late hockey staffer Dan Sturges during the third period in the game against on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing. Pictured is MSU's Charlie Stramel, right, and Beckett Hendrickson. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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