Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Michigan State hockey rises again to No. 11 in USCHO rankings

December 12, 2022
Spartans line up for a game against University of Michigan at Yost Ice Arena on Dec. 10, 2022. The Spartans lost to the Wolverines with a score of 2-1.
Spartans line up for a game against University of Michigan at Yost Ice Arena on Dec. 10, 2022. The Spartans lost to the Wolverines with a score of 2-1. —
Photo by Audrey Richardson | The State News

For the fifth week in a row, Michigan State hockey has moved up in the weekly USCHO rankings. The Spartans (12-7-1) first entered the poll Nov. 14 and now sit at No. 11 following a home-and-home split versus Michigan. 

MSU won Friday night’s game 2-1 in East Lansing on goals from fifth-year defenseman Cole Krygier and freshman forward Tiernan Shoudy and a superb 22 saves from graduate transfer goaltender Dylan St. Cyr. The Spartans played well Saturday night too but Michigan rebounded with excellent goaltending and MSU fell 2-1. Freshman forward Gavin Best made his MSU debut Saturday night, replacing senior forward Erik Middendorf at left wing on the third line. 

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Minnesota stayed put at No. 3 following a dominant weekend versus Wisconsin. Penn State also did not move from No. 5 after splitting at Notre Dame. Michigan fell from No. 6 to No. 7, Ohio State moved from No. 15 to No. 14 after an idle weekend and Notre Dame stayed at No. 19.

In the PairWise rankings, MSU sits at No. 8, third best in the Big Ten behind Minnesota and Penn State. 

Michigan State has the next two weeks off from games until the Great Lakes Invitational Dec. 27-28 in Grand Rapids. MSU will face Ferris State in the first round and then either Western Michigan or Michigan Tech. 

Here’s how the rest of the rankings present:

  1. Denver

  2. Quinnipiac
  3. Minnesota
  4. St. Cloud
  5. Penn State
  6. Merrimack
  7. Michigan
  8. Boston University
  9. Harvard
  10. Connecticut
  11. Michigan State
  12. Providence
  13. UMass Lowell
  14. Ohio State
  15. Massachusetts
  16. Minnesota State
  17. Michigan Tech
  18. Western Michigan
  19. Notre Dame
  20. RIT

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