Michigan State endured its successful season in over a decade at an 18-18-2 record. Yet, there are very few Big Ten accolades to show for it. 

Senior forward Jagger Joshua and graduate student goaltender Dylan St. Cyr were the only two Spartans to earn Big Ten honors, both receiving All-Big Ten honorable mentions. 

“Both Jagger and Dylan have done so much for our program this season and are very deserving recipients of post-season awards,” Head Coach Adam Nightingale said in a statement.  “Both played a large role in the success that our team enjoyed this season – they committed themselves to what our coaching staff asked of them.  It is always a great feeling to see your players be rewarded for their hard work.

“While Jagger and Dylan have certainly earned these awards, I want to be sure to acknowledge that each of our 10 seniors – many who also had career-best seasons – helped lay a foundation for what we want to see in our program going forward. As the team picked to finish seventh in the league this year, their leadership helped our program exceed what many people thought was possible. Their buy-in and selflessness led to the most wins for an MSU team in more than a decade and a spot in the Big Ten semifinals for the first time in program history. Whether or not they are recognized formally by the Big Ten, every one of them will leave a legacy in our locker room and have earned the respect of everyone in our program.”

Joshua was one of Michigan State’s many breakouts of the season, leading the team with 13 goals while being a mainstay on the topline. Seven of the 13 came on the power play, the second most in the Big Ten. Joshua scored a hat trick on two different occasions this year, the first coming Oct. 22 versus LIU and then once more against Penn State on Jan. 14. 

He was benched for a late November game against Miami (OH) due to his propensity of penalties, but cleaned up his act maturely by taking just 14 penalties in the final 23 games – a remarkable improvement from the 14 penalties he took in the first 14 games of the season. 

St. Cyr, who was also MSU’s recipient of the Sportsmanship Award, transferred to Michigan State after one season at Quinnipiac and four at Notre Dame. He was everything the Spartans needed in net, starting all but one game and setting career-highs in wins (17) and total saves (1,074). St. Cyr recorded a .915 save percentage and 2.77 GAA while earning three shutouts. 

He also made the save-of-a-lifetime in a Jan. 28 game at Minnesota. 

Nightingale was a finalist for Big Ten Coach of the Year, but lost to Minnesota’s Bob Motzko. 

Joshua has one year of eligibility remaining from the 2020-21 season, though he hasn’t publicly announced whether or not he plans to return for a fifth season. St. Cyr, meanwhile, has no eligibility left after playing six seasons of college hockey.