After an opening weekend sweep against Lake Superior State University, the Michigan State hockey team has already made improvement in the United States College Hockey Online (USCHO) and USA Hockey Magazine polls, moving from No. 9 to No. 8 in both after the first weekend of play.
MSU took home two victories this weekend at Munn Ice Arena, after a 5-2 win over LSSU on Saturday and a 4-2 win on Sunday, which has given the team its first season start with two wins since the 2009-2010 season.
The Spartans were not ranked within the top 20 at the start of last season, but within a year they have weaseled their way into the top 10, and rightfully so. Where the Spartans sit this week at No. 8 is higher than any ranking they received last season.
The opening weekend of college hockey is over at this point, so along with the polls being released, the Pairwise rankings have been updated following the weekend, based on wins and points. Michigan State sits at first, tied with eight other teams, but the Pairwise rankings do not hold much weight this early in the season.
Fifth year forward and alternate captain Nicolas Müller also received recognition following the first weekend at the conference level.
Müller has been named Big Ten Second Star of the week. The forward had four points during the Spartan’s series sweep against LSSU and is now ranked second in the conference for points and assists (3).
Last season, Müller had 34 points on the season (9 goals, 25 assists), which is the most points a Spartan has had since the 2018-2019 season.
Michigan State will take on Air Force (1-1) in Colorado on Oct.12 and Oct. 13. MSU will be going into next weekend looking to remain undefeated.
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