Michigan State goaltender Trey Augustine inspects his mask before gearing back up at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024, for the "Duel in the D." The 18-year-old Michigan native was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 2023 and has been extremely solid between the posts for MSU this season.
The weeks are quickly counting down for the Spartan hockey team, and with that comes the final few rankings and polls for the season.
After a huge sweep for the first time since the 2019 season, the Spartans took down No. 14 Michigan and landed themselves tied at No. 5 in the USA Hockey polls, as well as No. 6 in the USCHO, jumping three spots from their previous No. 8 and No. 9 rankings, respectively.
Michigan State also made a leap in the PairWise rankings as they were slotted at No. 5, trailing a commanding Wisconsin Badgers team at No. 4. Wisconsin is currently second in the Big Ten standings and holds a 22-6-2 overall record and a 13-4-1 record in the Big Ten, tallying up 41 total points for the season. Michigan State, on the other hand, leads the Big Ten and is 20-7-3 overall and 14-4-2 in the Big Ten, collecting 46 points so far on the season. The last time these two teams met, Michigan State swept Wisconsin, but the two teams will be rematching on March 1 and March 2.
Because the Spartans are still in first in the Big Ten, they have earned a home playoff game and have a good chance to stay in their first-place position for the bye-week and to host the Big Ten championship.
To round out the jumps that MSU made in the polls everywhere, freshman net minder Trey Augustine landed the Big Ten Second Star of the Week. The freshman faced a total of 68 shots through the series sweep against Michigan and stopped 65 of those shots, shutting down nearly 96% of the shots that were targeted at him. He also posted a 1.50 Goals Against Average. This is Augustine's third Big Ten Star of the Week recognition of the season.
The Spartans now head to a bye-week and then pick back up for their last home series of the regular season against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Friday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. in celebration of Senior Night. Both games will be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
