However, the Pairwise rankings are a different story. The Spartans hold a firm second place nationally with 62 points in the season thus far, just a point behind the Eagles who sit comfortably with 63 points. But MSU and BC aren’t the only two teams who are in contention for that No. 1 seed in the 2024-2025 NCAA Frozen Four tournament.  

The top four Pairwise teams — Boston College, MSU, Minnesota and Maine — reflect the dominance of Big Ten and Hockey East programs, each vying for a No. 1 regional seed.

No. 1 — The Boston College Eagles

Boston College (24-6-1) has long been a powerhouse, producing NHL talent like Will Smith and Cutter Gauthier. After finishing as national runners-up in 2023-24, the Eagles are primed for another title run.

Goaltender Jacob Fowler has been instrumental in BC’s success. After winning gold as Team USA’s backup to MSU’s Trey Augustine at the 2024 IIHF World Juniors, Fowler has posted a stellar 22-6-1 record, a 1.73 GAA, and a .937 save percentage this season.

Though BC lost star forwards after last season, others have been sure to step up in the absence, being sophomore Ryan Leonard. The Massachusetts native has put himself in the Hobey Baker conversation with 27 goals and 15 assists on the season. The forward is tied for first in the nation with an impressive eight game winning goals on the season.

Michigan State University

The 22-6-4 Spartans, coming off of a split weekend against the Penn State Nittany Lions, have had a successful season aside from the tie on night one and the night two loss to the red-hot team from Happy Valley. After an early loss to BC on opening night, MSU went on a dominant run, solidifying its national title aspirations and positioning itself for a second straight Big Ten regular-season championship.

Augustine has headlined MSU’s season, leading Team USA to consecutive World Junior golds while earning semifinalist nods for the Hobey Baker, Mike Richter and AAU Sullivan Awards.

The sophomore, with two shutouts on the season, holds a 2.10 GAA and a .925 save percentage. With a 15-6-4 season record, the netminder continues to find success behind his young squad.  

But not only has Augustine been a key piece to the Spartans success, junior forward Isaac Howard has also put himself strongly on the map. As another Hobey Baker nominee on the green and white squad, Howard leads the voting with 15.3% of the national votes. Tied for first in the nation with three fellow collegiate players, the top liner has 22 goals and 23 assists with one more series left to play.

The Minnesota Golden Gophers

The 23-7-4 Golden Gophers have stayed on MSU’s heels all season, remaining in contention for a Big Ten title. Now just a singular point ahead of the Spartans in the conference standings, the Golden Gophers round out their season on the road against a Nittany Lions team that has been on a magical run. With a road sweep, Minnesota could solidify itself as the best in the Big Ten with two conference titles in three years.

Goaltending for the Golden Gophers has been powered by veteran star power in graduate transfer Liam Souliere, former goaltender for Penn State. Souliere owns a 2.05 GAA and a .925 save percentage, but has split a lot of his time between the pipes with fellow netminder sophomore Nathan Airey, who holds 2.50 GAA through his season and a .901 save percentage.

Offensively leading the charge is Jimmy Snuggerud, who came back for his junior season after thorough discussion with the St. Louis Blues about signing his rookie contract. Snuggerud, a captain in his third season in the maroon and gold, made his presence known as a Hobey Baker candidate for his third consecutive season with 21 goals and 43 points.

The University of Maine Black Bears

At 19-6-5, Maine has asserted itself as a Hockey East contender alongside BC, BU and UConn, positioning itself for a deep postseason run.

As starting netminder for the Black Bears, sophomore Albin Boija has been key to a team that is shaping up to be a top four seed in the tournament. With a season record of 18-6-5 and 1.64 GAA as well as a .931 save percentage, Boija has helped the team to gain recognition in conference and nationally. 

Scott Harrison has been the offensive standout producer for Maine with 16 goals and 15 assists in his final season with the program. With 110 shots total on the season, Harrison is the only one on his squad that has earned himself a spot as a Hobey Baker semi-finalist with voting running until Sunday, March 9 at midnight.

MSU closes out the regular season with a road series at Notre Dame on Feb. 28-29. Friday’s game starts at 7 p.m., and Saturday’s at 6 p.m., both streaming on Peacock.