“They were hungry to play,” Michigan State Head Coach Adam Nightingale said. “I thought it was awesome, thought the crowd was awesome. The turnout was unbelievable. A packed building, the student section was great. And, you know, I think a little bit of what you would expect, right, is a little bit of helter skelter hockey. I thought there was portions of the game I really liked our team.”

The game got off to a quick start with the goal horn blaring just 35 seconds in. Senior forward Charlie Stramel won a faceoff seven seconds in and the Spartan forwards were aggressive.

Despite a blocked shot from senior forward Daniel Russell, MSU retained control of the puck allowing Russell to dish out an assist to freshman forward Porter Martone, who was walled up at the net to shovel in the first goal of the night, and his first in a Spartan uniform. 

“I was pretty excited for this day,” Martone said. “For the past month, I've kind of been waiting to come out, you know, play in front of this crowd, and play in front of the university.”

The Spartans continued to attack with multiple close shots by the second line. The Lancers sought to slow the game down whenever they got the puck behind their net – and MSU fans booed them every time. 

A couple minutes after a media timeout Martone was back on the ice with a near goal, but Windsor goalkeeper Max Donoso picked up the save. After the miss Martone and Windsor forward Owen Jones got into it, with Martone picking up four penalty minutes – two for slashing, two for roughing. 

Despite the powerplay, junior goaltender Trey Augustine was there for the saves and Windsor failed to convert. Back at full strength Michigan State had more shots, but the score was 1-0 at the end of the first. 

The second period started a bit slower than the first, but junior forward Griffin Jurecki changed this. Skating down the ice with two Lancers on him Jurecki fired it to senior forward Tiernan Shoudy who sent it over to junior forward Tommi Männistö for the slapshot goal to put MSU up 2-0. 

The Spartans did not give the Lancers a break. 

Shortly after the goal, a Windsor penalty set up a power play for the green and white. With the first line back on the ice, a quick pass from junior defenseman Maxim Štrbák to Stramel for a tip-in goal extended the Spartans’ lead 3-0. 

Michigan State found itself on the powerplay again after a Windsor holding penalty. The green and white fired off four shots but were stopped each time. 

“I think the big identity for us is 45 seconds hard,” Martone said. “If you don't get your chances, you don't score, you get off and give the other unit a shot.”

Right after the Lancers returned to even strength, freshman forward Ryker Lee got his share of the action maneuvering the puck to send in a fourth Spartan goal. 

Windsor went on a powerplay of its own, but two saves from freshman goaltender Melvin Strahl prevented a Lancer goal. 

The period ended with Michigan State on the powerplay. After a missed shot by Windsor forward Colton Smith and a crosscheck on Männistö, the two got into it – and Tiernan Shoudy responded from behind. 

With a glove on the ice it took multiple officials to break up the scrum. Both Smith and Tiernan Shoudy received penalties for roughing and misconduct, but Smith received a crosscheck to give MSU the two minute powerplay. 

Despite Michigan State firing 22 shots in the third – the most of any period– the score did not change. However, it highlighted some of the Spartans’ strengths going forward. Lee showed off his stick handling and freshman forward Cayden Lindstrom had a breakaway, beating a defenseman to earn isolation, despite hitting the goal pipe. 

With the 4-0 win the exhibition puts Michigan State in a better position entering official NCAA play next week. Michigan State outshot Windsor in each period, and overall 50-23. Augustine played 29 minutes, recording eight saves, and Strahl played 30 minutes for 15 saves. Returners Stramel, Russell and Männistö showed strong performances and Nightingale’s all-freshman lineup was able to convert. 

“I think there's a lot of bright spots in the game,” Nightingale said. “But there's also a lot of areas where I think we can clean up. And the nice thing is, we got a group of guys, I think, that want to get better and have some humility too.”

The Spartans will host the New Hampshire Wildcats on Oct. 9 to kick off a two-game series. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. ET