Michigan State hockey doesn’t need a superhero in the NCAA tournament; it needs a team that stays true to its identity. It needs veteran leadership — seniors who have felt the sting of single-elimination games. It needs the 11 freshmen who spread enthusiasm at the rink and have harnessed it under pressure. And it needs a team that’s hungry to win.
That’s everything that the Spartans already are.
“We don't need Superman here,” coach Adam Nightingale said about his leadership group. “We need everyone's best, and that's what we ask for our guys every day… Now, getting down to crunch time, you got to be genuine, you got to be authentic, you got to be yourself.”
MSU has proven its identity throughout the season. It’s responsive and can execute at both ends of the ice. At their best, the Spartans play physical hockey, and everyone fills their role. But the team carries some scars, too.
“We started the year talking about scars,” Nightingale said in September. “We've had some success, but we have some scars. And you know, the nice thing with scars is you don't forget why you have them.”
For the MSU returners, one of those scars comes from a 4-3 loss to Cornell in the regional round of last year’s tournament. The Spartans took a late penalty and gave up a goal with 10 seconds left in the game.
“Extra excited for the way that it ended last year,” senior defenseman and captain Matt Basgall said. “The sole focus coming in this year was getting back to this spot and giving ourselves another chance.”
For the newcomers, one of their scars came from a 3-2 overtime loss to Ohio State just two weeks ago in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. The team has not played since, making the upcoming matchup even more anticipated.
Basgall said the loss could have been a blessing, reminding the team of the detail needed to win games.
“Definitely a chip on our shoulder with [the Cornell loss] happening and then losing the semifinals,” freshman forward Ryker Lee said. “We're a team that's really hungry, so it's exciting.”
Nightingale isn’t asking his leadership group to score more, or for his first-year players to carry more weight. He’s asking them to continue to bring what they already have, discipline to fill their roles and energy. And it starts with practice.
If you walked in on an MSU hockey practice, you’d experience a high-energy atmosphere.
Skates slicing across the ice. Whistles blown, voices yelling and banging on glass. Competition between players and celebratory hugs. And the stench of cold sweat. It has every component of a game, just without the fans.
“There's a ton of enthusiasm with this group, and you got to harness that in the right ways,” Nightingale said. “Our guys have given us everything they have and kept working at getting better and have enjoyed being at the rink, so I think that enthusiasm has really been a key to our team. We're going to need it in the tournament.”
Enthusiasm can also be tied to frustration at times, an emotion the team has navigated throughout the season, particularly on failed power plays and penalties.
But the Spartans have also handled business in high-stakes games. Several players have competed on the international stage at the World Junior Championships, and the team has managed its emotions before large crowds.
It has found success at the Great Lakes Invitational within an AHL hockey arena, at Beaver Stadium before over 70,000 fans and at Duel in the D, defeating rival Michigan to ascend the ranks. And different players have stepped up in each game.
“Our guys have played in some big moments,” Nightingale said. “The moment definitely doesn't eat them up.”
The Spartans were reminded that hockey is a game of inches in their recent loss to Ohio State. That execution matters. Execution was also one of MSU’s biggest takeaways from last season’s loss to Cornell.
“I remember looking up at the shot clock, and I think it was like 34-4,” Nightingale said about last season’s NCAA Tournament game. “But it's a tie ball game, and execution and putting teams away matters... Executing, when you get opportunities, both offensively and defensively, is really important.”
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MSU doesn’t need anything extra to contend for a national championship. It doesn’t need to force plays or rely on a star. What it needs is execution and attention to detail, with the steadiness of its seniors and the energy of the team.
And the Spartans have voiced a focus on themselves every single week.
“It's about us and playing our game, and not about who we're playing,” Lee said. “Especially with all the noise and the selection show and everything, it's just more about us.”
