Idle weekend puts Michigan State hockey's future out of its control
It’s crazy how big of a difference one point can make in the Big Ten Standings.
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It’s crazy how big of a difference one point can make in the Big Ten Standings.
At the end of a week filled with heartbreak and grief for the Michigan State community, Spartan hockey fell in an upsetting loss to Wisconsin, 6-2. MSU finished 3-1 on the season against the Badgers, splitting wins with them this weekend after picking up a commanding 6-2 victory on Friday night.
There was no way to predict how Michigan State would come out Friday night. Just four days after three MSU students were killed and five others were critically injured on-campus, the No. 17 Spartans powered their way to a 6-2 statement win over Wisconsin.
Now in the final week of the regular season, Michigan State hockey holds the same USCHO ranking as it did when it first entered the poll Nov. 14 – at No. 17.
DETROIT – It was almost something worth celebrating.
Until the last second of sudden-death overtime, it looked like the annual Duel in the D matchup between No. 15 Michigan State and No. 5 Michigan could go into the record book as a tie. Wolverine sophomore defenseman Luke Hughes had other plans, netting the game-winner with 0.7 on the clock. The Spartans fell in a 4-3 heartbreaker.
Throughout the duration of the three hour and three minute matchup between No. 15 Michigan State hockey and No. 5 Michigan on Friday, the archrivals were whistled for a combined 28 penalties.
No. 15 Michigan State pushed itself to the limit, but ultimately couldn't dig out of a 3-0 hole in the first period, falling to No. 5 Michigan 4-2 in East Lansing.
There are just four games remaining in Michigan State’s regular season schedule, each of which is important for the Spartans’ postseason aspirations. Four teams are currently tied for second place in the Big Ten with 30 points, leaving the margins slim in the battle for home ice advantage.
Michigan State hockey (15-13-2, 9-9-2 Big Ten) has bounced around the USCHO.com top 20 quite a bit since entering the poll on Nov. 14, most recently rising two spots to No. 15 following a sweep of Notre Dame.
It’s been 17 years since No. 17 Michigan State last swept No. 20 Notre Dame, a remarkable streak that ended Saturday in East Lansing.
For eight games, Michigan State’s penalty kill was reeling badly.
Michigan State hockey returned home to Munn Ice Arena after a disappointing weekend on the road at Minnesota looking to add to its Big Ten conference points.
With six games left on its regular season schedule, No. 17 Michigan State hockey is entering the home stretch. Sitting just outside the 16-team NCAA tournament bubble at No. 18 in the PairWise rankings, the Spartans are fighting to earn a spot in the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
A lot of change has unearthed the Michigan State hockey program over the last year.
Michigan State fell two spots to No. 17 in the USCHO Poll released Monday afternoon following two losses at Minnesota.
Through 30 minutes of play Saturday night, Michigan State was outplaying the soon-to-be top-ranked Minnesota on its home ice.
As it traveled to Minneapolis, Michigan State hockey was looking for redemption against No. 2 Minnesota after suffering a debacle of a sweep on its home ice to the Golden Gophers in December. Instead, the Spartans experienced nothing but deja vu, unable to keep up with Minnesota’s talented roster chock-full of NHL prospects.
Sometimes getting a weekend off in college hockey is a good thing. Injury-riddled teams are able to take an extra week to heal, downtrodden teams are given time to regroup or, at the very least, teams are able to flat out rest.
Michigan State remains at No. 15 in this latest USCHO Poll following an idle week.