2025–26 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey season

New Hampshire

MSU began the regular season welcoming New Hampshire to Munn Arena on October 9 and 10 as the consensus No. 2 team in the country. In game one against the Wildcats, the Spartans fell behind 2–1 early in the second period before Charlie Stramel tied the game with just under eight minutes remaining the period. The Wildcats retook the lead on a power play goal in the third before the Spartans tied it with a goal by Tommi Männistö with less than four minutes left in regulation. However, the Wildcats put in a rebound past Trey Augustine with 5.2 seconds left in the game to shock the Spartans 4–3.^[4] In game two, neither team scored in the first before Matt Basgall scored to give the Spartans a 1–0 lead in the second. Patrick Geary added a goal in the third as Augustine shut out the Wildcats 2–0.^[5]

Boston University

The following week, the Spartans, now ranked No. 3, travelled to face No. 1-ranked Boston University. MSU struck early taking a two-goal lead on a power play goal by Stramel and a short-handed goal two minutes later by Eric Nilson. Following a Terriers power play goal later in the first, the Spartans stretched the lead back to two with a goal with less than five minutes left in the period. Following a scoreless second, Michigan State took a three-goal lead less than two minutes into the third. A BU power play goal with a minute left narrowed the lead to 4–2, but MSU held on for the win.^[6] In game two against the Terriers, MSU again took a 2–0 lead through two periods. After BU scored less than three minutes into the third, Männistö added his second goal of the season just 39 seconds later to push the lead to 3–1. However, the Terriers mounted a furious comeback, scoring a short-handed goal with less than seven minutes left in the third and tying the game at 15:02 of the third. In overtime, Basgall notched in the winning goal after a Terrier shot was stopped by Shane Vansgahi just short of crossing the goal line to give MSU the 4–3 win.^[7]

Northern Michigan

Following the sweep of No. 1 BU, the Spartans moved to No. 1 the following week.^[8]

The Spartans travelled to face Northern Michigan on October 24 and 25. In game one, the Spartans shut out the Wildcats 4–0. Maxim Strbák had two assists in the game while four different Spartans notched a goal in the win.^[9] In game two, MSU won again, beating NMU 6–2. Tommi Männistö scored two goals in the game as the Spartans earned the sweep over Northern Michigan.^[10]

Penn State

After an off week, the Spartans, still ranked No. 1 in the country, faced No. 3-ranked Penn State at Munn Arena on November 7 and 8. In game one, Anthony Romani gave the Spartans the lead 17 minutes in. However, the Nittany Lions tied it in the second, beating Trey Augustine on a deflected shot. Going to overtime, Tiernan Shoudy scored the game winner as MSU won 2–1.^[11] In game two, the Spartans finished off the sweep, routing PSU 5–0. Augustine stopped all 36 Lion shots while Charlie Srtamel scored two goals and had two assists in the win. Daniel Russel added three assists as MSU won easily.^[12]

Notre Dame

The Spartans, now unanimously the No. 1 team in both polls,^[13] next traveled to face Notre Dame on November 14 and 15. In game one, Porter Martone scored two goals as the Spartans beat the Irish 4–1. Charlie Stramel and Daniel Russell each had two assists while Maxim Strbak and Ryker Lee also scored for the Spartans. With 54 second remaining in the game, senior goaltender Dolan Gilbert, a South Bend native and the team's third goalie, entered the game in his Spartan debut.^[14] In game two, Lee scored 90 seconds in to give MSU the early lead. Martone scored his third goal of the weekend to push the lead to 2–0. An empty net goal gave the Spartans the 3–1 win and sweep of the Irish.^[15]

Wisconsin

The Spartans returned home still the unanimous No. 1 team to face No. 7-ranked Wisconsin. In game one on November 21, the Spartans took an early 2–0 lead on goals by Daniel Russell and Porter Martone before Wisconsin scored four straight to take the lead. The Spartans narrowed the lead to 4–3 with a Ryker Lee goal, but Wisconsin added another to push the lead back to two. Despite a second goal by Martone, the Badgers held on for the 5–4 win.^[16] In game two on November 22, the Spartans trailed 1–0 in the third before Martone scored his third goal of the weekend with just 3.8 seconds remaining in regulation. The Badgers completed the sweep with a goal 2:36 into overtime to win 2–1.^[17]

Colgate

Following the sweep by Wisconsin, the now No. 3-ranked Spartans welcomed Colgate to Munn where they swept the Raiders, winning 5–2 and 4–1. Daniel Russell had two goals in the second game while Ryker Lee scored his second of the series. The wins moved the Spartans to 11–3–0 on the season.^[18]

Michigan

The Spartans, still ranked No. 3 in both polls. returned to the ice to play a home-and-home series against No. 1 ranked Michigan on December 5 and 6. In the first game in Ann Arbor, Michigan controlled the game, shutting out the Spartans 3–0.^[19] In game two back in East Lansing, the Spartans fell behind 1–0 in the first. However MSU rallied to tie the game on a goal by Anthony Romani with less than two minutes remaining in the second period. Early in the third, Romani again lit the lamp to give the Spartans the 2–1 lead. Trey Augustine held the Spartans scoreless from there and Porter Martone added an empty net goal to give MSU the 3–1 win over the top-ranked Wolverines.^[20] The win moved the Spartans to 12–4 overall and 5–3 in conference play.

Great Lakes Invitational

After three weeks off, the Spartans, still ranked No. 3, travelled to Grand Rapids, Michigan for the Great Lakes Invitational.

Ohio State

MSU, now ranked No. 2 in the nation, will return to Big Ten action on January 9 and 10 by visiting Ohio State. In game one, the Spartans jumped on the Buckeyes, scoring four goals in the first period, two by Porter Martone. Ohio State narrowed the lead to 4–2 with a goal in the second and another early in the third. However, Charlie Stramel scored a power play goal four minutes in to the third as MSU won easily 6–2.^[24] The next day, neither team scored in the first before Ohio State took the lead 2:53 into the second. Porter Martone scored his third goal of the series to tie it at two with 10 minutes left in the period. However, OSU scored 8:01 into the third and held the Spartans off for a 2–1 win. The loss dropped MSU to 15–5 and 6–4 in conference.^[25]

Wisconsin

Dropping to No. 4 in the country, the Spartans travelled to face No. 2 Wisconsin on January 15 and 16. In the first game, Wisconsin tied it early in the second after a Ryker Lee goal had given MSU the 1–0 lead in the first. The Spartans scored three straight goals in the second to take a 4–1 lead. However, the Badgers narrowed the lead to eon with a goal near the end of the second period and si minutes into the third. MSU, however, held UW off for the 4–3 win.^[26] On January 16, MSU blew the game open in the first period, taking a 3–0 lead on a goal by Shane Vansaghi and a short-handed and power play goal by Daniel Russell. Michigan State pushed the lead to four with less than five minutes left in the second half. The Badgers finally scored with less than a minute left in the game. The 4–1 victory gave the Spartans the sweep and put MSU at 8–4 in conference and 17–5 overall.^[27]

Minnesota

The Spartans returned home to face unranked Minnesota on January 23 and 24 now ranked No. 2 in the country. Ryker Lee gave the Spartans an early 1–0 lead in the first game while MSU added two more goals to go up by three with 17 minutes left in the game. The Gophers drew within two at 13:50 of the third on a power play goal, but MSU held on for the 3–1 win. There was a minute of silence before the game in honor of Dan Sturges, director of hockey operations for the Spartans, who passed away earlier in the week. MSU players wore a jersey patch and Minnesota players also wore decals on their helmets in his honor.^[28] In game two, the Spartan fell behind early before Daniel Russell tied it with a power play goal late in the first. MSU added a goal early in the second and early in the third to take a two-goal lead. Another power play goal for the Gophers brought the score to 3–2 with seven minutes left. However, MSU held on for the win. The win moved MSU to 19–5 overall and 10–4 in conference, one point behind first-place Michigan.^[29]

Penn State

MSU, still ranked No. 2 in the country, travelled to face No. 5 Penn Sate on January 30 and 31. MSU jumped on the Nittany Lions early, taking a 3–0 lead in the first on two goals by Anthony Romani and a goal by Owen West. Both teams scored in the second as MSU held on to its three-goal lead. PSU drew within a goal with two goals in the first 10 minutes of the third period. However, the Spartans held on from there and added two empty net goals, including Romani's third of the game, to win 6–3.^[30] In game two, the teams played outdoors at Beaver Stadium. Daniel Russell scored the only goal of the first period to give the Spartans a 1–0 lead. Penn State tied it and took the lead in the second, but Charlie Stramel's second goal of the period knotted the game up at three entering the third. The Lions again took the lead less than five minutes into the third, but Matt Basgall tied it at 7:38 of the third. In overtime, Stramel completed the hat trick, the second consecutive game with an MSU hat trick, to give MSU the 5–4 win and series sweep.^[31]

Michigan

MSU next travelled to face No. 1 Michigan at Yost Ice Arena on February 6 and then at Little Caesars Arena on February 7. In game one, Charlie Stramel took the lead at 15:!4 of the first period, but the Wolverines tied it less than two minutes later. Goals by Shane Vansaghi and Owen West gave the Spartans a two-goal lead entering the third period. However, Michigan added two goals to tied it and force overtime. Three minutes into overtime, the Wolverines won it 4–3.^[32] In game two in Detroit, Michigan State scored the first four goals to take a commanding 4–0 lead early in the second. However, the Wolverines look to rally again, drawing within in two 5:01 into the third. However and empty net goal by Tommi Männistö secured MSU's 5–2 win.^[33] The Spartans moved to 22–6, 13–5 on the season.

Notre Dame

The Spartans, again ranked No. 1 in the country and fresh off a bye week, faced Notre Dame at Munn on February 19 and 20. In game one, the Spartans took the lead 3:07 into the game on a Maxim Strbak goal. The Irish tied it two minutes later before MSU again took the lead early in the second. A power play goal by Charlie Stramel gave MSU the 2–1 lead, but once again Notre Dame tied it two minutes later. Another power play goal, this one by Gavin O'Connell game MSU the one-goal lead again with less than two minutes remaining in the second. In the third, the Spartans held off the Irish and Porter Martone added an empty net goal to secure Spartan win.^[34] On February 20, the game was again tied after the first period. However, in the second, the Spartans scored three straight goals, including a short-handed goal by Tommi Mannisto. Notre Dame narrowed the lead to two with a goal 14:18 into the second, but the Spartans answered with four more goals to blow out the Irish 8–2. Porter Martone notched the hat trick in the game while Ryker Lee scored two.^[35] With the win, MSU moved to 24–6, 15–5 on the season.

Ohio State

On February 27, Ohio State visited Munn for two games. In game one, the Buckeyes dominated the Spartans, outshooting the Spartans 39–23 and winning easily 5–1.^[36] In game two on February 28, Ryker Lee gave MSU the early lead, but the Buckeyes again took the lead with two goals in just over a minute. Porter Martone evened the score at two with a goal at 17:13 of the first. Ohio State regained the lead with less than three minutes remaining in the second. Still trailing by on in the third, Anthony Romani notched a power play goal at 7:04 to tie the game at three. In overtime, neither team scored and the game went to a shootout. On Senior night, the shootout went 13 rounds before MSU held on for the win.^[37] The shootout win moved MSU to 24–7–1 and 15–6–1 on the season.

Minnesota

With two games remaining, the Spartans traveled to face Minnesota trailing first place Michigan by two points. The Spartans dominated game one on March 5, taking a 5–0 lead through two periods. Ryker Lee and Tiernan Shoudy each scored two goals as MSU won 7–1. The win gave the Spartans the Big Ten championship for the third consecutive season.^[38] In the season finale, the Spartans rested Trey Augustine, but still took a 3–1 lead. The Gophers tied it and forced the game to a shootout where Minnesota won the game. The loss dropped MSU to 25–7–2 and 16–6–2 in conference play.^[39]