Recruiting matters in college sports.
Adam Nightingale and Michigan State hockey are a perfect example of that.
In just Nightingale's second season at the helm, the Spartans have won 20 games, a mark that had not been reached since the 2007-08 season. Thanks to Nightingale’s ability to attract top talent to East Lansing - partly due to his past ties with the U.S. National Team Development Program - he’s been able to turn a sleeping giant in college hockey back into a national contender.
That was displayed in front of more than 18,000 fans at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday and many others watching on Big Ten Network as the No. 9 Spartans dispatched No. 11 Michigan 3-2 to win the “Iron D” trophy at the annual “Duel in the D”, an event that Michigan State has not won since 2016.
The win also gave Michigan State a three-game winning streak in the series.
The last time Michigan State had a winning streak of at least three games against Michigan was in the 2009-10 season.
The Spartans were led by goaltender Trey Augustine, once a Michigan commit who flipped to Nightingale and the staff in East Lansing. Augustine flashed his leather all weekend, collecting 65 saves with a save percentage of .956 in Michigan State’s sweep of the Wolverines. Augustine earned the first star after Friday’s 5-1 victory in Ann Arbor and he earned the second star on Saturday.
Karsen Dorwart also earned stars in both games. He finished the weekend with three points (one goal on Saturday and two assists on Friday). Tanner Kelly, Tiernan Shoudy, Tommi Mannisto and Isaac Howard also collected multi-point weekends.
Depth and endurance in hockey are factors that separate great teams from good teams.
Michigan State has both.
Kelly, Mannisto and Shoudy made up the fourth line in both games. They collected a combined six points on Saturday and nine points in the series. Despite being on the fourth line, all three players create scoring chances for the Spartans and keep the momentum on their side.
The two wins allowed Michigan State to gain six points in the Big Ten standings, keeping a five-point lead on second place Wisconsin, who has two games in-hand. MSU also clinched home ice advantage in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament in March.
The sweep moved the Spartans to 20-7-3 on the season and up to No. 5 in the Pairwise ratings, with the Badgers sitting just above them at No. 4.
Michigan State has a bye week before hosting a two-game series against Ohio State and visiting Wisconsin to wrap up the Big Ten regular season.
