The No. 1 Michigan Wolverines host No. 2 Michigan State in a pivotal Big Ten series this weekend. Separated by just one point in the Big Ten standings, the stakes are high for the latest edition of this storied rivalry.
As if that wasn’t enough, this series is full of historic milestones. Friday night’s game marks the 350th meeting between the Spartans and the Wolverines dating back to 1922. These might also be the best two teams in the 104-year history of the rivalry, as the Wolverines and Spartans meet as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation for the first time ever.
Michigan has been ranked No. 1 for 10 consecutive weeks after jumping the Spartans back in late November. The Spartans have hovered in the top four of the poll since then, and are firmly in at No. 2 right now after sweeping No. 5 Penn State in a road series, including an overtime win outdoors at Beaver Stadium.
Saturday night’s game is also the 35-year anniversary and 38th edition of the Duel in the D, where the Wolverines and Spartans head to Little Caesars Arena in Detroit to battle for the Iron D trophy.
Michigan, Michigan State split series in December
These two teams have already met this season: a Big Ten series back in December at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing. Michigan took the first game, 3-0, behind a shutout effort by standout freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic. Ivankovic was later injured in a Jan. 9 win over Notre Dame and is sidelined indefinitely, likely ending a dominant first season.
Highlights from Michigan’s 3-0 shutout in East Lansing pic.twitter.com/c4WOhOuhTz
— Michigan Hockey (@umichhockey) December 6, 2025
The Spartans took the second game of the series, a 3-1 win powered by a two-goal performance from freshman forward Anthony Romani.
Anthony Romani goes five hole for his second goal of the night!
MSU leads 2-1 early in the third! pic.twitter.com/pfFtx2NPTs
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) December 7, 2025
Romani comes into this weekend hot after a four-point performance last week against Penn State at Pegula Ice Arena, in which he scored his first career hat trick and added an assist in the 6-3 win over the No. 5 Nittany Lions.
Tale of the tape
Both the Wolverines and Spartans are among the leaders in most key team stats so far this season. Let’s take a look at how the numbers stack up for the Wolverines and Spartans.
*National ranking is denoted in parentheses.
michigan
Â
michigan state
4.81 (1)
GFÂ per game
3.65 (7)
2.15 (5)
GA per game
1.88 (2)
30.0% (3)
PP%
24.0% (14)
79.5% (37)
PK%
82.2% (24)
480 (2)
PIM
470 (3)
.920 (6)
SV%
.934 (2)