MSU Hockey is set to begin its quest for a National Title as the puck drops Thursday at 1:30pm in Worcester. ESPN 2 will have the coverage. What are the odds, that hockey and basketball would be facing UConn on the same weekend as they look to extend their seasons. The Spartans have looked a bit shaky in their last few games and with the extra time off have hopefully righted the ship.
UConn was the last at large team to make the tournament as they sat with an NPI ranking of 14 and the automatic bids being snatched up by Merrimack (19th NPI) and Bentley (23 NPI). The Huskies finished third in a subpar year for Hockey East. Senior forward Ryan Tattle leads the Huskies with 13 goals and 19 assists. Joey Muldowney and Jake Richard are the other two offensive threats for UConn. Interestingly, they do not get much offensive production from defenders as they have totaled only 8 goals this season. This could be an opportunity for MSU to play more aggressively against the Husky forwards. The Husky goaltender, Tyler Muszelik, has put up a .927 save percentage this season. Anyone that knows hockey knows that a hot goalie at the right time can be an enormous difference maker. Both starting goalies in this game will come in having lost their last game so there is an equal floor to set off the hot streak.
Speaking of Augustine, his .929 save percentage has him as a finalist for the Richter award again for the second year in a row. As solid as he is as a goaltender and even with his impressive record against ranked opponents (36-18-2) and 16-6-2 against top five ranked opponents, this post season is a lot about him. He has looked a bit unlike himself recently and even last year against Cornell he seemed “off”. If he is able to set this tourney off with a solid game, with no easy goals getting in, it could really help mentally. I can only imagine the amount of pressure he’s likely feeling coming into this post season. To get another tourney win under the belt could be a big exhale of relief.
MSU’s top line of Stramel, Russell and Martone also need to get hot. Stramel has cooled off towards the end of the season after a season of consistency. Martone has remained a scoring threat but getting Stramel to score will be the catalyst to get this line moving again. Ryker Lee and Anthony Romani have also been outstanding this season and can make even bigger names for themselves with solid games. MSU will also need some x-factor players to step up. This team is loaded with players that could take on that role. From Vansaghi to O’Connell to perhaps some blue line contributions, anywhere it comes will be welcomed.
The Spartans are going to need to stay out of the box. They have improved on that the last few games, but they also haven’t come out on top of all those games. So, maybe I have no idea! Keeping the pressure off Augustine will be good though as well as continuing to stay hot on the power play. Since 2026 began, MSU’s power play is best in the nation.
The largest level of concern though may be rust. MSU will have played one game in the last twenty days. That is a lot of time to get in your head, to disrupt chemistry and rhythm that was clicking. The bright side is that there was a lot that stopped clicking before this time off and perhaps Nightingale worked his magic and has everyone back on track. Nobody wants a Cornell repeat or even a New Hampshire start of the season repeat. Not making the Frozen Four for the third year in a row as a number 1 seed could actually damage the reputation that has been rebuilt in East Lansing. This team is loaded with talent and experience. It is hungry. We are currently in the longest Frozen Four drought MSU has ever had and as excited as I am for this tourney to start, my inner Spartan heart knows it is going to get a workout this weekend. What do you think TOC Nation? How will you be watching? Give me your predictions in the comments and Go Green!