Michigan State hockey, just a few years after rebounding from more than a decade of struggles, enters the 2025-26 season firmly re-established as one of the nation’s elite programs.
The Spartans reached the NCAA tournament just once (2012) from 2009-2023. But that was before the arrival of coach Adam Nightingale, who has led the program to back-to-back Big Ten regular-season and tournament championhips and NCAA tournament No. 1 seeds in each of the past two seasons.
Nightingale enters his fourth season behind the bench with a 69-35-9 overall record – the best three-year start for an MSU coach in program history.
And no one expects the Spartans to slow down a bit this winter. MSU is ranked No. 3 in both the USCHO and USA Hockey preseason polls and is the Big Ten coaches’ pick as the league favorite once again.
“The leadership has done a great job,” Nightingale said. “We feel like we have a ton to prove this year. These guys are eager to face off against someone in a different jersey, but it’s been competitive. We’ll look at making sure our group is unified and playing team hockey and our brand to be successful.”
MSU scored 126 total goals last season, finishing No. 8 nationally at 3.50 goals per game. Defensively, MSU allowed 73 goals for a 2.03 average that ranked fourth nationally. The Spartans will look to replicate that consistency with a revamped but talent-laden roster that faces a challenging Big Ten schedule.
Roster outlook
Pro potential: MSU had five players drafted in the first three rounds of the 2025 NHL draft – freshman forward Porter Martone (Round 1, No. 6), freshman forward Ryker Lee (Round 1, No. 26), freshman forward Eric Nilson (Round 2, No. 45), sophomore forward Shane Vansaghi (Round 2, No. 48) and freshman defenseman Sean Barnhill (Round 3, No. 70).
Overall, the Spartans have 15 total NHL draft picks, 10 selected in the first three rounds. MSU also had senior forward Daniel Russell skating at an NHL Development Camp in the summer with the Washington Capitals.
Yet Nightingale says there’s a lot more to MSU’s team than just talent on paper.
“You want to try and get not just the best players, but the right players, so the way we recruit, our guys understand that they have to come here and earn it,” Nightingale said. “It doesn’t matter where you get drafted, no one is entitled to being a good hockey player.
“It’s not just going to try and acquire talent, but the right type of kids and families who are bought into hockey being a team sport and helping this university have a great hockey team. The byproduct is individual success and the chance to move on.”
Looking at the lineup: MSU has 13 newcomers, with 11 freshman and two transfer defensemen. Nightingale said during his weekly radio show that the staff is still working through lineups, and the team would use its Oct. 3 exhibition against Windsor to look at potential forward lines and defensive pairings.
But there are some hints would the Spartans’ lineup could look like.
Seniors Russell and Charlie Stramel were together with departed Hobey Baker winner Isaac Howard on the top line last season, and the highly-acclaimed Martone has been skating with that duo in practice.
Freshman Cayden Lindstrom will center another MSU line, possibly with Vansaghi and junior forward Gavin O’Connell.
“We spend six weeks before our training camp just getting to know the guys, just hanging out and it’s been really helpful to bond with the team before the season,” Lindstrom said. “I came for a visit here and watched practice and I saw how they went about their day. Everyone is so professional, and the coaches and staff are all great. We work hard every day and it’s intense and we all want to be our best and that’s what I need to reach the next level.”
Nilson is expected to center a line as well, likely playing with Lee on his wing. Senior Tiernan Shoudy and junior Tommi Mannisto have played together in the past and could be together on another line. Freshman forwards Anthony Romani and Austin Baker, as well as junior forward Griffin Jurecki, could be competing for the final two spots up front.
Defensively, junior Maxim Strbak and Patrick Geary played the majority of last season together and will likely be together again. MSU brought in two transfers, sophomore Colin Ralph and senior Travis Shoudy, and added Barnhill in early August after freshman Matt Lahey suffered an injury in NHL Development Camp.
“We got some college experience added in on the back end and the freshmen there have looked great,” said senior defenseman Matt Basgall, a returning first team All-Big Ten section. “They are all adjusting to the systems really well and we’re all excited to see how they look as we get this year started.”
Basgall will likely be paired with one of the new additions or potentially sophomore Owen West, who earned his way into the everyday lineup last season.
Returning first team All-Big Ten goaltender Trey Augustine will be the regular starter in net, with freshman Melvin Strahl learning behind him as the heir apparent.
Schedule highlights
At Boston University, Oct. 17-18: MSU’s second regular-season matchup is a blockbuster, with the Spartans headed to Boston to face the preseason No. 2-ranked Terriers. Both games will be available on ESPN-plus, with the Oct. 18 matchup also being on ESPNU.
These two teams seemed destined to meet in the regional finals of last season’s NCAA tournament, but the Spartans were upset by No. 4 seed Cornell. Boston wound up winning the regional and reached the NCAA title game before losing to Western Michigan. Boston, like MSU, is loaded with talent, led by NHL first-round picks in forward Cole Eiserman and North Dakota transfer Sacha Boisvert.
Penn State, Nov. 7-8: MSU’s Big Ten schedule starts with a bang as the Nittany Lions, fresh off a Frozen Four berth, come into Munn as the preseason pick to finish as runners-up in the conference. Freshman forward Gavin McKenna, the probable No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft, chose PSU over MSU late in the college recruiting cycle. PSU was the lone Big Ten team that MSU struggled with last season, going 1-1-2 with two shootout losses.
Michigan: Dec. 5-6: MSU loses one of its home games against Michigan due to the “Duel in the D” later in the season, so Dec. 5 will be the only regular-season game againt the Wolverines at Munn Ice Arena. U-M returns some playmakers at forward in T.J. Hughes and Michael Hage, while new goaltender Jack Ivankovic was one of the most sought after CHL goaltenders and should improve U-M’s goaltending.
Great Lakes Invitational, Dec. 28-29: This should be an interesting GLI for MSU, which will face Ferris State first, followed by either Michigan Tech or Miami (Ohio). On paper, the Spartans are head and shoulders above the field, looking to repeat as GLI champions. MSU, however, will likely be without five key forwards for the event due to the World Juniors Tournament. If healthy, Martone and Lindstrom will likely skate with Team Canada, Lee and Vansaghi for Team USA, and Nilson for Team Sweden.
Minnesota, Jan. 23-24: MSU and Minnesota don’t meet until late January, with the Gophers coming to Munn before the two meet again for the final series of the regular season. Minnesota’s likely starting goaltender will be Luca Di Pasquo, who played at MSU the prior two seasons and filled in admirably for Augustine, going 9-1-1 in 11 games over two years.
At Penn State, Jan. 30-31: MSU’s rematch with the Nittany Lions will include the Jan. 31 game being played outdoors at Beaver Stadium. MSU fared well in its outdoor game last season at Wrigley Field, although the crowd was diminished due to the severe cold weather. Beaver Stadium could have up to 100,00 people, and the environment should make for one of the best college games of the season.
MSU opens the regular season on Oct. 9-10 against New Hampshire at Munn Ice Arena.
Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott