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The MSU hockey team hosts explosive Boston College in a top-five matchup

The MSU hockey team hosts explosive Boston College in a top-five matchup

What: No. 2 Boston College and No. 4 Michigan State in a two-game non-conference series

When: Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m

Where: Munn Ice Arena

TV/radio: Friday – Big Ten Network/WJIM 12:40 p.m., Saturday – Big Ten Plus (subscription required)/WJIM 1240 p.m

All-time series: MSU leads the series 16-11-1, but BC has won the last five meetings, including both last October.

Trainer: MSU coach Adam Nightingale is in his third season with the Spartans and has a record of 44-29-5. BC coach Greg Brown is in his third season with the Eagles and has a record of 48-22-7.

MSU update: The Spartans are coming off a season opener on the road against Lake Superior State, winning the first game 2-1 in overtime before posting a more convincing 5-1 result the following night. Junior forward Isaac Howard scored five points on the weekend with three goals and two assists – good enough to earn him Big Ten First Star of the Week. His linemate, junior forward Daniel Russell, was the Big Ten Second Star of the Week after scoring two goals and recording two assists against the Lakers.

“It’s been a few months since we last played a game. So I think everyone was nervous and it took us about a while to figure it out,” MSU forward and captain Red Savage said. “Now we’re just excited to get going this weekend and play hockey against a really good opponent.”

Transfer forward Charlie Stramel filled in for junior forward Karsen Dorwart as MSU’s midfielder and recorded an assist on the opening weekend. Three of MSU’s four lines from last season’s team remained intact on the first weekend of the 2024-2025 season – Gavin O’Connell, Joey Larson and Red Savage made up MSU’s second line after combining for a team-high 41 goals last year, while Tiernan Shoudy, Tanner Kelly and Tommi Mannisto made up the third line after being the fourth line a year ago.

MSU freshman forwards Nathan Mackie and Shane Vansaghi skated on the fourth line in the first two games for the Spartans, while sophomore Griffin Jurecki and freshman Mikey DeAngelo each played one game over the weekend.

MSU entered both games with the same three defensive pairings – sophomores Maxim Strbak and Patrick Geary together, junior Matt Basgall with senior David Gucciardi and graduate transfer Nicklas Andrews with freshman Vlad Lukashevich. Strbak and Basgall each had two assists against LSSU, while Andrews had an assist and an unanswered goal. Freshman Owen West suited up as the seventh defenseman and had limited ice time in each game.

MSU sophomore goaltender Trey Augustine finished the weekend with 50 total saves and will now face a BC team with much more firepower. The Spartans hope to have Dorwart back in the lineup this weekend – along with Russell and Howard – after missing the opening series.

Scouting the Eagles: BC had one of the most explosive offenses in the country last season, averaging nearly 4.5 goals per game and having four scorers with 60 points each. Two of those skaters – Will Smith and Cutter Gauthier – are headed to the NHL, but the Eagles are returning 20 players from last season’s second-place NCAA squad and should be an extremely difficult group to slow down.

Last year, Smith was paired with NHL first-round picks Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perrault – both returning for their second seasons with the Eagles. BC replaced Smith by signing James Hagans from the US National Team Development Program. He is considered one of the top prospects in the 2025 NHL Draft and is one of the favorites to go No. 1 overall.

“It was a good first weekend for us, we definitely need to continue to improve in some areas, but now we are looking forward to hosting Boston College,” Nightingale said. “It’s a program with history and it’s our 50th year playing in Munn. I’m sure the building will rock and there will be a great atmosphere.”

The Eagles did not play this past weekend, in a tournament or otherwise, so taking the ice in Munn will be their first live game appearance. Sophomore goaltender Jacob Fowler is strong in net and helped Augustine with Team USA at the World Juniors U-20 tournament last season. Like Augustine, Fowler is one of the best goaltenders in college hockey. He posted a goals against average of 2.14 last season.

Contact Nathaniel Bott at [email protected] and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott