3 Michigan State hockey players named finalists for major Big Ten awards

Three different Michigan State hockey players were named finalists for major Big Ten awards this week. The program is back.

It was announced on Wednesday that three members of the Michigan State hockey team were revealed as finalists for major Big Ten awards. The announcement comes as the Big Ten Tournament gets started in Minneapolis this weekend.

The Spartans were expected to be well-represented in these awards and now that is confirmed.

Michigan State is actually the only team with a finalist for every major award the conference offers. Let’s take a look at our finalists for the five Big Ten awards. The winners will be picked by conference coaches and a media panel and will be announced March 19 on the Big Ten Network.

The finalists for the Big Ten major postseason awards have been announced – and MSU is the only school with a finalist for every award!
Artyom Levshunov is a finalist for Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year, and Defensive Player of the Year honors, Trey Augustine is a… pic.twitter.com/Xx2OvOZj0V

— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) March 13, 2024

Big Ten Coach of the Year

Starting off the list of accolades would be our fearless leader, Adam Nightingale. Coach Nighty was officially named as a finalist for Big Ten Coach of the Year. This comes as no surprise after leading the Spartans to their first ever Big Ten regular season championship. The Spartans are going into the conference tournament with a record of 22-9-3, which is their best record in over a decade. Nightingale joins Minnesota’s Bob Motzko and Wisconsin’s Mike Hastings as finalists.

Big Ten Player of the Year

The next award would be Big Ten Player of the Year. This award goes to the best overall player in the conference. The Spartans are represented in this category by freshman Artyom Levshunov who was named as a finalist for three total awards. His stellar season as Michigan State’s best defensive player is getting him major praise across the country. He is expected by many to be a top pick in this year’s NHL draft as well. Artyom has tallied 32 points in 36 games this year on 79 shots. All this while leading the team defensively and at the tops of the time on ice stat every game as well. Other players nominated for this award include Michigan forward Gavin Brindley and Wisconsin goaltender Kyle McClellan.

Big Ten Defenseman of the Year

As previously mentioned, Levshunov lead Michigan State hockey players with three award nominations. The next of his would be Defensive Player of the Year. This award is given to the best defenseman in the conference and Levshunov certainly makes a strong case for that. Other players named as finalists for this award include Seamus Casey from Michigan and Owen Lindmark from Wisconsin.

Big Ten Goaltender of the Year

The next major award is Goaltender of the Year. Michigan State’s goaltender extraordinaire Trey Augustine was named a finalist for this award. That should come as no surprise as Augustine was also named semifinalist for the Mike Richter award, which goes to the best goalie in the nation. He played in 33 games for the Spartans this season, compiling a 22-8-2 record. He had three shutouts and tallied a 2.87 goals against average and .918 save percentage. Other goaltenders joining Trey as finalists include Wisconsin’s Kyle McClellan and Notre Dame’s Ryan Bischel.

Big Ten Freshman of the Year

The last award we have is the Big Ten Freshman of the Year Award. As the name says, this goes out to the conference’s most outstanding freshman. Levshunov was the Spartans’ qualifier for this award after his amazing rookie campaign. Other finalists include Penn State’s Aiden Fink and Minnesota’s Sam Rinzel.

Overall, the finalist lists show just how great of a run Michigan State hockey is on this season. The Spartans have put together amazing performances night in and night out and are finally being recognized for their efforts. Hopefully they will be awarded with a big haul of hardware when the winners are announced March 19.

The Spartans begin their Big Ten Tournament action this Saturday at Munn Ice Arena against Ohio State. The Spartans are the early game so puck will drop at 6:30 p.m. ET and is televised on Big Ten Network and the Fox Sports App. The winner of our game will meet the winner of Michigan and Minnesota on March 23.

Those looking to attend this weekend’s game against the Buckeyes may have a hard time finding tickets. Most seats have sold out, however standing room only tickets will be available for the game the day off at Munn directly.