Michigan and Michigan State hockey will battle for Frozen Four berth

For the sixth time this year, Michigan and Michigan State hockey will meet. This time, there’s a trip to the Frozen Four on the line.

It always had to go down this way. The setup of the tournament bracket clearly showed that the NCAA was hoping for these two rivals to meet up in the NCAA Tournament. After Michigan State hockey made its miraculous comeback to defeat Western Michigan 5-4 in overtime on Friday, they now prepare for a familiar foe on Easter Sunday.

For the sixth time this season, Michigan State will be facing the Michigan Wolverines, this time with a trip to St. Paul and the Frozen Four on the line.

Season matchup recap

The season series has been fairly one-sided with the Wolverines winning the first matchup in East Lansing and the Spartans winning the rest of the games. No game has been more important than the game between these two last week in the Big Ten Tournament. The Spartans won that game off of a Patrick Geary shot that went top left corner to win the tournament in overtime. That win not only won the tournament, but it also gave the Spartans their longest win streak against the Wolverines since 1998 with four straight wins. It has been amazing to see the Spartans flip the script this year in the rivalry but it’s going to be important that Michigan State wins now when it matters most.

Things to look for

When you’ve already played a team five times in a season, there isn’t much that you don’t know about a team. I’m going to focus though on things to improve on from the win in the Big Ten Tournament championship.

• Stay out of the penalty box

When you are going against one of the best power plays in all of college hockey, this is important. Michigan has had a dangerous power play all season. If Michigan State hockey wants to stay in this game, they need to play a clean game. The last time these two teams played, Michigan had three opportunities on the power play and converted on one of them. It is also worth noting that in the game against Western Michigan, the Spartans allowed a powerplay goal on their one opportunity. If the Spartans focus on playing a clean game, this will drastically level the playing field with the Wolverines.

• Lock-up on defense

One thing that makes this Wolverine team very dangerous is their offensive capabilities. Especially on their top two lines, the Wolverines are loaded. Players like Frank Nazar, Gavin Brindley, and Rutger McGroarty have been doing most of the work for the team. Michigan State needs to focus on shutting down these top two lines by tightening up on defense. The last time that these two teams played, there were a few missed assignments that led to Michigan getting high-quality chances on Trey Augustine. He’s great, but he can’t do everything if he’s left out to dry.

• Focus on depth

This Michigan State team is unique from other teams in the tournament because of the level of depth that they have. The team has four functioning lines that all produce compared to other teams. If Adam Nightingale continues to have good deployment against this team, they will continue to do well against Michigan. Michigan State does not have the same upper-level talent on offense that Michigan has, but the depth is much stronger. It is almost as if Michigan State has four lines that are comparable to Michigan’s second line. The top line might be outmatched, but they keep coming at you in consistent waves. This needs to be the focus if Michigan State is going to punch its ticket to the Frozen Four.

Regional championship information

The matchup between Michigan and Michigan State hockey will determine which of these teams will be going to St. Paul. Puck drop will be at 6:30 p.m. ET from Maryland Heights, Mo. The game will also be airing on ESPNU and streaming on ESPN+.