Michigan State Hockey: 3 Stars of Night 1 Against Michigan

Despite a great start for the Spartans in the first of this weekend series, the Wolverines were the team to come away victorious on Friday night. Michigan State hockey dropped the first part of the weekend series in overtime off of a powerplay goal by Jayden Perron. Looking back to the less fun part of the weekend, who were the stars from the opening night against Michigan?

Third Star: Matt Basgall, RD

When the top two teams in the nation are going at it, it is easy to focus on the offense. The points are usually what most people pay attention to. Friday night though, the defense deserved some love. The Spartans shot blocking was a major reason why the Spartans were able to get out to a 3-1 lead in the 2nd. MSU blocked 21 shots, 3 of them came from the captain. While there were other players who also reached 3 blocks, I wanted to specifically credit Basgall because of his leadership.

The leadership group for the Spartans has been outstanding this year and deserves the credit for setting the tone this season and putting the Spartans in their best position in years. Basgall also deserves credit for helping create offense. Though he didn’t register a point last night his playmaking helped the Spartans build their early lead. It will be important that that shifts to Detroit as the team prepares for the Wolverines on night 2.

Second Star: Daniel Russell, LW

The first line this season has been a huge catalyst to help the Spartans become one of the most dangerous teams in college hockey. Daniel Russell has already passed his season best point total and is looking to finish his senior season strong. Russell is continuing to build his resume for prospective NHL teams as he closes out his time with the Spartans. Before that happens though, he has business to finish. In his last regular season series against the Wolverines, he opened game  with two assists. One of the assists came off of a pass that opened the scoring for Charlie Stramel and the other to Owen West. If the Spartans are looking to take the win on Saturday night, Russell and the first line will need to be sharp.

First Star: Charlie Stramel, C

After coming off of last weekend with a hat trick at Beaver Stadium, Stramel decided he wasn’t done. He opened the scoring in the first game and gave a jolt of energy to the Spartans in a hostile environment at Yost. Stramel was also able to add an assist on the Owen West goal that made it 3-1 to end the 2nd period. A senior, Stramel is also looking to make his final series against the Wolverines into a special one. Stramel has been the hottest player on this Spartan team going back to the Wisconsin series. He seems to enjoy the pressure and the leadership he provides will be crucial to keep the Iron D trophy.

Next up:

The Spartans finished their series with a dominant win over Michigan in the Duel in the D at Little Caesars Arena. Now, they have a bye week before taking on Notre Dame on a rare Thursday and Friday series on February 19 and 20.