Michigan State Hockey: 3 Stars of the Series vs Colgate

It’s a Spartan Sweep!

Following a tough series against the Wisconsin Badgers, Michigan State hockey needed to have a bounce back weekend against Colgate (5-9-2). That is exactly what happened. The No. 3 ranked Spartans (11-3-0) swept the Raiders by a 5-2 and 4-1 margin. Coach Nightingale was able to get the team back to playing their game after a hard week of practice to prepare. With all of that being said, let’s take a look at the 3 Stars of the weekend series against Colgate.

Star No. 3: Matt Basgall (RD)

One of the best things about college hockey is that it is played in a series format. That makes it imperative for a captain to help set the tone for what that series will be. Matt Basgall has done a great job with that this season. During the Colgate series though, he made sure to lead by example for his teammates. Basgall and the defense set the tone against a very fast Colgate team by countering it with big checks and timely plays.

While typically filling more of the offensive defenseman role on the blue line, Basgall turned up his physicality over the series and took away the speed of Colgate. Of course, he also contributed on the scoring sheet as well, as he added an assist to his stat line over the weekend. The assist came off of a slapshot that was redirected by Daniel Russell in the second game of the series. His steady leadership and tough play on the puck this weekend more than earned him a spot on the list.

Star No. 2: Daniel Russell (LW)

While it is fair to expect a fair share of scoring to come from the first pairing left winger, Daniel Russell got his fill in the 2nd game of the series to snag the 2nd star this week. Russell has been having himself a great start to the season. He is currently on pace to break his 30 point freshman season with him already at 14 points (4-10-14). In the 2nd game of the series on Friday night, he registered 2 goals and an assist. Both goals were the gritty kind that Coach Adam Nightingale loves to praise. They were redirections from slapshots that were just too much for the goaltender.

Russell is really turning it up with linemates Charlie Stramel and Porter Martone. With the departure Isaac Howard, fitting in Martone was one of the big question marks attached to this team. That is more to the idea of replacing someone who won the Hobey Baker Award. At the end of the day, Russell is making the most of his minutes with these linemates and doing exceptionally well.

Star No. 1: Ryker Lee (RW)

Winning brings attention and recruits. Nowhere is that more evident than with Ryker Lee. The 1st round pick in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators is proof that this program is now a destination. It wasn’t that long ago that Michigan State was an afterthought in college hockey, but Coach Nightingale has set a culture that attracts high-level talent. That talent is now starting to pay dividends.

Over the weekend, Ryker made himself known as he has all season. He makes plays in the O-zone, he has exceptional hockey IQ, and has a great wrist shot. Those skills helped him snag a 4 point weekend (2 goals-2 assists-4 points) in the sweep. Both of his goals were very similar over the weekend, they were back door shots on the goalies glove side. That is now 5 goals within the last 6 games. Heading into a rivalry week, it will be very important to keep that momentum going. With his IQ and ability to make plays, he will factor in heavily on that 2nd line against the Wolverines next weekend.

Keep checking back in with Spartan Shadows and @ikerss98 on X as we get ready for the rivalry matchup. Friday night’s game will be at Munn and will air at 8:30pm on the Big Ten Network. The Saturday game is one I will be covering live. It will be at Yost Ice Arena and puck drop will be at 7:00pm.