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Michigan State Hockey: 3 Takeaways as Spartans fall flat in opener

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Michigan State Hockey
Emmett Matasovsky, Spartan Shadows

On Thursday, Michigan State hockey officially began their pursuit of a three-peat in Big Ten titles. The Spartan Hockey program returned to the ice, officially, after a longer than expected offseason. With some of the familiar old faces, such as Red Savage and Isaac Howard, gone, it was time for the newest Spartans to step into the spotlight.

The most exciting of the new Spartans was the freshman duo of Cayden Lindstrom and Porter Martone, each among the top selections in their NHL Draft years. In their first outing of the year, an exhibition against Windsor, both impressed. Now, however, against New Hampshire, things counted.

For Michigan State hockey, they wish the game did not count. The Spartans fell 4-3, with the Wildcats scoring a go-ahead goal with 5 seconds left. Here are three takeaways from the contest.

1. The Freshmen Need Time to Adjust

In spite of the amount of talent this incoming freshmen class has with Spartan hockey, they need time to adjust. There is an element of shell shock with this class, as the physicality is drastically increased at the collegiate rank. There was more aggression and more speed to the game, and it caught the talented group by surprise.

While veterans like Charlie Stramel were taking the hits and trekking up the ice, Ryker Lee was thrown off his high on-ice performance, along with having a turnover on an extra pass in the first period. All the freshman, from Lindstrom to Anthony Romani, showed flashes and showed they belong.

This team will gel and be fine, but this was frustrating.

2. Discipline Bites the Spartans, Again

It may be a new year and a new team, but the same problems bit Michigan State hockey in their opener. Untimely penalties undid MSU. The Spartans gave up two goals on the power play, including a go-ahead goal in the final seven minutes of the game.

It was not just freshman, either. While Sean Barnhill and Eric Nilson each got two minute minors, seniors Daniel Russell and Patrick Geary each had penalties, too.

Geary’s was much more costly, as his game-ending cross check came six minutes into the final period. When the Spartans should have been focused on capitalizing, they were stuck with an inexplicable game misconduct and forced to defend for five minutes straight without one of their top defenders. The Wildcats scored to go ahead one around halfway through it.

The Spartans managed a mad dash to draw even, but all that did was set up the final disappointment. The Spartans spent nearly 1/6 of the game down a player, factoring in 4-on-4 time and New Hampshire power play conversions ending penalties early. That is unacceptable.

3. Same Michigan State Hockey Let Down

In part, this felt like a rewatch of the last time the Spartans were on the ice for an official game, against Cornell. The Spartans, through self-inflicted errors, turned domination into humiliation. Michigan State hockey controlled the puck, outshooting the Wildcats 37-26.

At times, the ice felt slanted. Porter Martone and Cayden Lindstrom were dicing their way around Wildcats in their debut, and Anthony Romani was collecting his first career goal.

However, with penalties, turnovers, and an awful night in the faceoff circle for Charlie Stramel (4-for-21), the defense let down Trey Augustine enough times that the Spartans folded.

Augustine is great, but the questions could start about his clutch gene. Another late goal allowed and a four-goal allowed opening night is not pretty. Granted, if that is not pretty, the defense is much worse. Execution was off on all fronts. Geary was ejected, and the third pairing of Travis Shoudy and Sean Barnhill was suspect.

The Spartans will be back on ice for their revenge game Friday, hosting the Wildcats for the second game in the series. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. EST.

Michigan State Media and Information Management Class of '22. Emmett covers primarily football, recruiting, and basketball for Spartan Shadows, alongside writing for Detroit Lions on SI. He has also written for Spartan Avenue, Basic Blues, and Hail WV.

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