Michigan State Hockey and Porter Martone Power by Notre Dame

After a hard-fought victory on Thursday, the stage was set for Michigan State hockey in the conclusion of their series against Notre Dame on Friday. The 1966 and 1986 National Championship Spartan hockey teams were in attendance, and this year’s edition of the green and white put on a show.

Porter Martone recorded a hat trick for the Spartans as Michigan State routed Notre Dame 8-2 in a championship performance on Friday night. Michigan State hockey blocked out noise, adversity, and the time in the penalty box to put the puck through the net time and time again.

About two hours after Michigan State’s victory was finalized, good news came from the Big Ten, as Wisconsin beat Michigan 4-1 in the opening game of their series to take MSU’s magical number down to seven points to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten title.

Porter Martone steals the show

Martone was all over the ice on Friday, with the Philadelphia Flyers’ prospect scoring the opening goal of the game less than 20 seconds into the first power play of the game, and less than a minute into the game itself.

Charlie Stramel along with Notre Dame’s Cole Brown and Sutter Muzzatti got into a scrum after the first shot of the game, with all three headed to the penalty box and giving MSU a power play. With Stramel, the normal center, in the box, Martone stepped up and won the draw, which led to his goal.

“I mean, it’s a good start to the game,” Martone said. “We talk about scoring quick on powerplays, try to be a real threat, and with Charlie (Stramel) in the box there, I had to hop in and take the draw, and that’s something that I work on too. Just in case he gets kicked out, just being able to take draws. So, it was a good start for us.”

He did not stop there, either, racking up his second and third of the night in each respective period to send hats to the ice in the final stanza.

The game flipped on its head in the second period, when goal was whistled back after it was determined a Cayden Lindstrom hit was a hit to the head and a game misconduct for the freshman. The Spartans faced a five minute penalty kill, which turned into 44 seconds of 5-on-3 after another penalty by Eric Nilson. The Spartans killed the Notre Dame man advantage which spanned 6:16 of game time.

That momentum shift led to a Martone breakaway a few short minutes later, where he did not even need a penalty shot after he was interfered with flying towards the net for his second goal.

When asked about the sequence, Martone bragged on a few members of his team, but notably did not even comment on his own success resulting from the momentum-shifting moment. Instead, the freshman put his own teammates’ successes in the spotlight.

“That was huge,” Martone said of the penalty kill. “I think that was a turning point in the game. You can look at Trey (Augustine) first, he’s always a rock for us. He really, you can’t even put it into words, he’s kept us in so many games, and you look at our fourth line, Tommi Mannisto and Tiernan Shoudy. You can almost say they’re the buzzballs of our team. We wouldn’t be the team without them and having Griff (Griffin Jurecki) they can turn games around. The whole kill did a tremendous job killing off the seven minutes and then we kind of responded after that.”

Friday marked his first collegiate hat trick, and the third occurrence this season for Michigan State after Ryker Lee and Charlie Stramel picked up hat tricks at Penn State on back-to-back days.

It was a special moment for Martone, but the win and atmosphere made it that much more important to him.

“I mean, it’s special,” the first-round pick said of his trio of goals. “Anytime you can be involved like that in a game and help your team win, it is special. And to do it in front of the fans, the student section was great all week and they were loud, and just having them, their support is awesome and just want to keep playing for them.”

Could Michigan State hockey have the top forward line in the country?

Martone has seen a recent uptick in performance since coming back from world juniors, and he was quick to cite his experience from the previous year’s juniors as how he has taken the next step. The forward did not like his play after the 2024 Worlds, and took it upon himself to be better, with strength coach Will Morlock pushing him.

“I think for me, last year I played in the world juniors, and I felt like I kind of had a little rough patch after that tournament,” Martone revealed. “It’s a lot of wear and tear on your body, but this year I kind of want to build momentum, and I think I give a lot of credit to Will Morlock, our strength coach. He’s been really good with me. Just kind of keeping me in the gym, building my strength and endurance. So, just kind of taking care of my body and just continue to try to be as healthy as you can. This is the most important time of the year. You’re going to be playing your most important games, so just try to be healthy and continue to have a lot of energy.”

This outing pushed Martone over 20 goals in his first NCAA season, and he went into how his playstyle helps him rack up the goal total. He was also quick to point out how having two senior linemates helped his transition to collegiate hockey, from on-ice play to balancing the highs and lows.

“I think just sticking to the way I play. Get in front of the net, and kind of be the powerful forward, and I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my line mates,” Martone said. “Charlie Stramel and Daniel Russell have been really good for me, kind of making the transition over to college. Two seniors who have kind of been through it, the ups and downs of college hockey, and they really helped me. So, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing what I’m doing without those two, so a lot of credit goes to them.”

Martone was not done complimenting his linemates, as he discussed how their own play has complimented and aided his own play and development during his season in East Lansing.

“I’m playing with two really smart players,” the freshman stated. “Charlie’s (Stramel) is a big, powerful, 200-foot center who can make plays. I say it all the time, but I think Daniel (Russell) has eyes on the back of his head. He could always make plays and he always sees you. So, just throughout the start of the year, it was going to take some time, but I think we’re really starting to click when it’s going down the stretch of the season here.”

Martone was asked if he would go as far as to say Michigan State’s top line of him, Stramel, and Russell is the top line in the country, and he danced around the question while giving plenty of credit to the unit and pointed out their physicality and how it impacts the game.

“I mean I would love to say that,” Martone admitted. “(But) there’s a lot of good players and lines in the country, but I think not even offensively, I think 200-foot, I think we could be relied on. Winning key faceoffs, and our tremendous power kill. I just try to bring a good stick to that line. I think we continue to get better and just hopefully help our team win more games down the stretch.”

What is next for Spartan Hockey?

The Spartans take on Ohio State at Munn Ice Arena on Friday and Saturday next week, February 27 and 28. It will be Senior Night, where the Spartans will bid farewell to some critical members of Adam Nightingale’s squad, among them Russell, Stramel, Tiernan and Travis Shoudy, Dolan Gilbert, and captain Matt Basgall. With the Spartans in the driving seat to host the Big Ten Tournament, it is unlikely to be their final home games at Munn Ice Arena, though.