Michigan State hockey is off to its best start in 36 years

The No. 1 ranked Michigan State hockey team did not take its new ranking for granted this past weekend. The Spartans (11-1-0) won both games against the Lindenwood Lions (3-12-1) to officially claim their best start to a season since the 1988-1989 season. That team featured former Spartan head coach Danton Cole and Rod “The Bod” Brind’Amour who now coaches the Carolina Hurricanes. That Spartan team finished third in the NCAA tournament at the end of the season.

This team continues to push the boundaries of what they can make happen.

It’s time to look back at these two great wins.

Game 1 overview

As mentioned in the preview for this series, the Spartans could not take it easy on Lindenwood. They did not. The Spartans outplayed the Lions in almost every facet of the game. Outside of the score, the best way to do that is by getting shots on the net. The Spartans peppered Owen Bartoszkiewicz in the first game with an astonishing 56 shots. Against a goalie who has had a very good season despite his record, the Spartans made Bartoszkiewicz earn the second star of the night on Friday.

The game ended in a 4-0 shutout for the Spartans as Trey Augustine earned his second shutout of the season and earned the first star of the game. Augustine had a typical game where he maintained his composure and was a brick wall against a Lindenwood team that has kept many of their games very tight.

Despite the great play by Bartoszkiewicz for the Lions, he was no match for the high-powered Spartan offense. The goals were spread around with each line scoring in this contest. It was the third consecutive game where each line scored for the Spartans. Goal scorers for the Spartans were Matt Basgall, Isaac Howard, Daniel Russell, and Tommi Mannisto.

In particular, it was good to see Basgall and Howard get in the goal scoring column. Basgall was able to score his second goal of the season. He has been an offensive juggernaut though when it comes to assists. Basgall leads the team in offensive points by a defenseman. The hockey IQ that he displays when the puck is on his stick is what makes him very dangerous. It allows him to thread passes through to the net. As for Howard, it had been a number of games since he was able to score. He ended that scoring drought on a penalty shot that put a bow on the game and game MSU the 4-0 win.

Game 2 overview

Game two was much of the same for Michigan State hockey. The Spartans finished the game with a 2-0 victory against the Lions to improve to 11-1-0. The team continued to get shots on Bartoszkiewicz and challenged him with 37 shots. For the Spartans, sophomore goaltender Luca Di Pasquo was in the crease and was able to come out with his first career shutout. The shutout came in Di Pasquo’s second start of the season. If nothing else, this start by Di Pasquo should give Spartan hockey fans more confidence with two solid goalies.

As far as the offense goes, the goal scorers were Mikey DeAngelo and Gavin O’Connell. It was great to see O’Connell score because he has struggled this season after having a very strong season last year. The goal was a great cross ice pass from Isaac Howard who fed him the puck right in the slot and allowed him to make a great shot to open the scoring. Freshman Mikey DeAngelo was able to add another goal to his total and continue the scoring streak for the fourth line. Mannisto fed DeAngelo for another shot that just caught Bartoszkiewicz out of position.

That was all the Spartans needed in order to seal the sweep.

The Lions were much tougher in the Sunday game and played more closely to how they have played this season. This team is not a great one, but they play teams close. A great deal of that can be attributed to Bartoszkiewicz and his strong play in net. This team should be one to reckon with in the coming season as they continue to build their program.

Overall thoughts

It is always great when the team gets a sweep. The Spartans showed why they are the No. 1 ranked team in the country and this weekend allowed the team to show that off. The depth of this Spartan team has been on display in the last series at Munn in 2024. This Lindenwood series is a great way to finish the year for the team as they prepare for two big conference series to end the year.

Michigan State hockey will need to keep the energy going with two conference series remaining in 2024. The first will be next weekend against the Wisconsin Badgers (5-8-1) and then the No. 3 ranked Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-2-1). If the Spartans can win those games and finish the year strong, it will help set the team up well for the standings in the Big Ten.

Check back later this week for a preview of the series against the Wisconsin Badgers.