Michigan State hockey prepares for weekend series with Lindenwood

Michigan State hockey has a lot to be thankful for this week. They are rested after playing an exhibition game last week, spending time with family, and of course, getting ranked the No. 1 team in the country. This is the first time the Spartans have been ranked No. 1 overall since 2007 when the team won the NCAA National Championship. It is a great time to be a Spartan hockey fan.

Hopefully, with all that excitement, it will continue as the No. 1 Spartans (9-1-0) open a weekend series with Lindenwood (3-10-1).

Matchup history

These are two schools that have no history with each other. The Lindenwood Lions only recently got moved up to Division 1 status. As a D1 school, this is their third season. Their hockey program started back in 2003 as a club team that was quite good for the competition level. The teams are looking to begin to start writing some history as they play each other for the first time this weekend at Munn.

While there are not any clear ties to MSU, there are some other interesting ties between this team and hockey in the state of Michigan. One of the biggest connections is the Lions’ head coach, Bill Muckalt. Muckalt played four years of NCAA hockey with Michigan from 1994-1998. He won two national championships with the Wolverines and was the associate coach in Ann Arbor from 2017-2023. With that resume, it is clear that there is at least a dislike for the Spartans. He will have some background knowledge on how the Spartans play.

Lindenwood overview

Coach Mukalt’s first season behind the bench has not started off well. At 3-10-1, they are struggling to string together any wins. Given that the team is an independent though, they do need to pick higher profile matchups which results in a lot of travel coming from St. Louis. The teams that they have beaten this year include Wisconsin, Miami (Ohio), and Stonehill College. There have also been quite a few closer games with schools like Ohio State and Air Force.

This team has not had a lot going for it this season. There are at least two players who have helped make things easier. The bright spots on this team include senior forward David Gagnon and sophomore goaltender Owen Bartoszkiewicz.

David Gagnon is the team leader this season in points, and goals, and is tied for the team lead in assists (7-5-12). His production has been good over the last four games, including three points in the series against Ohio State and Stonehill. He is going to be the guy to watch on the offensive side to get the Lions going if they are going to be able to challenge the Spartans this weekend.

Owen Bartoszkiewicz will be another player to watch this weekend in the crease. Bartoszkiewicz is going into his second season of NCAA hockey, he previously played with the University of Minnesota where he went 3-0. He is currently having his best season as an individual, even though the record would say otherwise. He is currently posting a .909 save percentage and has allowed 33 goals vs 361 shots against. What this shows is that Bartoszkiewicz is not a bad goalie, he just gets peppered with shots and does the best he can. This will be very interesting to watch against a Spartan team that is fifth in scoring offense with a 3.80 goal average. He will definitely be a wild card and a deciding factor in how these games go for the Spartans.

Michigan State overview

This team is on fire. This 9-1-0 start is the best start for Michigan State hockey since 1999. They will need to buckle down though because with that No. 1 ranking comes a big target. The Spartans will need to remain sharp to keep the great start going.

Going into this series, the biggest thing that the team needs to focus on is not letting up. When a team with a record like this comes around, it is easy to overlook them. The results have not been there for Lindenwood this year, but they have been involved in a number of close games against good teams. The one thing the team can’t afford this weekend is treating this any differently than the other games they’ve played.

Another key to success this weekend for the Spartans will be getting the puck on net. This is something that the Spartans have done all season. This should be the focus this weekend because if the offense clicks quickly, these games should be over quickly. This provides some of the younger guys more opportunities to play. Specifically, it feels like Isaac Howard is primed to have a big weekend on the score sheet. He has been quiet lately on the goal-scoring front. He still leads the team in points but seems snake-bitten when it comes to actually putting the biscuit in the basket. If the Spartans can get Howard going and guys like Trey Augustine and Nicklas Andrews keep up their high level of play, Michigan State hockey should be able to enjoy the long weekend.

Where to watch/listen

The schedule will be slightly different this weekend for the Spartans. Instead of the usual Friday and Saturday series, the games will be on Friday and Sunday. The Friday night game will start at 7 p.m. ET and the Sunday afternoon game will start at 4 p.m. ET. Both games will be at Munn Ice Arena. Both of the games will also be streaming on BTN+ and audio will be available on the Spartan Media Network.