Another full weekend of league play - another statement made by MSU that they won't back down from anyone.
Michigan State at Penn State: The Spartans hit the road for a showdown with top-10 Penn State to try to keep the league lead and came away with a split. The more impressive thing to me was the bounce back the next night. Michigan State couldn't hold a 3rd period lead on Friday as PSU scored with less than a minute to go to earn the win. MSU responded by storming out of the gate on goals from Basgall, Davidson, and Tucker (Jesse not Mel) just 8:43 into the game to go up 3-0. PSU rallied though to tie the game at 3 including earning a couple of power play goals in the final 1:03 of the period. MSU bounced back again scoring 3 more in the second from Dorwart, Cole Krygier, and Russell. Karsen Dorwart added his second of the night as MSU won 7-3 the second night. St. Cyr made 30 saves on Saturday to earn the win, and he was strong on Friday as well.
Minnesota at Michigan: Minnesota went into Yost and swept the Wolverines out of their own barn. Now, Michigan is down some guys, but the problem is they are getting behind the 8-ball in the B1G race. Minnesota won 5-2 on Thursday scoring 3 straight to end the night to win the game. On Friday, Minnesota jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Wolverines responded - Dylan Duke had a pair of goals for Michigan as it was a 4-2 game about halfway through the final period, but Minnesota scored two more to end the game and earn the six point sweep.
Notre Dame at Ohio State: The Irish and Buckeyes battled to a split series with Ohio State winning Friday 5-2 and ND responding with a 1-0 victory on Saturday. ND held a 2-1 lead before OSU scored four straight including 3 in the final 7:03 to earn the 5-2 win on Friday. Dobes was solid in net for Ohio State stopping 30 of 32 shots. ND's goal 2:37 into the game on Saturday from Jack Adams proved to be the only goal of the evening as Ryan Bischel was superb in goal stopping all 37 shots he saw. OSU out-shot ND 37-17 for the night.
Lindenwood at Wisconsin: The Badgers got another much needed sweep, so we will see if any of this carries over. The problem is Friday they struggled to a 4-3 win. Lindenwood actually held a 3-2 lead 1:57 into the 3rd period. The game winner came from Tyson Jugnauth with about 7 minutes to go in the game. Saturday was much better for Wisconsin as they dominated Lindenwood 5-1 outshooting the Lions 46-23 on the nigt. Cruz Lucius led the way with a pair of goals and a pair of assists.
Conference Standings
The conference steps out into non-conference play again - and this will be an important weekend for the Pairwise.
Stu's Power Rankings
1. Minnesota (10-4-0, LW: 2nd). Minnesota gets the top spot after sweeping Michigan at Yost. Even if they were shorthanded it was still big for the Gophers to take care of business as every point will matter in this B1G race. They continue their road swing in Arizona as they face ASU next weekend before the end it the following week in East Lansing.
2. Michigan State (9-4-1, LW: 4th). The Spartans jump up to the second spot after getting a split at Penn State (which is why I give the edge to MSU in these rankings, the Spartans were the road team). The resiliency showed by Michigan State was big as they were less than a minute away from earning at least 4 of a possible 6 points. MSU has already matched their B1G point total from last season. MSU heads to Oxford this weekend to take on Miami. Two big pre-Christmas series loom for the Spartans as they host Minnesota & Michigan after the Thanksgiving holiday.
3. Penn State (11-3-0, LW: 1st). We continue to follow the standings in these rankings, as PSU probably can't be thrilled with how the weekend overall went - but they were able to comeback and take three points away from MSU on Friday - also showing a little bit of resiliency of their own. PSU steps out of conference as well as they host Alaska for a Tuesday-Wednesday series.
4. Michigan (9-5-0, LW: 3rd). The Wolverines still need to figure things out on the defense end giving up a league high 43 goals in all their games. They'll have a chance to get healthy and right the ship as Harvard comes to town. Wisconsin & Michigan State await after the Thanksgiving series.
5. Notre Dame (6-6-2, LW: 5th). Using the same logic as the MSU series, the Irish got the split on the road in Columbus, though you could easily argue OSU should be ranked ahead in these rankings since they did control the pace in the 1-0 loss. They go to Boston this week to face BU on Tuesday and BC on Friday.
6. Ohio State (8-5-1, LW: 6th). Things are pretty tight in the B1G, so it's not like this is a bad thing to be slotted in the 6th position. However, they split another series at home. They can work on a few things as they head to Long Island this weekend to face LIU.
7. Wisconsin (6-8-0, LW: 7th). Yes the Badgers won. Friday was ugly. Saturday was night. Can they continue their winning ways after the Thanksgiving Break? They are off this week, but series with Michigan & Minnesota follow.
Final Thoughts on MSU
I'm not sure what else you can ask of this squad right now - they just went on the road and played well and earned a split against a top-10 team that was on fire. They showed some heart to bounce back the second night, and while yes - they can't have a let down as they head out of conference this week, and yes, they are going to be judged a great deal with those Minnesota & Michigan series on the horizon, it is very clear things are headed in the right direction. MSU sits in 11th in the Pairwise which puts them into the NCAA conversation - though it is still really early, it's nice to see right now. And while yes, I need to see what happens the second half of the season - if the first half was just a new coach bump or not - there are many signs to point to that things are different. A balance scoring attack, improved defensive & goaltending play, a better power play, and at least until this weekend a strong PK unit.
Enjoy the ride - it's an exciting time to be at Munn right now - and hopefully the fans respond by gobbling up tickets to the Minnesota/Michigan weekends (3 of 4 are at home).
Michigan State at Penn State: The Spartans hit the road for a showdown with top-10 Penn State to try to keep the league lead and came away with a split. The more impressive thing to me was the bounce back the next night. Michigan State couldn't hold a 3rd period lead on Friday as PSU scored with less than a minute to go to earn the win. MSU responded by storming out of the gate on goals from Basgall, Davidson, and Tucker (Jesse not Mel) just 8:43 into the game to go up 3-0. PSU rallied though to tie the game at 3 including earning a couple of power play goals in the final 1:03 of the period. MSU bounced back again scoring 3 more in the second from Dorwart, Cole Krygier, and Russell. Karsen Dorwart added his second of the night as MSU won 7-3 the second night. St. Cyr made 30 saves on Saturday to earn the win, and he was strong on Friday as well.
Minnesota at Michigan: Minnesota went into Yost and swept the Wolverines out of their own barn. Now, Michigan is down some guys, but the problem is they are getting behind the 8-ball in the B1G race. Minnesota won 5-2 on Thursday scoring 3 straight to end the night to win the game. On Friday, Minnesota jumped out to a 3-0 lead before the Wolverines responded - Dylan Duke had a pair of goals for Michigan as it was a 4-2 game about halfway through the final period, but Minnesota scored two more to end the game and earn the six point sweep.
Notre Dame at Ohio State: The Irish and Buckeyes battled to a split series with Ohio State winning Friday 5-2 and ND responding with a 1-0 victory on Saturday. ND held a 2-1 lead before OSU scored four straight including 3 in the final 7:03 to earn the 5-2 win on Friday. Dobes was solid in net for Ohio State stopping 30 of 32 shots. ND's goal 2:37 into the game on Saturday from Jack Adams proved to be the only goal of the evening as Ryan Bischel was superb in goal stopping all 37 shots he saw. OSU out-shot ND 37-17 for the night.
Lindenwood at Wisconsin: The Badgers got another much needed sweep, so we will see if any of this carries over. The problem is Friday they struggled to a 4-3 win. Lindenwood actually held a 3-2 lead 1:57 into the 3rd period. The game winner came from Tyson Jugnauth with about 7 minutes to go in the game. Saturday was much better for Wisconsin as they dominated Lindenwood 5-1 outshooting the Lions 46-23 on the nigt. Cruz Lucius led the way with a pair of goals and a pair of assists.
Conference Standings
| Points | Games Played | |
| Minnesota | 18 | 8 |
| Michigan State | 17 | 8 |
| Penn State | 16 | 8 |
| Ohio State | 12 | 8 |
| Notre Dame | 9 | 8 |
| Michigan | 6 | 6 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 6 |
The conference steps out into non-conference play again - and this will be an important weekend for the Pairwise.
Stu's Power Rankings
1. Minnesota (10-4-0, LW: 2nd). Minnesota gets the top spot after sweeping Michigan at Yost. Even if they were shorthanded it was still big for the Gophers to take care of business as every point will matter in this B1G race. They continue their road swing in Arizona as they face ASU next weekend before the end it the following week in East Lansing.
2. Michigan State (9-4-1, LW: 4th). The Spartans jump up to the second spot after getting a split at Penn State (which is why I give the edge to MSU in these rankings, the Spartans were the road team). The resiliency showed by Michigan State was big as they were less than a minute away from earning at least 4 of a possible 6 points. MSU has already matched their B1G point total from last season. MSU heads to Oxford this weekend to take on Miami. Two big pre-Christmas series loom for the Spartans as they host Minnesota & Michigan after the Thanksgiving holiday.
3. Penn State (11-3-0, LW: 1st). We continue to follow the standings in these rankings, as PSU probably can't be thrilled with how the weekend overall went - but they were able to comeback and take three points away from MSU on Friday - also showing a little bit of resiliency of their own. PSU steps out of conference as well as they host Alaska for a Tuesday-Wednesday series.
4. Michigan (9-5-0, LW: 3rd). The Wolverines still need to figure things out on the defense end giving up a league high 43 goals in all their games. They'll have a chance to get healthy and right the ship as Harvard comes to town. Wisconsin & Michigan State await after the Thanksgiving series.
5. Notre Dame (6-6-2, LW: 5th). Using the same logic as the MSU series, the Irish got the split on the road in Columbus, though you could easily argue OSU should be ranked ahead in these rankings since they did control the pace in the 1-0 loss. They go to Boston this week to face BU on Tuesday and BC on Friday.
6. Ohio State (8-5-1, LW: 6th). Things are pretty tight in the B1G, so it's not like this is a bad thing to be slotted in the 6th position. However, they split another series at home. They can work on a few things as they head to Long Island this weekend to face LIU.
7. Wisconsin (6-8-0, LW: 7th). Yes the Badgers won. Friday was ugly. Saturday was night. Can they continue their winning ways after the Thanksgiving Break? They are off this week, but series with Michigan & Minnesota follow.
Final Thoughts on MSU
I'm not sure what else you can ask of this squad right now - they just went on the road and played well and earned a split against a top-10 team that was on fire. They showed some heart to bounce back the second night, and while yes - they can't have a let down as they head out of conference this week, and yes, they are going to be judged a great deal with those Minnesota & Michigan series on the horizon, it is very clear things are headed in the right direction. MSU sits in 11th in the Pairwise which puts them into the NCAA conversation - though it is still really early, it's nice to see right now. And while yes, I need to see what happens the second half of the season - if the first half was just a new coach bump or not - there are many signs to point to that things are different. A balance scoring attack, improved defensive & goaltending play, a better power play, and at least until this weekend a strong PK unit.
Enjoy the ride - it's an exciting time to be at Munn right now - and hopefully the fans respond by gobbling up tickets to the Minnesota/Michigan weekends (3 of 4 are at home).
