A 5 point weekend in Minnesota has Spartans feeling the holiday spirit.
What a weekend of games for Spartan hockey in Minnesota. A place that has not been kind to the green and white for quite some time. Not only that, but the Spartans had just lost their number one ranking and Minnesota was the team to take it. As I had mentioned in a piece last week, if MSU showed up strong they had a chance to regain the number one spot. Boy, did they ever answer the call.
Trey Augustine played extremely well against a very potent offense. There were multiple ties throughout the weekend where he was facing a one on one breakaway or outmanned two to one. Some of his stops were absolutely remarkable and he definitely showed signs of what he is going to look like in the NHL. Howard continued his hot streak and Stramel and Russell continued their box score relevance.
A few big takeaways from the weekend.
1: Number one for me is the defense, including Augustine. Minnesota has an outstanding offense and they put it on the Spartans both nights. MSU responded to the call with hustle, blocked shots and not giving up on a play after getting beat.
2: The heart and determination in these games was incredible. 4 goals in the second half of the third to rally on Saturday and just missed a couple in overtime on Friday. Being able to rally and get points on a team as talented as Minnesota and on the road will bode well for the Spartans later this season.
3. The importance of these points in conference standings is going to be huge. MSU needs to keep winning series and they will, obviously, be in great shape. Having strong showings and coming away with points against Minnesota and Boston College this season could play an important part in Frozen Four seeding.
Speaking of Frozen Four, MSU is definitely a contender to make it and I’d like to take a quick look at a few other contenders. Minnesota and Boston College are obvious choices that have a great shot and having seen both teams play, they definitely pass the eye test. Denver is another choice that has 18 returning players from last years title team and a young coach who is peaking interest from some NHL teams. Another team to be on the watch for is Maine. Maine is a solid team but is lacking some consistency in all facets but if they can pull that together they will be a contender come April. Western Michigan recently split against Denver in two close games and the Spartans may be seeing them in the Great Lakes Invitational late December.
I was hoping for a split in Minnesota, but most of the things that needed to happen did happen and the Spartans did even better. The 2024 games are coming to an end soon and every fan is smiling with the optimism of raising another banner in Munn. Anyone going to the GLI? Or Wrigley? Let me know in the comments if you’ve been watching or plan to be. There’s also a Jr Spartan game against Wisconsin prior to the Wrigley game and there may be some tickets left for the kids. Go Green!