It may not feel like it outside but hockey hockey season is just days away. After a very successful 23/24 season that put the Spartans back on the map, they find themselves with lofty expectations and no longer being the hunter, but the hunted.
This season is set to be a special one. It’s the 50 year anniversary of Munn and the Spartans head into the season with a number 4 ranking and favorites to win the Big Ten. Coach Nightingale enters his third season looking to live up to the expectations and sold out season. Let’s take a look at 5 keys to the season that we all hope ends with a National Title.
NINE NEW PLAYERS
The Spartans head into this season with nine new players on the roster, six of those being freshmen and three transfers. MSU is loaded with players already drafted to NHL teams. Obviously the big loss is Levshunov who is off to the Blackhawks. Last years team really played well together and the team chemistry was very good. Adding 9 newbies to the mix will take some adjusting to and if the Spartans can get that same chemistry back again with the experience of last year then things will definitely be exciting in East Lansing. While the Spartans are returning over 60% of their scoring offense, it will be interesting to see what defensive pairing steps up to replace last years output of Levshunov and Nienhuis.
GOALTENDING
Trey Augustine is back and with a lot on his shoulders. The future Red Wing is a preseason all BIG first team selection. Augustine has the potential to be an absolute wall and he showcased some of that in the tournament last year. MSU does get those defenders pushing the puck and setting up scoring opportunities for offense which can at times leave Augustine a lame duck back in goal. If he’s able to up the shutout game this year and maintain growth and stay healthy he will be one of the main reasons we may be lifting the banner next year.
HEADS DOWN
At media day there was a consistent conversation from Nightingale and the players about keeping their heads down and focusing. They are all aware of the expectations and pressure and seem determined to not let it get to them or distract them. There was also a lot of chat about last season being good but not good enough. The need to continue the trend and finish the job. I like the sounds of all this as this sounds like a team ready to do something special. The players are excited to get this season rolling and so are the fans. We’ll all have our heads down and focused on the Frozen Four.
POWER PLAY AND PENALTY KILL
Last year MSU was very good in power play scoring, ranking number five. The Spartans are going to need to keep that performance and even improve upon this year to win the title. The biggest need for improvement though is the penalty kill. The Spartans ranked 31 in Division 1 stats on the kill. That is an absolute must in improvement. They need to get better at turning the puck over on the kill and being smarter with it. While a shorty is always nice, it isn’t always worth the gamble.
THE SMALL STUFF
The Spartans committed a ton of penalties last season and that obviously leads into our previous discussion of the penalty kill. They have to play cleaner hockey, take advantage of the offensive strengths to avoid playing from behind and putting unnecessary pressure on Augustine. The Spartans also need to get better at the face-off. They had a very low win percentage and if they are better at winning the face-off, it will assist improvement on the penalty kill and increase power play opportunities.
The Spartans kick off the season October 4/5 against Lake Superior State followed by number two ranked Boston College to open the season at home on October 11/12. It will be nice to see our guys take care of business this weekend and brush out some kinks before a big test in weekend two. I’ve been a big MSU hockey fan and season ticket holder all four years I was there and even while I was in LA I can remember the bar I was at as they won their last title. I’m looking forward to giving the site some hockey content this season so please comment and let me know what you’d like to see. Let’s get that puck dropping and a new banner to Munn in year 50! Go Green!