3&Out: Takeaways from Michigan State hockey media day: depth, speed, motivation
By Ricardo Cooney
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State will begin its 2023-24 hockey season at 4 p.m. on Oct. 7 at Munn Ice Arena against Lake Superior State. The Spartans will open the season with a treasure trove full of optimism, a No. 9 ranking in the first USCHO Top 20 poll and a predicted No. 3 finish in the Big Ten. With that being said, here are my three takeaways from Michigan State’s media day on Wednesday.
A NICE PROBLEM TO HAVE
Michigan State is expected enter the 2023-24 season with a 27-man roster consisting of 15 newcomers and 12 returning players. While that is nothing earth shattering, what is noticeable is the perceived wealth of talent second-year head coach Adam Nightingale and his staff have compiled on this team in a short time. That talent means that gameday roster spots will be at a premium and that no one is assured of a lineup spot when the puck drops on a weekend series.
“That’s a good problem for sure and that’s our job as coaches, to create a competitive environment and then reward the guys with the good behavior,’’ Nightingale said. “You could have situations where guys are doing everything they can and they’re not in the lineup. So you got to see value and we like to think that we treat every guy on our team the same. So, if you’re on a full scholarship and you’re on the powerplay or if you’re a walk-on and you haven’t played a game, we still care about you and we’re still going to coach you. But yeah, it’s going to be competitive and that’s a good problem.’’
HIGHLY MOTIVATED
After finishing just one victory short of making the 16-team NCAA Tournament field last season, Michigan State’s players have vowed to leave no stone unturned this season in the team’s quest to make the program’s first national postseason since 2012. The Spartans finished 18-18-2 last season.
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“I think there’s small details,” said 5th-year senior and alternate captain Nicolas Muller. “It’s so tight. And I think with more experience and stability, knowing that every game counts because last year it was just one game that we lost and that’s the thing. So knowing how important every game is will make a difference. It’s every practice; how we do off the ice, on the ice, in the weight room. It’s all, it’s everything.’’
FAST, FASTER, FASTEST
There’s no doubt that Nightingale had a mission when he took over and one aspect of changing the culture and trajectory of the program was to add more team speed. Even though it’s only year two of his regime, he thinks the Spartans have addressed the team speed aspect of the program.
“One of the things we talked about in the summer is, we got to get faster, we want to be faster,’’ Nightingale said. “Will (Morlock, the team’s Athletic Performance Coach) did a really good job of putting in a training program where we’ve added speed to your lineup. So, we’ve done that, with the guys returning and I think with the guys we brought in, we’ve added that element of speed and I think it’s a really competitive launch. Those would be the two things; we’re going to be fast and I think we’re going to be competitive. (Of course,) you don’t know for sure until the fur starts flying and we play a game here but I definitely think the speed will be a factor.’’
