Michigan State needs March rally, starting with Big Ten Tournament series at Notre Dame

East Lansing, Mich. – The Michigan State hockey team flirted with NCAA Tournament contention for most of the regular season, spending many weeks on the positive side of the bubble.

But the Spartans (16-16-2 overall) lost three of their last four games – including one in overtime – in slipping to No. 19 in the Pairwise Rankings, which determines NCAA Tournament bids.

Six-teen teams make the NCAA Tournament. Allowing for one or two or three upsets in conference tournament championship games in the coming weeks, Michigan State needs to crack the Top 13 to feel good about its NCAA Tournament chances. That seems like a longshot right now. 

“Dress rehearsal is done, now it’s for real,” said Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale. “We want to keep playing hockey. We’ve got to win some games.”

That quest begins this weekend when Michigan State, the No. 5 seed in the seven-team Big Ten Tournament, plays a best-of-three series against Notre Dame (15-14-5), with all games in South Bend. 

Game One is Friday at 7 p.m. (FS2).

No. 4 seed Notre Dame nudged past Michigan State and gained home ice in the first round of the Big Ten Playoffs when the Irish beat Michigan in overtime on Saturday. 

If Michigan had won, this Michigan State vs ND series would be played in East Lansing this weekend. 

Did Nightingale root for Michigan to beat Notre Dame last weekend?

“Nope,” he said. “Nope. Nope.”

But Michigan State forward Jagger Joshua admitted he wanted home ice.

“That definitely wasn’t the best feeling, especially rooting for Michigan,” said Joshua, a senior from Dearborn. “That’s not something that I enjoy. It was a new perspective. Definitely not fun. I would rather have my destiny controlled by myself.”

That’s MSU’s situation headed into the postseason.

MICHIGAN STATE’S NCAA PICTURE

If Michigan State beats Notre Dame in the first round series, then wins a semifinal the following weekend, and then wins the one-game Big Ten Tournament Championship Game on March 18, then the Spartans would earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

That’s a long shot. But longshots come through in this sport sometimes. 

As for the Pairwise Rankings, Michigan State needs to sweep No. 13 Notre Dame in two games in order to have a big impact in that area. A win in the semifinals against top-ranked Minnesota might be enough to push Michigan State near the Top 13, but again, that’s a bit of a longshot. 

“We would love an opportunity to play in the tournament,” Nightingale said. “We have to take care of today to make sure that that happens. What I am proud of is our guys got to the spot that we’re in the conversation. We would love to be in right now and know we’re in but all we can focus on now is playing great hockey down the stretch.”

THE NOTRE DAME MATCHUP

Michigan State swept Notre Dame during the weekend of Feb. 3-4 by the score of 3-0 and 3-2.

Way back during the weekend of Oct. 28-29, Notre Dame beat Michigan State 5-0, and the teams skated to a 1-1 tie in the second game, with Michigan State picking up the extra point in the Big Ten standings by winning the shootout. 

“Our record against them this year gives us some confidence,” Joshua said. “We have had some success against them and their system. That give us some confidence to go out there and come back with our first Big Ten playoff win.”

Michigan State has never won a game in the Big Ten Tournament, since its inception in 2014 – a dubious distinction for a program that prides itself as being one of the best in the nation from an historic perspective.

“It’s nice to still be in control of our destiny and have a chance to play in the tournament,” Joshua said. “It’s something our school hasn’t been to in awhile so it’s definitely in the back of our mind. But as a team we are focused on game by game and repeating winning hockey.”

Michigan State was picked to finish last in the Big Ten standings, but finished ahead of Wisconsin and Penn State and was just four points behind second-place Michigan.

“Coming into the season, we talked about trying to earn some respect,” Nightingale said. “I think we have done that in college hockey. We are not at the level we want to get to, but this is an opportunity this weekend to take another step.”

WHO’S HOT?

Michigan State senior forward Nicolas Müller (6-0, 188, Arisdorf, Switzerland) has nine points in the last seven games, including two goals and two assists in the most recent Notre Dame serieso. He was named the Big Ten First Star of the week after that performance).  

He sits atop the Spartan statistics sheet with 29 points with seven goals and 22 assists – all career single-season highs.   

WHO’S KEY?

Michigan State senior goalie Dylan St. Cyr, who spent four seasons at Notre Dame and then transferred to Quinnipiac last year and transferred to Michigan State this year, ranks No. 4 in the Big Ten in save percentage.

St. Cyr, a native of Northville, Mich., and the son of former female goalie legend Manon Rheaume, was outstanding in Michigan State’s sweep of the Irish in early February.

“Those games could have went either way,” Nightingale said. “Dylan played really good. I wasn’t surprised that they (Notre Dame) had success after they left here.”

Notre Dame hasn’t lost in four games since that series, going 2-0-2.

“It’s a pretty unique storyline within the series,” Nightingale said. “Dyan is a great person. Notre Dame’s staff is genuinely excited about the success he has had. 

“For him, he just has to go be himself. He doesn’t have to be anything different than he has been all year and we have a ton of confidence in him.”

WHAT’S KEY?

Notre Dame, with its tight defensive style and superb goaltender Ryan Bischel, hasn’t allowed more than three goals in a game since Jan. 7.

“When you’re facing a good goalie, you have to get traffic and shots and continue a relentless attack,” Joshua said. “My job specifically, I’m going to be in front of him and it’s hard to stop pucks that he can’t see. Getting traffic in front of him and making his night hard and not letting him get comfortable in there is a big key for us.”