No. 4 Michigan State at Notre Dame: How to Watch and Score Predictions

WHO: No. 4 Michigan State Spartans (6-2, 0-0) at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-6, 2-2)

WHERE: Compton Family Ice Arena in South Bend, Indiana

WHEN: Thursday, November 12, at 7 p.m. EST and Friday, November 13, at 7 p.m. EST

WATCH: Peacock (Both Games)

Michigan State heads back on the road, this time heading to South Bend for the Spartans' first Big Ten matchups of the season.

The Spartans are coming off a split in a ferocious battle with No. 13 Boston University. Michigan State was embarrassed 6-2 in the first game as the Terriers extracted their revenge after the Spartans embarrassed Boston last season in Boston.

In game two, Michigan State got back to what it was expected to look like, sending Boston out the door with a 5-0 shutout to remember them by.

As gruesome and gritty as the Boston matchup was, even with Notre Dame struggling, there's nothing like conference play. The Spartans will have to use their size to their advantage, get ready to get punched in the mouth, literally, and be prepared to stand up and fight back.

That is nothing new for the Spartans. In fact, it seems they like being the bullies. However, with Big Ten play starting, things are only going to get more ruthless.

Michigan State brings a ton of youth to its roster this season, and there have been times when the freshmen have shown the growing pains that come with being young. Luckily, Adam Nightingale's team also brings back a ton of veterans who are helping lead the way and open the doors for a talented freshman class.

The early-season loss to Boston, a very good team and the only team with more draft picks on its roster than the Spartans, will hopefully serve as a learning lesson and a chance to fail forward. That's exactly what it looked like in game two.

If you've been a Spartan fan long enough, you know the Tom Izzo theory: schedule tough games early and learn from the failures. If that's how the Spartans are going to move forward on the ice, I'm very happy with it, and so should every fan out there.

The Fighting Irish are living the idea of playing tough teams early, as they played six straight games against ranked opponents, losing all six. That stretch was capped by a sweep at the hands of Wisconsin, with Notre Dame getting outscored by a combined 16-2 across the two games.

Notre Dame bounced back last week in its first matchup against an unranked opponent since opening weekend. The Fighting Irish handled business against conference foe Penn State, sweeping the Nittany Lions with a 5-4 overtime victory followed by a 4-2 win.

Now, the Spartans and Fighting Irish will clash in South Bend as Michigan State opens its Big Ten schedule.

Thursday

Michigan State: 4

Notre Dame: 1

Friday

Michigan State: 6

Notre Dame: 0