Stacked with NHL prospects and eyeing a Frozen Four return, the Spartans’ quest for national dominance begins with a high-stakes test against the powerhouse Eagles.
Just over three weeks from now, the Michigan State Spartans hockey team will begin its quest for a fourth consecutive Big Ten championship.
On October 2, the Spartans will kick things off with an exhibition showdown against Boston College, giving a young and highly touted Michigan State roster its first opportunity to take the ice together before the games begin to count.
The Spartans enter the season as the reigning three-time Big Ten champions. Despite their regular-season and conference tournament success, however, Michigan State has still been unable to make the Frozen Four since its national championship-winning season in 2008.
That is the next hurdle.
Michigan State isn't simply trying to continue its dominance of the Big Ten. This team is looking to finally win the do-or-die games that ultimately determine how a season is remembered.
It's hard for college hockey fans to remember the epic battle between the Spartans and Wolverines for first place in the conference. Instead, the memories quickly turn to Denver defeating Michigan before Wisconsin ultimately fell to Denver in another national championship run.
For Michigan State, Big Ten championships are certainly something to celebrate, but fans want more.
They want a Frozen Four appearance — and, ultimately, another national championship.
A Loaded Young Roster
The Spartans enter the season with one of the most highly touted rosters in college hockey, featuring a litany of NHL first-round draft picks and future professional talent.
Players such as Ethan Belchetz, Chase Reid, Tommy Bleyly and Joshua Ravensbergen are all first-round picks who have yet to play a single minute for Michigan State. Yet, expectations are already sky-high for the group to step in and flourish, much like Porter Martone did as a freshman last season.
That is an extreme amount of pressure for a group of players who are still learning the college game.
And with Michigan State having more underclassmen than veterans on its roster, there isn't an abundance of experienced players for the newcomers to lean on.
Players such as Cayden Lindstrom, Ryker Lee and Patrick Geary will be asked to become more than simply leaders. They'll need to be willing to do the dirty work, set the tone and help create an environment where Michigan State's youth movement can develop at the rate everyone expects.
A New Era in Net
The Spartans also face another major transition in goal.
Michigan State went through some growing pains for three years with former goaltender Trey Augustine before things really began to click. By his junior year, Augustine looked like a player capable of stepping into an NHL crease immediately.
Now, Michigan State will once again turn to a very young goaltender.
Ravensbergen is widely regarded as an even better prospect than Augustine was, but potential and rankings don't guarantee success at the college level.
Ravensbergen will have a daunting task in front of him as he attempts to establish himself as one of the top goaltenders in college hockey, particularly with some of the defensemen playing in front of him being freshmen themselves.
That combination of youth, expectations and inexperience could make the beginning of the season an interesting one for the Spartans.
The Target Is Getting Bigger
The target on Michigan State's back is also larger than it has been in years.
Three consecutive Big Ten championships have turned the Spartans into the team everyone wants to knock off. Add in a roster loaded with NHL draft picks and one of the top incoming groups in the country, and expectations in East Lansing are enormous.
That doesn't necessarily mean the road to a fourth straight championship will be easy.
In fact, it could be much harder than people expect.
Even with head coach Adam Nightingale returning for his fourth season, he will have plenty of work to do. Nightingale has helped establish Michigan State as one of the premier programs in the Big Ten, but developing such a young roster while simultaneously competing for another conference championship will be one of his biggest challenges yet.
The talent is there.
The expectations are there.
Now, the Spartans have to put it all together.
And it all starts October 2 against Boston College in an exhibition showdown that will give Michigan State its first glimpse of what this new-look team can become.
