Michigan State hockey has had an eventful offseason, from landing some elite talent and NHL draft picks, to losing out on the No. 1 player in the nation, Gavin McKenna, to Penn State.
The Spartans have missed out on some key talent while also losing Isaac Howard to the Edmonton Oilers after he won the Hobey Baker Award in 2025. The team does bring back a ton of talent, including Trey Augustine in net, and the incoming class of prospects should help replace Howard and get the Spartans back to the top of the Big Ten.
But losing McKenna to Penn State still hurts.
So when the schedule was released last week, it was interesting to see that the Spartans and Nittany Lions would be opening Big Ten play against one another in East Lansing.
The return trip to Happy Valley may be just as electric, especially if this report of a potential outdoor game at Beaver Stadium on Feb. 1 comes to fruition.
With proper royalties to my @PioneerPress colleague Charley Walters, a little birdie tells me to expect an announcement later this week of a @MSU_Hockey at @PennStateMHKY outdoor game at 106k-seat Beaver Stadium on Feb. 1, 2026.
— Jess Myers (@JessRMyers) August 26, 2025
This seems like a fairly credible source, but it's something that I have to see to believe, because Beaver Stadium is reportedly undergoing renovations that will be finished before the 2027 season. This means that an outdoor game during the offseason would be at a stadium in the middle of renovations. This doesn't make it unlikely, but it would be tough to work around.
Michigan State and Penn State could be the top two teams in the Big Ten this season, so this could be a heck of an event that'll have the feel of a Frozen Four matchup.
We'll see if this news actually does come out this week, but it sounds like it's in the works.