After winning back-to-back Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles, the Michigan State hockey team has again fallen short of the Frozen Four. Thursday night, the Spartans were upset in the opening game of the NCAA Tournament by Cornell, who scored the game-winning goal on a power play with 10 seconds remaining in the game.
Last season, the Spartans were knocked out in the regional final by rival Michigan, which added salt to their wounds.
Despite the disappointing end to the season, Michigan State hockey fans should remain optimistic about the state of the program and the turnaround that has occurred in Adam Nightingale's three seasons behind the bench. And especially, remember how bad things were before he took over.
Before Nightingale was hired, Danton Cole guided the Spartans to last-place finishes in four of his five seasons at the helm. Before Cole, Tom Anastos led MSU to a tournament appearance in his first year, but only finished in the top half of the standings once more in the remainder of his six-year tenure.
Until Nightingale arrived, Michigan State hockey was a combined 0-13 in the Big Ten tournament, after the league was formed before Anastos’ third season. In Nightingale’s first campaign, the Spartans upset Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament before falling to Minnesota in the semifinals. Since then, all of their Big Ten tournament games have come in the friendly confines of Munn Ice Arena, where the Spartans have gone 4-0 and won two conference tournament titles.
Prior to MSU, Nightingale led the USA Hockey National Team Development Program under-17 team. On that team was Trey Augustine, a goalie from South Lyon, Michigan, who was originally committed to Michigan. When the Wolverines went through a coaching change, Augustine opened up his recruitment and quickly committed to Nightingale before his first season in East Lansing.
Landing Augustine was seen as a coup for recruiting in the state of Michigan at the time, and continues to pay dividends for the Spartans as the net-minder has performed his way into a second round pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2023 NHL Draft, and Augustine was recently name the 2024-25 Big Ten Goalie of the Year.
Before his second season leading the Spartans, Nightingale secured a commitment from Artyom Levshunov out of Belarus. Levshunov starred in his only season at Michigan State, being named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year before being drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
Nightingale has also been able to attract other top talent to Michigan State through the transfer portal. Before the 2023-24 season, Isaac Howard transferred in from Minnesota-Duluth, where he played his freshman season. After a productive first season in East Lansing last year, averaging a point a game, Howard exploded onto the scene this year with 26 goals and 26 assists while earning Big Ten Player of the Year honors, and being named a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award.
Despite the premature end to the season, Spartan hockey fans should feel confident in the state of the program under Nightingale. The team is likely to see some departures in the coming weeks as players opt to turn pro, but there’s sure to be another solid group of players brought in, ready to contend for a third straight Big Ten crown.