For just the second time in conference history, a program has won three straight Big Ten hockey titles. Michigan State hockey became that second program to accomplish the feat.
With a 7-1 win at Minnesota on Thursday night, the Spartans reached 50 points in the Big Ten standings which now gives them one more point than Michigan (49). The Wolverines came into the night as the first-place team in the Big Ten standings, but Michigan State’s win in Minneapolis gave the Spartans the points they needed to capture the crown with Michigan’s conference slate finished.
Before Adam Nightingale took over in East Lansing, Michigan State had exactly zero (!!) Big Ten titles. Granted, the hockey conference was created just over a decade ago, but every single team has won one — except one. Nightingale has done an incredible job with this program.
Michigan had zero Big Ten titles entering Thursday night, and the Wolverines will now go at least another 365 days without one.
Michigan State’s win denied Michigan its first-ever Big Ten regular season title. And the Wolverines are actually the only team in the conference without a regular-season crown. Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin all have one each, Minnesota leads the the way with seven, and Michigan State is second with three.
Michigan has zero.
The Wolverines do have three Big Ten Tournament title victories and Michigan State could match that this season, especially with the first-round bye and hosting the semifinals at Munn.
Big Ten supremacy is not Michigan State’s ultimate goal
Big Ten titles are cool, but Michigan State is aiming higher.
If you ask Nightingale what his thoughts on a third straight title are, he would tell you that it’s special, but he’s not going to truly be happy until this team reaches its ultimate goal: a national title.
Nightingale has had two straight Big Ten title teams fail to reach the Frozen Four, and I know that drives him crazy. The first team fell just one win short of a Frozen Four, and last year’s squad was even better and it was knocked out in a first-round shocker. This year’s team may be better than both as it held off a really good Michigan team for a conference title and they’re ranked 1-2 nationally.
If they can win this league, they can win it all.
Nightingale knows, unfortunately, that nothing is a given.