No. 4 Michigan State is headed to South Bend for its first Big Ten games of the season, and the Spartans will get thrown straight into the kind of battle that usually tells you a lot about a team.
Notre Dame is waiting after a rough early stretch, and Michigan State is coming off a split with No. 13 Boston University that showed both sides of its identity.
The Spartans took a hard hit in the opener against Boston, falling 6-2 as the Terriers answered for what Michigan State did to them in Boston last season. But game two looked much more like the version of the Spartans people expected to see, with Michigan State rolling to a 5-0 shutout.
That kind of response matters, especially with conference play starting. Michigan State has size, and it will need to lean on that physical edge in a series that figures to get nasty fast. The Spartans have shown they can play the bully role, but Big Ten hockey has a way of making every shift feel heavier.
There’s also the youth factor. Michigan State has a roster with plenty of freshmen, and the growing pains have been there at times.
At the same time, the veterans have helped steady things and give that young group room to develop. The loss to Boston may end up being one of those early lessons that a team can actually build on, and game two looked like a step in that direction.
Notre Dame, meanwhile, has already spent plenty of time against elite competition. The Fighting Irish opened with six straight games against ranked opponents and lost all six, a stretch that ended with a sweep by Wisconsin in which Notre Dame was outscored 16-2 across the two games.
Last week brought a reset. In its first series against an unranked opponent since opening weekend, Notre Dame swept Penn State, winning 5-4 in overtime before taking the second game 4-2.
The series is set for Thursday, November 12, at 7 p.m. EST and Friday, November 13, at 7 p.m. EST, with both games on Peacock.
My predictions: Thursday: Michigan State 4, Notre Dame 1
Friday: Michigan State 6, Notre Dame 0
In Other News...
Michigan State Opens Big Ten Play With A Frustrating New Concern
Michigan State opened Big Ten play with a result that felt equal parts encouraging and aggravating, dropping a 3-2 overtime decision to Notre Dame at Compton Family Ice Arena. Shane Vansaghi supplied both Spartans goals, matching his career high, and Michigan State did enough in stretches to tilt the shot count 35-33 in its favor, but the night still ended with an empty feeling after a game that never quite turned into a win.
Adam Nightingale pointed to improvement in the second period, a sign the Spartans can build on as conference play settles in, but the bigger concern is how quickly a solid effort can still slip away. For a team trying to establish itself in the Big Ten, the margin for error is already thin, and this was the kind of frustrating opener that leaves Michigan State with more to clean up than celebrate. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Showed Something Important In Tough Purdue Loss
Michigan States volleyball team didnt get the result it wanted against No. 13 Purdue at the Breslin Center, but the Spartans did show they can hang with one of the Big Tens better teams. In a four-set loss, Michigan State got strong production from Zora Hardison, who finished with 14 kills, and Taylah Holdem, who turned in a double-double with 13 kills and 11 digs.
The setback dropped Michigan State to 17-8 overall and 7-8 in conference play, while Purdue moved to 17-7 and 10-5 in the Big Ten. For a Spartans group trying to steady itself in league play, the encouraging part was less about the final score and more about the level of resistance it brought against a ranked opponent on its home floor. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Fans Are Stuck Waiting On A Bizarre Game-Day Limbo
A strange bit of game-day uncertainty settled over East Lansing on Friday afternoon when Washingtons travel plans were thrown into limbo by a nationwide FAA ground stop on outgoing flights. The Huskies were supposed to leave Seattle for their scheduled matchup with Michigan State, but the delay came just before 4 p.m. ET and immediately complicated the logistics of getting the game on track.
For Michigan State fans, it is the kind of off-field wrinkle that can overshadow the usual pregame routine, especially with the situation still unresolved and no clear timeline for a fix. The travel restrictions are affecting multiple college football teams, but for now the Spartans and their supporters are left waiting to see whether Washington can make the trip and how the schedule might hold up. [Read more 🡒]