Men's college hockey series of the week: No. 3 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Boston University

Can the Big Ten bounce back against Hockey East? That question will be answered this weekend for this installment of the series of the week. After splitting the series against an unranked University of New Hampshire squad, the No.3 Michigan State Spartans will hit the road to take on the top dogs, the No.1 Boston University Terriers.

The kings of college hockey are looking to remain undefeated in the young season. Although Macklin Celebrini, the No.1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, is long gone, the Terriers are still loaded with elite-level talent.

The New York Islanders' 2024 first-round pick, Cole Eiserman, leads the Boston roster in goals this season with five. Eiserman is not the only talented Cole on this team.

Cole Hutson, the 43rd overall pick of the Washington Capitals in the 2024 draft, is second on the team in goals with three despite being a defenseman, a position not commonly known for finding the back of the net often.

Unlike the Boston University Terriers, the Michigan State Spartans have distributed their goals throughout their roster. However, this is not the case for assists. Freshman phenom Porter Martone, who was also the first of two picks for the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the previous NHL Entry Draft, leads the team with three assists in two games played.

Next on the list for Spartans assist leaders is Charlie Stramel, who spent his first two seasons of college hockey with the Wisconsin Badgers.

For Boston University, there is not much to clean up heading to its series against Michigan State. The only slight fault that could be pointed out is that goaltender Mikhail Yegorov has allowed six goals through just three games.

Other than that, the Terriers will have to continue what they are doing and continue to lean on stars like Eiserman and Hutson if they want to protect their house.

For Sparty, the story is different. On offense, a player like Porter Martone needs to explode in the goal department. Additionally, a big part of their loss in game one against the University of New Hampshire was being undisciplined as a team and being undisciplined on defense.

If Michigan State can remain level-headed, play strong on defense, and have a strong showing from star goaltender Trey Augustine, then Sparty can spoil the Terriers’ party and take it back to East Lansing.

Agganis Arena is expected to be bursting at the seams during this marquee matchup. If you’re one of the unlucky ones who will not be there, you can watch game one of ESPN 2 with a 7:00 puck drop. Game two will also be streamed on ESPN+.

Max Malec is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mvm7264@psu.edu.