Men’s College Hockey Series of the Week: No.6 Michigan State vs. No.3 Wisconsin

We are back. It’s the start of the spring semester and the halfway point of the Men’s college hockey season.

Matchups are increasingly more important as the season goes on, but this series will be one of the most important of the early portion of the back half. This is No.6 Michigan State vs. No. 3 Wisconsin.

After starting very hot this season, the Michigan State Spartans have regressed slightly, but are still among the top teams of college hockey. Michigan State has a 15-5-0 overall record and a 6-4-0 conference record in the Big Ten.

The Spartans have notable wins this season over Michigan, Penn State and Boston University. However, Sparty was swept the last time it played Wisconsin, and it is also coming off a split series against unranked Ohio State with a loss in game two of the series.

Young talent has risen to the challenge and produced many of the goals for Michigan State. Freshman phenom forward Porter Martone leads the Spartans in goals this season with 14.

When it comes to assists and total points, it's the older talent that has staked its claim. Senior forward Charlie Stramel leads the team in assists with 14, and he bests Martone in points by one with 26.

In the net, Spartans have the best. Junior goaltender Trey Augustine leads the nation with a .938 save percentage, and he is second in the country in goals against average with a 1.725.

After a rough 2024-2025 campaign where the Wisconsin Badgers posted a 13-21-3 record, the Badgers have fought back to earn a 15-3-2 overall record and an 8-2-0 record in the Big Ten Conference.

The Badgers’ key victories came in a sweep in their first appearance against Michigan State, Michigan and Minnesota.

Although the talent isn’t as young and their goal production isn’t as much, Wisconsin has been able to put pucks in the net to claim key wins. Senior forward Christian Fitzgerald and junior forward Quinn Finley are tied for the team lead in goals with 10.

When it comes to leading the team in assists, it’s not even close. Sophomore forward Gavin Morrissey sits atop the assists category on the roster with 18 this year.

Where the Badgers are lacking against the Spartans is between the pipes. Both of Wisconsin’s goalies that have seen time, Daniel Hauser and Eli Pulver, rank outside of the top 50 of the two stats previously mentioned, where Augustine ranks one and two, respectively.

For the Spartans to secure the sweep, they need to rely on their stars on offense and apply more pressure and spread out defensively. Particularly in their loss to Ohio State, Michigan State allowed for too much traffic in front of the net on the penalty kill and got lazy and allowed goals when it had even strength.

In Wisconsin’s first series against Michigan State, it allowed goals from the slot and rebounds in the front of the net. If the Badgers also tighten up on defense, in net, and rely on more players to produce offensively, history could repeat itself.

Game one of the series is Thursday, January 15th, at 8:00. Puck drop for game two is set for Friday, January 16th, at 7:00. Both games will be broadcast on Big Ten Plus.

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