2022–23 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey season
Sports team season
The 2022–23 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey season was the 81st season of play for the program and 32nd in the Big Ten . The Spartans represented Michigan State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season , played their home games at the Munn Ice Arena and were coached by Adam Nightingale in his first season.
Season
After spending the previous decade as a moribund program, there were few expectations for Michigan State in Adam Nightingale 's first season behind the bench. The Spartans were picked to finish last in the preseason poll, a common result for the team in recent years.[ 1] Big Ten was the strongest league in the nation in 2023. The Spartans stumbled at the start but went 5–1 against Big Ten opponents in November, including a sweep of #10 Ohio State , which earned the team their first appearance in the national polls in three years.[ 2]
Not everything was clear sailing, however. During the game against Ohio State on November 11, Kamil Sadlocha was given a game misconduct for yelling a racial slur at Jagger Joshua.[ 3] Big Ten supported the match penalty but, due to a lack of incontrovertible evidence, would not add any additional punishment. Because of the lack of action from either Ohio State or the Big Ten, Joshua went public with the incident a week later. Though Jagger did not name the offending player, Sadlocha was the only one to receive a match penalty in the game. After the full account of the incident was reported, the Ohio State athletic department sent Sadlocha home for an indeterminate time.[ 4]
By the beginning of December, Michigan State was near the top of the conference standings and was ranked among the top 10 teams for the NCAA tournament. Staring at what would be their first trip to the tournament in over a decade, Michigan State's season began to unravel. Over an 8-game stretch that was spread out due to the winter break, Michigan State went 1–7. Because seven of those games came against a nationally ranked team, MSU didn't fall out of NCAA tournament contention but they were placed right on the edge of the bubble. Michigan State continued to stub their toes in the second half and ended the year with a .500 record.
When the conference tournament began, Michigan State sat at #19 in the tournament rankings and needed a good performance in the playoffs to climb back above the cut line. Knowing that they needed to win to save their season, MSU was in for a fight with Notre Dame . The Irish were only a few spots ahead of the Spartans and could not afford to lose for their own postseason chances. The Spartans came out firing in the first game, sending 36 shots on goal, but were unable to solve the Big Ten's top goaltender, Ryan Bischel . It wasn't until the 28th minute of game 2 that Michigan State was able to get their first goal but when it came it opened the floodgates. MSU scored 4 consecutive markers to take the rematch, the program's first playoff victory since 2015, and set up a deciding game 3. With both team playing for their seasons, Dylan St. Cyr had his best performance as a Spartan and stopped 37 shots in a 4–2 victory for the Spartans.[ 5]
The win put Michigan State into the top 16, however, because the final spot was reserved for the Atlantic Hockey champion, the Spartans were still outside the playoff picture. If they wanted to reach the NCAA tournament, MSU would have to take down the top team in the nation and they aimed to do just them when they travelled west to face Minnesota . Knowing they had to play a near-perfect game, the Spartans got off to a good start. MSU opened the scoring on the power play before 5 minutes had elapsed and were pressing the Gophers for much of the first 10 minutes. The Spartans made their first mistake in the 13th minute when Viktor Hurtig took a tripping penalty. On the ensuing power play, Minnesota's wealth of talent enabled the Gophers to tie the score and then completely take over the game. Minnesota scored the final 5 goals of the game and skated away with a rather pedestrian victory despite being outshot by MSU.[ 6]
Despite just missing out on the tournament, this season could be seen as a success as it was the first non-losing season for Michigan State since 2015.
Departures
Recruiting
Player
Position
Nationality
Age
Notes
Matt Basgall
Defenseman
United States 20
Lake Forest, IL
Gavin Best
Forward
United States 21
Richfield, MN
Karsen Dorwart
Forward
United States 20
Sherwood, OR
Zach Dubinsky
Forward
United States 22
Highland Park, IL ; transfer from Rensselaer
Viktor Hurtig
Defenseman
Sweden 20
Falun, SWE ; selected 164th overall in 2021
Justin Jallen
Forward
United States 24
Saint Paul, MN ; graduate transfer from Brown
Miroslav Mucha
Forward
Slovakia 24
Bytca, SVK ; graduate transfer from Lake Superior State
Ryan Nolan
Forward
United States 24
Winnetka, IL ; transfer from Merrimack
Daniel Russell
Forward
United States 20
Williamsburg, MI
Tiernan Shoudy
Forward
United States 20
St. Clair, MI
Dylan St. Cyr
Goaltender
United States 23
Las Vegas, NV ; graduate transfer from Quinnipiac
Michael Underwood
Defenseman
United States 24
Bloomfield Hills, MI ; graduate transfer from Clarkson
Roster
As of July 11, 2022.[ 7]
No. S/P/C
Player
Class
Pos
Height
Weight
DoB
Hometown
Previous team
NHL rights
3
Viktor Hurtig Freshman
D 6' 6" (1.98 m)
191 lb (87 kg)
2002-04-28
Avesta, Sweden Mora J20 (J20 Nationell )NJD 2021
4
Nash Nienhuis A Junior
D 5' 10" (1.78 m)
178 lb (81 kg)
1999-12-05
Sarnia, Ontario Omaha (USHL —
5
Powell Connor Junior
D 6' 2" (1.88 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
2000-05-04
Chilliwack, British Columbia Trail (BCHL —
6
Cal Dybicz Junior
D 6' 1" (1.85 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
2000-07-16
Elk Grove Village, Illinois Tri-City (USHL —
7
David Gucciardi Sophomore
D 6' 1" (1.85 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2002-10-09
Toronto, Ontario Waterloo (USHL WSH 2022
8
Cole Krygier A Graduate
D 6' 2" (1.88 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
2000-05-05
Novi, Michigan Lincoln (USHL FLA 2018
9
Matt Basgall Freshman
D 5' 9" (1.75 m)
179 lb (81 kg)
2002-08-16
Lake Forest, Illinois Tri-City (USHL —
10
A. J. Hodges Junior
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
2001-08-24
Littleton, Colorado Sioux City (USHL —
11
Jeremy Davidson Junior
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
2000-02-28
Kalamazoo, Michigan Fargo (USHL —
12
Justin Jallen Graduate
F 5' 9" (1.75 m)
178 lb (81 kg)
1998-01-06
Saint Paul, Minnesota Brown (ECAC —
13
Tiernan Shoudy Freshman
F 5' 9" (1.75 m)
176 lb (80 kg)
2002-03-15
St. Clair, Michigan Youngstown (USHL —
14
Zach Dubinsky Junior
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
2000-03-14
Highland Park, Illinois RPI (ECAC —
15
Christian Krygier A Graduate
D 6' 2" (1.88 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
2000-05-05
Novi, Michigan Lincoln (USHL NYI 2018
16
Jesse Tucker Sophomore
F 5' 11" (1.8 m)
183 lb (83 kg)
2000-03-01
Longlac, Ontario Green Bay (USHL —
17
Kyle Haskins Junior
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
185 lb (84 kg)
2000-02-16
Huntington, Vermont Waterloo (USHL —
18
Miroslav Mucha C Graduate
F 6' 1" (1.85 m)
197 lb (89 kg)
1997-10-07
Bytča, Slovakia Lake Superior State (CCHA —
19
Nicolas Müller Senior
F 6' 0" (1.83 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
1999-06-21
Arisdorf, Switzerland Modo J20 (J20 SuperElit —
20
Daniel Russell Freshman
D 5' 9" (1.75 m)
153 lb (69 kg)
2001-11-16
Williamsburg, Michigan Sioux Falls (USHL —
21
Ryan Nolan Graduate
F 6' 1" (1.85 m)
206 lb (93 kg)
1998-07-14
Winnetka, Illinois Merrimack (HEA —
22
Michael Underwood Graduate
D 6' 1" (1.85 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
1998-07-07
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan Clarkson (ECAC —
23
Jagger Joshua Senior
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
1999-03-29
Dearborn, Michigan Muskegon (USHL —
24
Erik Middendorf Senior
F 6' 1" (1.85 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
2000-07-11
Scottsdale, Arizona Chicago (USHL —
26
Tanner Kelly Sophomore
F 5' 10" (1.78 m)
165 lb (75 kg)
2002-05-11
San Diego, California Muskegon (USHL —
27
Gavin Best Freshman
F 6' 2" (1.88 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
2001-08-24
Richfield, Minnesota Minnesota Magicians (NAHL —
28
Karsen Dorwart Freshman
F 6' 1" (1.85 m)
191 lb (87 kg)
2002-09-17
Sherwood, Oregon Sioux Falls (USHL —
29
Pierce Charleson Junior
G 6' 2" (1.88 m)
193 lb (88 kg)
2000-02-27
Aurora, Ontario Brooks (AJHL —
30
Jon Mor Junior
G 6' 2" (1.88 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
2000-07-20
Highland Park, Illinois Langley (BCHL —
37
Dylan St. Cyr Graduate
G 5' 8" (1.73 m)
167 lb (76 kg)
1999-05-23
Northville, Michigan Quinnipiac (ECAC —
Standings
Conference record
Overall record
GP
W
L
T
OTW
OTL
3/SW
PTS
GF
GA
GP
W
L
T
GF
GA
#2 Minnesota †
24
19
4
1
2
1
0
57 106
50
40
29
10
1
168
90
#3 Michigan *
24
12
10
2
3
3
0
38 82
79
41
26
12
3
171
128
#7 Ohio State
24
11
11
2
0
0
1
36 69
63
40
21
16
3
131
101
Notre Dame 24
10
10
4
2
0
3
35 52
60
37
16
16
5
85
97
#19 Michigan State
24
10
12
2
1
1
2
34 65
80
38
18
18
2
107
115
#8 Penn State
24
10
13
1
0
3
0
34 71
75
39
22
16
1
129
106
Wisconsin 24
6
18
0
0
0
0
18 54
92
36
13
23
0
94
126
Championship : March 18, 2023† indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament championUSCHO.com Top 20 Poll
Schedule and results
Date
Time
Opponent#
Rank#
Site
TV
Decision
Result
Attendance
Record
Exhibition
October 1
7:00 PM
USNTDP *
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI (Exhibition)BTN+
St. Cyr
L 3–4
Regular Season
October 7
7:00 PM
Bowling Green *
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN+
St. Cyr
L 1–3 5,472
0–1–0
October 8
7:07 PM
at Bowling Green*
Slater Family Ice Arena • Bowling Green, OH FloHockey
St. Cyr
W 2–1 3,422
1–1–0
October 13
7:00 PM
#16 UMass Lowell *
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN+
St. Cyr
W 4–3 4,419
2–1–0
October 14
7:30 PM
#16 UMass Lowell*
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN+
St. Cyr
L 2–3 5,133
2–2–0
October 21
7:00 PM
Long Island *
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN+
St. Cyr
W 3–1 4,594
3–2–0
October 22
6:00 PM
Long Island*
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN+
Charleson
W 8–4 4,623
4–2–0
October 28
7:30 PM
at #12 Notre Dame
Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN Peacock
St. Cyr
L 0–5 4,130
4–3–0 (0–1–0)
October 29
6:00 PM
at #12 Notre Dame
Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN
Peacock
St. Cyr
T 1–1 OT
4,458
4–3–1 (0–1–1)
November 4
7:00 PM
Wisconsin
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN+
St. Cyr
W 5–0 5,038
5–3–1 (1–1–1)
November 5
6:00 PM
Wisconsin
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN+
St. Cyr
W 5–1 5,318
6–3–1 (2–1–1)
November 10
7:00 PM
#10 Ohio State
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN+
St. Cyr
W 4–2 4,609
7–3–1 (3–1–1)
November 11
7:00 PM
#10 Ohio State
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN+
St. Cyr
W 4–3 6,387
8–3–1 (4–1–1)
November 18
7:00 PM
at #6 Penn State
#17
Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA BTN+
St. Cyr
L 3–4 5,765
8–4–1 (4–2–1)
November 19
7:30 PM
at #6 Penn State
#17
Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, PA
BTN+
St. Cyr
W 7–3 5,205
9–4–1 (5–2–1)
November 25
7:05 PM
at Miami *
#16
Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, OH
St. Cyr
W 5–3 1,429
10–4–1
November 26
5:05 PM
at Miami*
#16
Steve Cady Arena • Oxford, OH
St. Cyr
W 4–0 1,422
11–4–1
December 2
6:30 PM
#4 Minnesota
#13
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN
St. Cyr
L 0–5 6,555
11–5–1 (5–3–1)
December 3
6:00 PM
#4 Minnesota
#13
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN
St. Cyr
L 3–6 6,555
11–6–1 (5–4–1)
December 9
6:30 PM
#6 Michigan
#12
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI (Rivalry )
BTN
St. Cyr
W 2–1 6,555
12–6–1 (6–4–1)
December 10
6:30 PM
at #6 Michigan
#12
Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, MI (Rivalry)BTN
St. Cyr
L 1–2 5,800
12–7–1 (6–5–1)
Great Lakes Invitational
December 27
7:00 PM
vs. Ferris State *
#11
Van Andel Arena • Grand Rapids, MI (Great Lakes Invitational Semifinal)
St. Cyr
L 2–4 -
12–8–1
December 28
3:30 PM
vs. #17 Michigan Tech *
#11
Van Andel Arena • Grand Rapids, MI (Great Lakes Invitational Consolation)
St. Cyr
L 2–4 6,486
12–9–1
Regular Season
January 6
7:00 PM
at #12 Ohio State
#14
Value City Arena • Columbus, OH BTN+
St. Cyr
L 1–3 4,796
12–10–1 (6–6–1)
January 7
4:00 PM
at #12 Ohio State
#14
Value City Arena • Columbus, OH
BTN
St. Cyr
L 0–6 5,794
12–11–1 (6–7–1)
January 13
7:00 PM
#5 Penn State
#17
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN+
St. Cyr
W 3–2 OT
6,555
13–11–1 (7–7–1)
January 14
7:00 PM
#5 Penn State
#17
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN
St. Cyr
T 4–4 SOW
6,555
13–11–2 (7–7–2)
January 27
8:00 PM
at #2 Minnesota
#15
3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, MN BTN
St. Cyr
L 0–8 10,220
13–12–2 (7–8–2)
January 28
8:00 PM
at #2 Minnesota
#15
3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, MN
BTN
St. Cyr
L 3–6 10,253
13–13–2 (7–9–2)
February 3
7:00 PM
#20 Notre Dame
#17
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN+
St. Cyr
W 3–0 6,555
14–13–2 (8–9–2)
February 4
4:00 PM
#20 Notre Dame
#17
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI
BTN
St. Cyr
W 3–2 6,555
15–13–2 (9–9–2)
February 10
7:00 PM
#5 Michigan
#15
Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, MI (Rivalry)
BTN+ , BSD+
St. Cyr
L 2–4 6,555
15–14–2 (9–10–2)
February 11
8:00 PM
vs. #5 Michigan
#15
Little Caesars Arena • Detroit, MI (Rivalry/The Iron D Trophy)ESPNU
St. Cyr
L 3–4 OT
18,325
15–15–2 (9–11–2)
February 17
9:00 PM
at Wisconsin
#17
Kohl Center • Madison, WI BTN
St. Cyr
W 6–2 8,416
16–15–2 (10–11–2)
February 18
8:00 PM
at Wisconsin
#17
Kohl Center • Madison, WI
BTN+ , BSW
St. Cyr
L 2–6 10,703
16–16–2 (10–12–2)
Big Ten Tournament
March 3
7:00 PM
at #19 Notre Dame*
#20
Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN (Quarterfinal Game 1)
FS2
St. Cyr
L 0–1 5,177
16–17–2
March 4
4:30 PM
at #19 Notre Dame*
#20
Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN (Quarterfinal Game 2)
FS2
St. Cyr
W 4–2 5,198
17–17–2
March 5
6:00 PM
at #19 Notre Dame*
#20
Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, IN (Quarterfinal Game 3)
FS2
St. Cyr
W 4–2 4,238
18–17–2
March 11
9:00 PM
at #1 Minnesota*
#18
3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, MN (Semifinal)
BTN , ESPN+
St. Cyr
L 1–5 9,029
18–18–2
*Non-conference game. # Rankings from USCHO.com Poll . All times are in Eastern Time . [ 8]
Scoring statistics
Name
Position
Games
Goals
Assists
Points
PIM
Nicolas Müller C /RW 38
9
25
34 16
Daniel Russell C 38
8
22
30 29
Karsen Dorwart F 38
10
17
27 8
Jagger Joshua LW 37
13
11
24 92
Jeremy Davidson RW 38
10
11
21 20
Nash Nienhuis D 32
4
15
19 31
Tanner Kelly F 38
4
14
18 25
Miroslav Mucha RW 38
7
10
17 6
Matt Basgall D 38
4
13
17 14
Cole Krygier D 38
10
6
16 60
Erik Middendorf LW 37
7
9
16 12
Tiernan Shoudy F 38
6
6
12 20
Jesse Tucker C 31
6
4
10 24
David Gucciardi D 36
4
6
10 43
Viktor Hurtig D 34
1
4
5 16
Zach Dubinsky F 37
1
4
5 21
Michael Underwood D 38
1
4
5 21
Justin Jallen F 38
1
4
5 0
Christian Krygier D 28
1
3
4 23
Powell Connor D 6
0
1
1 2
Cal Dybicz D 1
0
0
0 0
Kyle Haskins F 2
0
0
0 0
Pierce Charleson G 3
0
0
0 0
Ryan Nolan F 3
0
0
0 0
A.J. Hodges LW 9
0
0
0 0
Gavin Best F 10
0
0
0 0
Dylan St. Cyr G 37
0
0
0 0
Total
107
189
296
482
[ 9]
Goaltending statistics
Name
Games
Minutes
Wins
Losses
Ties
Goals Against
Saves
Shut Outs
SV % GAA
Dylan St. Cyr 37
2162:45
17
18
2
100
1073
3
.915
2.77
Pierce Charleson 8
119:55
1
0
0
10
51
0
.836
5.00
Empty Net
-
17:19
-
-
-
5
-
-
-
-
Total
38
2299:59
18
18
7
115
1124
3
.907
3.00
Rankings
Poll
Week
Pre
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27 (Final)
USCHO.com
NR
-
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
RV
17
16
13
12
11
-
14
17
15
15
17
15
17
18
20
18
19
18
-
17
USA Today
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
RV
18
16
11
13
11
11
13
16
15
15
19
15
14
18
20
17
17
18
17
19
USCHO did not release a poll in weeks 1, 13 and 26.
Players drafted into the NHL
† incoming freshman
[ 10]
References
^ "Big Ten Hockey Preseason Honors" . Big Ten . September 21, 2022. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2023 .^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll" . USCHO.com . Retrieved December 6, 2019 .^ "Michigan State's Joshua accuses Ohio State player of racial slur; Big Ten, MSU issue statements" . USCHO . November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022 .^ "Ohio State's Kamil Sadlocha 'Returning Home' After Alleged Racist Slur" . The Hockey News . November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022 .^ "SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2023" . College Hockey Inc . March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023 .^ "SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2023" . College Hockey Inc . March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023 .^ "2022–23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster" . Michigan State Official Athletic Site. Retrieved August 29, 2017 .^ "2022-23 Spartan Hockey Schedule" . Michigan State Spartans . Retrieved September 12, 2022 .^ "Michigan State Univ. 2022-2023 Skater Stats" . Elite Prospects . Retrieved March 7, 2020 .^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft" . USCHO.com . Retrieved July 9, 2022 .
External links
