2022–23 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey 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.

2022–23 Michigan State Spartans
men's ice hockey season
Conference5th Big Ten
Home iceMunn Ice Arena
Rankings
USCHO#17
USA Today#19
Record
Overall18–18–2
Conference10–12–2
Home11–5–1
Road7–9–1
Neutral0–3–0
Coaches and captains
Head coachAdam Nightingale
Assistant coachesJared DeMichiel
Mike Towns
Captain(s)Miroslav Mucha
Alternate captain(s)Christian Krygier
Cole Krygier
Nash Nienhuis
Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey seasons
« 2021–22 2023–24 »

Season

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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] Defying expectations, MSU got off to a decent start and posted a winning record over the first month of the season. The big test for the team would come from within their conference as the 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] The 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

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Player Position Nationality Cause
Christopher Berger Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Dennis Cesana Defenseman   United States Graduation (signed with Charlotte Checkers)
Drew DeRidder Goaltender   United States Graduate transfer to North Dakota
Aiden Gallacher Defenseman   United States Transferred to Northern Michigan
Adam Goodsir Forward   United States Graduate transfer to Long Island
Mitch Lewandowski Forward   United States Graduation (signed with Tucson Roadrunners)
Griffin Loughran Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Mitchell Mattson Forward   United States Graduation (retired)
Joshua Nodler Forward   United States Transferred to Massachusetts
Kristóf Papp Forward   Hungary Transferred to Northern Michigan

Recruiting

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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

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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, 164th overall 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, 213rd overall 2022
8   Cole Krygier (A) Graduate D 6' 2" (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 2000-05-05 Novi, Michigan Lincoln (USHL) FLA, 201st overall 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, 196th overall 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

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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 champion
Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll

Schedule and results

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Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Decision Result Attendance Record
Exhibition
October 1 7:00 PM USNTDP* Munn Ice ArenaEast 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 ArenaBowling 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 ArenaNotre 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 ArenaUniversity 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 ArenaOxford, 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 ArenaAnn 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 ArenaGrand 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 ArenaColumbus, 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 MariucciMinneapolis, 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 ArenaDetroit, 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 CenterMadison, 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.
Source:[8]

Scoring statistics

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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

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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

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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

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Round Pick Player NHL team
2 41 Trey Augustine Detroit Red Wings
2 45 Maxim Strbak Buffalo Sabres

† incoming freshman [10]

References

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  1. ^ "Big Ten Hockey Preseason Honors". Big Ten. September 21, 2022. Archived from the original on September 21, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  2. ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  3. ^ "Michigan State's Joshua accuses Ohio State player of racial slur; Big Ten, MSU issue statements". USCHO. November 22, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  4. ^ "Ohio State's Kamil Sadlocha 'Returning Home' After Alleged Racist Slur". The Hockey News. November 23, 2022. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  5. ^ "SUNDAY, MARCH 5, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  6. ^ "SUNDAY, MARCH 11, 2023". College Hockey Inc. March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  7. ^ "2022–23 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Michigan State Official Athletic Site. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  8. ^ "2022-23 Spartan Hockey Schedule". Michigan State Spartans. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  9. ^ "Michigan State Univ. 2022-2023 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
  10. ^ "NCAA player rankings, selections in 2023 NHL Draft". USCHO.com. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
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