Couch: Michigan State hockey is giving fans the unmatched thrill of the initial rise of a program
EAST LANSING – Last season’s Michigan State hockey team did this season’s team a favor. Didn't mean to. But, in falling just short, they created an ideal dynamic — they won enough to generate a stir in the recruiting world and within a once-demoralized fan base, but they also left something on the table: An NCAA tournament bid.
That’s among the goals for MSU in Year 2 under Adam Nightingale and his staff, who have mercifully and swiftly elevated the vibes around the program to levels not seen since about the time MSU’s latest recruits were born.
Not in the decade I’ve been around the program has an 80-degree day in early October ever felt this much like hockey season. I’m not alone in that thought. Standing room-only tickets are all that remain for Saturday afternoon’s 4 p.m. opener against Lake Superior State at Munn Ice Arena. As of Wednesday, a limited number of seats were left for Sunday afternoon’s series finale.
On average, fewer than 750 tickets remain for each of the home games this season.
What once was the toughest ticket in town is becoming a tough ticket again.
For good reason. There is an air of competence, forward thinking and hopeful energy around the program that stems from the staff, style of play, the resolve last year’s team showed within games and from one night to the next, from the noticeable uptick in recruiting and, above all, the competitive hockey. MSU’s 18-18-2 mark last season, playing in a loaded Big Ten, left the Spartans one win shy of an NCAA tournament berth. That’s any win at any point in the season, it turned out.
“Like we were right there,” sophomore defenseman Matt Basgall said. “And it was a couple of losses that, whether that was Ferris State or like Michigan Tech, if we win one of those games, who knows what our fate would be.”
“Sometimes you’ve got to fail to move forward as a team or even individually,” Nightingale said. “It’s how you handle those situations. And I definitely think we got a great reference point — we were one win away from being in the tournament.”
Painful as missing out was, it’s created a common goal, along with the understanding that one night with a casual approach could be the difference — especially in a Big Ten with six of seven teams ranked in the preseason top 20, including the Spartans at No. 9, a sign of respect for their momentum.
There is nothing like the buzz that comes with the initial rise of a program. MSU hockey fans are happily tangled in it. Or what feels like the beginning of it. The NCAA tournament still being out there to be achieved for the first time in more than a decade is something tangible to chase, something that would give this season a distinct accomplishment and continue the program's crescendo.
This, however, is not last year’s team just running it back. Not even close. MSU has 15 new players on its roster, 10 of them freshman. Four of the 15 are NHL draft picks, including freshman goalie Trey Augustine.
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Last season had some important new faces. But it was the drive and late-career improvement of the holdovers from the previous regime that largely made the season. MSU is younger now and, based on recruiting and transfer profiles, more talented. And, for the first time in forever, facing actual expectations.
“There’s definitely excitement, for sure,” Nightingale said. “We want to make sure we stay grounded. … But definitely you can feel it and it’s exciting.”
Contact Graham Couch at gcouch@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @Graham_Couch.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU hockey is giving fans the unmatched thrill of the initial rise of a program
