MSU hockey starts new year with exhibition against USNTDP U18 team
The Michigan State hockey team's first game of the new year will be an exhibition game. But it certainly doesn't feel like an exhibition.
The Spartans, who are ranked No. 7 and No. 8 this week in the national polls, host the United States National Team Development Program U-18 team for a 7 p.m. game Friday at Munn Arena.
The NTDP is a training program based in Plymouth for the nation's elite young prospects that routinely plays some of college hockey's top teams. Numerous NTDP alumni have gone on to star in the NHL.
The NTDP is coming off a tightly contested 3-2 loss at Minnesota on New Year's Day after having beaten No. 4-ranked North Dakota in overtime on the road just two days prior. The NTDP also defeated No. 2 Boston University, 8-2, earlier in the season.
So although Friday's game will not count towards the Spartans' record and Pairwise status, or affect season statistics, MSU fully expects a fierce contest.
"It's a very skillful group. They're young, but they're excited to play the game and it's important for our guys to know that we are going to get their best game," said MSU coach Adam Nightingale, formerly a coach in the NTDP program. "They're well-coached and they will come in here expecting to win. They're a good team and program. We've only played 20 games so far, so to look at this game like it doesn't matter or it's just going out and playing game, we still have to be us."
MSU opened its season last year with a 4-3 loss to the NTDP — back when current MSU goaltender Trey Augustine was in between the pipes on the other side. This time around, MSU will have three players on the opposing bench who have signed their letters of intent to play in the future for the Spartans — forwards Austin Baker, Lucas Van Vliet and Shane Vansaghi.
Through 30 games, Baker has nine goals and 11 assists for the NTDP, while Van Vliet has 11 goals and seven assists. It took Vansaghi 13 games to get his first goal of the season, but he has scored nine goals in his last 12 games and now has 11 on the season.
"Three guys we're excited about being part of our program, and one thing that stood out during the recruiting process is that they are guys who want to be coached and held accountable and be a part of a team. It's not just about them," Nightingale said. "When we go out and recruit, we are looking for guys like that and they check that box for sure."
MSU (12-4-2), which is coming off a win and a tie in last week's Great Lakes Invitational, will face off with the NTDP at 7 p.m. Friday.
The Spartans will be without four regular players in their lineup who are, or were, playing in the World Junior Championships in Sweden. Augustine and forward Isaac Howard are playing for the U.S. team. Forward Tommi Mannisto is playing for Finland and defenseman Maxim Strbak played for Slovakia before it was eliminated earlier this week.
MSU comes into 2024 on top of the Big Ten standings, leading No. 5-ranked Wisconsin by one point. The Spartans haven't lost in regulation since October against Boston College and have scored 83 goals — second in the NCAA and first in the Big Ten.
Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @Nathaniel_Bott
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: MSU hockey starts new year with exhibition against USNTDP U18 team
