Michigan State University Athletics
Saturday, October 31
Cedar Park, Texas
8:07 PM ET
Michigan State University
5-1-0
5
vs
3
North Dakota
4-3-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan St. | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| North Dakota | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Photo by: Michael Caples
11/1/2026 12:16:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
AUSTIN – No. 4-ranked Michigan State hockey showed its resilience on Saturday night, taking down No. 8-ranked North Dakota, 5-3, from the H-E-B Center at Cedar Park. North Dakota tied the game at 3-3 in the third period, but MSU got a quick response goal from sophomore forward Cayden Lindstrom just 19 seconds later and senior forward Tommi Mannisto sealed the deal with an empty-netter late.
MSU improves to 5-1-0 overall while North Dakota falls to 4-3-0. The Spartans return to Munn Ice Arena for the first time in three weeks when they welcome Boston University to Ron Mason Rink on November 6-7.
For Michigan State Head Coach Adam Nightingale, Saturday's win was career victory number 100, making him the fastest coach to reach 100 wins in program history (156 games). Now in his fifth season behind the bench, Nightingale has a career record of 100-45-11. Legendary head coach Ron Mason was the previous quickest to reach 100 wins at MSU, doing so in 182 games.
Freshman goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen made 32 saves on 35 shots faced (.914 Sv%), allowing one even strength goal. Michigan State's penalty kill was 5-for-7 on the evening while MSU's power play went 1-for-4.
Sophomore forward Anthony Romani increased his season goal total to seven on Saturday with a pair of goals, while sophomore forward Eric Nilson, Lindstrom and Mannisto each tallied their second of the campaign.
Freshman defenseman Chase Reid joined Romani in a multi-point effort recording a pair of assists. Senior forward Gavin O'Connell, sophomore forward Ryker Lee and junior forward Cullen Potter also contributed assists on Spartan goals on Saturday.
How It Happened
Goalies from both sides made key stops in the first period. Ravensbergen thwarted an early 1-on-1 chance for the Fighting Hawks at the 9:30 mark before Romani and freshman forward Ethan Belchetz had consecutive shots stopped with less than five minutes to play in the period.
North Dakota was whistled for interference in the final seconds of the first to give the Spartans 1:59 of power play time to open the second. With 1.1 seconds remaining, Michigan State pulled Ravensbergen for an extra attacker on an offensive zone face-off. MSU won the draw and Romani fired a shot just wide of goal to end the period.
Romani used that carryover power play to his advantage, providing Michigan State a 1-0 lead just 54 seconds into the second period. Reid found Romani waiting on the left dot for the one-timer, blasting it past the North Dakota goaltender.
Nilson quickly doubled the Spartan advantage at the 3:40 mark of the second going end-to-end before putting the puck between the legs of the Fighting Hawks goalie. North Dakota had four power play opportunities in the period, scoring on their first at 5:25 to cut the MSU lead in half, before Michigan State killed off the next three.
Just like the second period, the Spartans had power play time carry over into the third on Saturday night, going on the man advantage for the opening 1:28 of the period. After nothing going on the MSU power play early, North Dakota evened the game at 2-2 at the 1:54 mark.
Romani scored his second of the night and seventh of the season at 7:41 to put the Spartans ahead 3-2. North Dakota lost Romani in the shuffle leaving him wide open for a 1-on-1 opportunity with the goaltender, scoring high glove side.
North Dakota evened the game once more 16:08 into the third scoring their second power play goal of the night to make it 3-3.
Michigan State quickly took back its lead just 19 seconds later when Lindstrom converted on a rebound for his second goal of the season. Lindstrom saw the puck loose in the crease, poking it through the pads of the North Dakota goalie. The Fighting Hawks pulled their goalie with 2:47 remaining, but Mannisto created a turnover before flying down the ice and beating the North Dakota defense to the puck for an insurance empty-netter with 49 seconds to go.
MSU improves to 5-1-0 overall while North Dakota falls to 4-3-0. The Spartans return to Munn Ice Arena for the first time in three weeks when they welcome Boston University to Ron Mason Rink on November 6-7.
For Michigan State Head Coach Adam Nightingale, Saturday's win was career victory number 100, making him the fastest coach to reach 100 wins in program history (156 games). Now in his fifth season behind the bench, Nightingale has a career record of 100-45-11. Legendary head coach Ron Mason was the previous quickest to reach 100 wins at MSU, doing so in 182 games.
Freshman goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen made 32 saves on 35 shots faced (.914 Sv%), allowing one even strength goal. Michigan State's penalty kill was 5-for-7 on the evening while MSU's power play went 1-for-4.
Another big time stop by Ravensbergen! https://t.co/ekot1mMOra
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 1, 2026
Sophomore forward Anthony Romani increased his season goal total to seven on Saturday with a pair of goals, while sophomore forward Eric Nilson, Lindstrom and Mannisto each tallied their second of the campaign.
Freshman defenseman Chase Reid joined Romani in a multi-point effort recording a pair of assists. Senior forward Gavin O'Connell, sophomore forward Ryker Lee and junior forward Cullen Potter also contributed assists on Spartan goals on Saturday.
How It Happened
Goalies from both sides made key stops in the first period. Ravensbergen thwarted an early 1-on-1 chance for the Fighting Hawks at the 9:30 mark before Romani and freshman forward Ethan Belchetz had consecutive shots stopped with less than five minutes to play in the period.
North Dakota was whistled for interference in the final seconds of the first to give the Spartans 1:59 of power play time to open the second. With 1.1 seconds remaining, Michigan State pulled Ravensbergen for an extra attacker on an offensive zone face-off. MSU won the draw and Romani fired a shot just wide of goal to end the period.
Romani used that carryover power play to his advantage, providing Michigan State a 1-0 lead just 54 seconds into the second period. Reid found Romani waiting on the left dot for the one-timer, blasting it past the North Dakota goaltender.
Nilson quickly doubled the Spartan advantage at the 3:40 mark of the second going end-to-end before putting the puck between the legs of the Fighting Hawks goalie. North Dakota had four power play opportunities in the period, scoring on their first at 5:25 to cut the MSU lead in half, before Michigan State killed off the next three.
Eric Nilson goes end-to-end to double our advantage! https://t.co/z3enGYUnK7
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 1, 2026
Just like the second period, the Spartans had power play time carry over into the third on Saturday night, going on the man advantage for the opening 1:28 of the period. After nothing going on the MSU power play early, North Dakota evened the game at 2-2 at the 1:54 mark.
Romani scored his second of the night and seventh of the season at 7:41 to put the Spartans ahead 3-2. North Dakota lost Romani in the shuffle leaving him wide open for a 1-on-1 opportunity with the goaltender, scoring high glove side.
Like we said, can't give Anthony Romani this much space! His seventh of the year makes it 3-2. https://t.co/E4Sc8cwJsv
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 1, 2026
North Dakota evened the game once more 16:08 into the third scoring their second power play goal of the night to make it 3-3.
Michigan State quickly took back its lead just 19 seconds later when Lindstrom converted on a rebound for his second goal of the season. Lindstrom saw the puck loose in the crease, poking it through the pads of the North Dakota goalie. The Fighting Hawks pulled their goalie with 2:47 remaining, but Mannisto created a turnover before flying down the ice and beating the North Dakota defense to the puck for an insurance empty-netter with 49 seconds to go.
Tommi Männistö races down the ice to convert the empty-netter and give us a 5-3 lead! https://t.co/zvGOf3J1mF
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 1, 2026
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
GK
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice HockeyTeam Stats
MSU
UND
Shots
33
35
PPG
1
2
SHG
0
0
Penalties
7
4
Penalty Mins
14
8
Faceoffs Won
36
42
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
2
Sh
4
A
0
+/-
3
Goals
0
Sh
3
A
2
+/-
3
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
1
A
0
Wednesday, October 28
Wednesday, October 21
Wednesday, October 14
Sunday, October 11