Michigan State University Athletics

Photo by: Michael Caples
11/7/2026 9:20:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 3-ranked Michigan State hockey bounced back in a big way on Saturday night, shutting out No. 13-ranked Boston University, 5-0, from Ron Mason Rink at Munn Ice Arena. Senior forward Gavin O'Connell scored 32 seconds into the contest, and the Spartans never looked back.
"I thought it was awesome to see our guys come out that way," said Michigan State Head Coach Adam Nightingale. "Our guys are learning how we have to play, and our job is to teach them and try to grow. I loved our physicality, loved our start, and we scored five goals. We got a net presence. And that's not a fun area to get to, but the goal is to try to play repeatable winning hockey. In order to do that, you have to totally lose yourself in the team, and you have to do certain things that aren't necessarily fun. And I thought our guys did a great job of that tonight."
MSU improves to 6-2-0 on the season while BU falls to 7-3-0. The Spartans return to the ice next week for a series against Notre Dame starting Thursday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m. Both games in South Bend will stream on Peacock.
Michigan State out-shot Boston University 37-25, which included a 16-7 margin in the first period. BU held a 33-26 advantage at the dot in game two.
Freshman goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen earned his first collegiate shutout making 25 saves.
"I thought I was getting my spots, and I was square of the shooter," said Ravensbergen. "I felt like that was probably the biggest thing, and the game seemed a little slower for me today. Just emphasized slowing it down, and I think that's what helped."
Sophomore Cayden Lindstrom led the Spartans with a pair of points on Saturday, finishing with a goal and an assist. Lindstrom has scored in three straight games for MSU entering next week's series at Notre Dame.
Also scoring for Michigan State were senior forward Gavin O'Connell, freshman forward Ethan Belchetz, sophomore forward Eric Nilson and junior forward Shane Vansaghi.
Senior defenseman Patrick Geary had a pair of assists in game two to lead MSU, and was joined by sophomore forward Anthony Romani, sophomore forward Ryker Lee, junior forward Cullen Potter, freshman defenseman Tommy Bleyl and freshman defenseman Chase Reid with one assist apiece.
How It Happened
O'Connell got Michigan State started quickly, finding the back of the net just 32 seconds into the first period. Lindstrom wove through the Terrier defense before sending the puck back up to Geary at the point. O'Connell was in the crease screening the goaltender where he got his stick on the puck for a deflection. Things settled down for the remainder of the period, with both sides looking to assert themselves as the more physical team.
MSU out-shot the Terriers, 16-to-7, in first.
Belchetz doubled the Spartan advantage early in the second, collecting his own rebound, kicking the puck back to himself with his skate, and slipping a second shot past Boston University's goalie. Romani's initial shot from the slot went off the post, and Belchetz was there for the follow-up.
Four minutes later it was Nilson's turn to find the back of the net, tickling the twine from the high slot after BU's goalie was screened off by Vansaghi. Nilson turned Terrier defense around, finding space to get his shot off.
Vansaghi made it 4-0 in favor of Michigan State at the 1:53 mark of the third period, capitalizing on a BU giveaway at the blueline before finding the upper corner of the goal on a breakaway.
Lindstrom, who was a menace in front of the goal all night, delivered the final blow 15:02 into the third on a rebound of his own.
"I thought it was awesome to see our guys come out that way," said Michigan State Head Coach Adam Nightingale. "Our guys are learning how we have to play, and our job is to teach them and try to grow. I loved our physicality, loved our start, and we scored five goals. We got a net presence. And that's not a fun area to get to, but the goal is to try to play repeatable winning hockey. In order to do that, you have to totally lose yourself in the team, and you have to do certain things that aren't necessarily fun. And I thought our guys did a great job of that tonight."
MSU improves to 6-2-0 on the season while BU falls to 7-3-0. The Spartans return to the ice next week for a series against Notre Dame starting Thursday, November 12 at 7:00 p.m. Both games in South Bend will stream on Peacock.
Michigan State out-shot Boston University 37-25, which included a 16-7 margin in the first period. BU held a 33-26 advantage at the dot in game two.
Freshman goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen earned his first collegiate shutout making 25 saves.
Ravensbergen flashing the leather! https://t.co/aViXrtzYPN
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 7, 2026
"I thought I was getting my spots, and I was square of the shooter," said Ravensbergen. "I felt like that was probably the biggest thing, and the game seemed a little slower for me today. Just emphasized slowing it down, and I think that's what helped."
Sophomore Cayden Lindstrom led the Spartans with a pair of points on Saturday, finishing with a goal and an assist. Lindstrom has scored in three straight games for MSU entering next week's series at Notre Dame.
Also scoring for Michigan State were senior forward Gavin O'Connell, freshman forward Ethan Belchetz, sophomore forward Eric Nilson and junior forward Shane Vansaghi.
Senior defenseman Patrick Geary had a pair of assists in game two to lead MSU, and was joined by sophomore forward Anthony Romani, sophomore forward Ryker Lee, junior forward Cullen Potter, freshman defenseman Tommy Bleyl and freshman defenseman Chase Reid with one assist apiece.
How It Happened
O'Connell got Michigan State started quickly, finding the back of the net just 32 seconds into the first period. Lindstrom wove through the Terrier defense before sending the puck back up to Geary at the point. O'Connell was in the crease screening the goaltender where he got his stick on the puck for a deflection. Things settled down for the remainder of the period, with both sides looking to assert themselves as the more physical team.
MSU out-shot the Terriers, 16-to-7, in first.
Belchetz doubled the Spartan advantage early in the second, collecting his own rebound, kicking the puck back to himself with his skate, and slipping a second shot past Boston University's goalie. Romani's initial shot from the slot went off the post, and Belchetz was there for the follow-up.
Four minutes later it was Nilson's turn to find the back of the net, tickling the twine from the high slot after BU's goalie was screened off by Vansaghi. Nilson turned Terrier defense around, finding space to get his shot off.
Ethan Belchetz makes it 2-0! He scores on the second effort to double our advantage! https://t.co/2roNMqplNk
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 7, 2026
Vansaghi made it 4-0 in favor of Michigan State at the 1:53 mark of the third period, capitalizing on a BU giveaway at the blueline before finding the upper corner of the goal on a breakaway.
Lindstrom, who was a menace in front of the goal all night, delivered the final blow 15:02 into the third on a rebound of his own.
Shane Vansaghi takes advantage of the giveaway and it's 4-0! https://t.co/iEUwFC0UFV
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 7, 2026
Players Mentioned
Team Stats
BOS
MSU
Shots
25
37
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
5
5
Penalty Mins
26
26
Faceoffs Won
33
26
Game Leaders
Saturday, November 07
Friday, November 06
Wednesday, November 04
Wednesday, October 28


















