Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State University
Minnesota
No. 2/3 Hockey Set for Regular Season Finale at Minnesota
3/4/2026 3:37:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
| No. 2/3 Michigan State (24-7-1, 15-6-1 B1G) at Minnesota (11-20-2, 7-14-1 B1G) | |
| Dates/Location | Thursday, March 5, 8:00 p.m. ET | Friday, March 6, 8:00 p.m. ET 3M Arena at Mariucci Arena | Minneapolis, Minn. |
| Radio | MSUSpartans.com | Michigan State Athletics App | WVFN 730 AM Scott Moore (PxP) & Rob Woodward (Color) |
| Stream | Thursday - B1G+ | Friday - B1G+ |
| Live Statistics | Click Here |
| Game Notes | Click Here |
NOTES TO KNOW:
• MSU moved to No. 2 in the NPI, No. 2 in the USCHO.com poll and No. 3 in the USA Hockey poll this week. The Spartans not been ranked lower than No. 4 in either voted-on poll this season.
• Last Saturday's 13-round shootout victory against Ohio State is believed to be the 3rd longest shootout in NCAA DI hockey since at least the early 2000s and is the longest in a Big Ten contest (18 - Harvard at Dartmouth, 2023; 16 - Omaha at Denver, 2025).
• MSU needs three points against Minnesota to clinch the outright Big Ten regular season championship for a third consecutive season. Two points would secure a shared title, with Michigan State holding the tiebreaker over Michigan for No. 1-seed at the Big Ten tournament. It would mark the first time Michigan State has won three conference titles in a row in program history. Since the Big Ten's inception in 2013-14 only one team has won three or more consecutive regular season titles (Minnesota, 4, 2014-2017).
• Michigan State's power play is clicking at a .341 percent success rate since January 1 (15-for-44), ranking second in Division I over its last 12 games. MSU's 4.0 goals per game since 1/1 ranks third.
• Michigan State's top line forwards Daniel Russell - Charlie Stramel - Porter Martone have generated 121 points this season on 50 goals and 71 assists, and are a combined +83 on the ice with Stramel leading with a +29 to Russell's +28 and Martone's +26. In Big Ten action only, Martone is #3 in the conference in scoring (18-15-33) while Stramel (11-17-28) and Russell (7-20-27) are tied for #4.
• Since January 1, the Russell-Stramel-Martone line has posted 61 points in 14 games (25g-36a-61p). Martone leads the team with 23 points in that span (10-13-23). Stramel's 9 goals rank second on the team in that span. Russell's 14 assists lead all Spartans in that timeframe. Ryker Lee (12) and Anthony Romani (12) have also produced double-digit points since the start of 2026.
• Martone (43 points) and Stramel (41 points) mark the first time MSU has produced multiple 40 point scorers in a single season since 2007-08 (Tim Kennedy, 43; Justin Abdelkader, 40). With Daniel Russell sitting at 37 points, MSU has a chance to produce three 40 point scorers for the first time since 2002-03 (John-Michael Liles, 50; Brad Fast, 46; Jim Slater, 44).
• Stramel is #2 nationally in face-off wins (420), #28 in assists per game (0.69), #10 in goals per game (0.59) and #10 in points per game (1.28). His seven game-winning goals this season are tied for the national lead.
• Martone ranks #2 nationally in goals per game (0.70) and #20 in assists per game (0.73), making him #4 in points per game (1.43) to lead all Spartans in points (21g-22a-43p).
• Martone is now third in goals all-time among MSU freshmen with 21 and sits six back of the all-time record set by Rod Brind'Amour in 1988-89 (27). Joe Murphy had 24 in 1985-86 and Kip Miller tallied 22 in 1986-87. Martone's 43 points are seventh-most by an MSU freshman and can tie for 5th (44 - Rustyn Dolyny & Mark Hamway) this week.
• Russell ranks #12 nationally in assists per game (0.84) and #21 in points per game (1.16). He's sixth among all active DI skaters in career points (117).
• Junior goaltender Trey Augustine is among the best in the country ranking #12 in shutouts (3), #9 in goals against average (2.09) and #7 in save percentage (.929). Augustine leads all active goaltenders in career wins (64) and has played in 14 less games than the #2 goaltender.
