MSU hockey is a 1-seed for the NCAA tournament

Michigan seeded third; MTU and WMU are 4-seeds

Michigan has made another strong claim as one of the premier hockey states in the country after four schools made the NCAA hockey tournament Sunday evening, led by a team making its first appearance in over a decade.

Michigan State hockey earned a No. 1 seed in the Spartans’ first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2012 after sweeping the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles for the first time. Michigan, the team the Spartans beat 5-4 in overtime in the conference championship Saturday night, is in the 16team tournament field for the fourth straight season, this time as a No. 3 seed. Western Michigan and Michigan Tech also made the field for the third consecutive season, as No. 4 seeds. MSU is the fourth overall seed, behind Boston College, Boston University and Denver.

Three of the four teams from Michigan will make the trip to play in the Maryland Heights region. Michigan State is the top seed, facing off against No. 4 seed WMU in the first round on Friday at 5 p.m.

Meanwhile, Michigan is the No. 3 seed of the region, facing off against No. 2 seed North Dakota in the first round on Friday at 8:30 p.m. The winners will face off two days later for a trip to the Frozen Four next Sunday, March 31, at 6:30 p.m. The games will be played at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, a suburb north of St. Louis. The national semifinals and final are set for April 1113 at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.

MSU (24-9-3) will have to face a familiar foe in Western Michigan, who made the field out of the CCHA as an at-large. MSU will have to get through the Broncos, and potentially Michigan again, to earn a trip to the Frozen Four, where the Spartans haven’t been since winning the national championship in 2007 (with a squad led by future Red Wing Justin Abdelkader), on the line.

Michigan State experienced a renaissance season under second-year coach Adam Nightingale, who earned the conference’s Coach of the Year award. The program rebuild is ahead of schedule, as the Spartans went 16-6-2 against the Big Ten, then waited out Michigan in the Big Ten tournament final, avenging their lone loss to the Wolverines at home during the regular season.

It is the 28th NCAA tournament bid in Michigan State’s history, coming 12 years after the last time they made the field. The Spartans finished above .500 for the first time since the 2014-15 season, winning a conference tournament for the first time since 2006, when the Spartans were still in the CCHA.

Nightengale has compiled a mix of young talent — freshman goaltender Trey Augustine, a Detroit Red Wings second-round pick last summer; defenseman Artyom Levshunov, the Big Ten’s Freshman of the Year and Defenseman of the Year and a projected top-five NHL draft pick this summer; plus sophomores Karsen Dorwart and Isaac Howard — and holdovers such as Nicolas Muller, Jeremy Davidson and David Gucciardi. The Spartans outscored their opponents by 0.9 goals per game, bolstered by Augustine, who had the third-most saves in the NCAA this season, in net.

On the other side of the ice, Western Michigan (21-15-1) made the field as an at-large team after being bounced in the NCHC quarterfinals by St. Cloud State. WMU is led by a trio of forwards — Luke Grainger, Dylan Wendt and Sam Colangelo — who all finished the season above the 40-point mark, with two defensemen — Zak Galambos (who has prior

NCAA experience with AIC) and Carter Berger — at 20 points. Cameron Rowe has started all 37 games in net, holding a .905 save percentage and a 2.41 GAA.

It is WMU’s ninth NCAA tournament appearance all-time, including the third straight and sixth since 2011. The Broncos have one win in the NCAA tournament in school history, coming in 2022.

Michigan (21-14-3) is the No. 3 seed of the region, drawing North Dakota in the first round. North Dakota finished the season 26-11-2, making the field out of the NCHC. North Dakota won the regular season conference title with a 15-8-1 NCHC record, but fell in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament to Omaha. The Wolverines are trying to make the Frozen Four for the third straight year, and the second straight season under coach Brandon Naurato, but might have to get through MSU, which has a 4-1 record against Michigan this season.

The Wolverines are in the field again after a strong close to the season that included winning six of their final seven games before the Big Ten championship loss to Michigan State. They are led by Big Ten Player of the Year Gavin Brindley and All-Big Ten first-teamers Rutger McGroarty and defenseman Seamus Casey. Brindley finished the year as the conference scoring champion with 29 points in 23 Big Ten games while putting up 51 points overall. Goaltender Jake Barczewski started 33 games in net, finishing with a .909 save percentage and a 2.78 goals-against average.

Michigan is looking, ultimately, to win the national title for the first time since 1998. It is Michigan’s 41st NCAA tournament appearance, tied for the most all-time with Minnesota.

Michigan Tech secured their tournament bid by winning the reborn CCHA’s tournament, beating Bemidji State on Friday. The Huskies are the final No. 4 seed in the field, playing Boston College in the first round in the Providence region on Friday at 2 p.m. Boston College earned the top seed finishing 31-5-1 and winning the Hockey East Championship over BU. With a win, Michigan Tech would play the winner of No. 2 Wisconsin and No. 3 Quinnipiac in a game later that night for a spot in the Frozen Four. The Huskies are looking to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time since 1981 in the school’s 16th NCAA appearance.

Michigan Tech (19-14-6) made the field by securing the school’s first-ever Mason Cup with four straight wins in the conference tournament. The team is led by freshman forward Isaac Gordon, who had 18 goals and 18 assists, and senior forward Ryland Mosley (18 goals, 15 assists). As always, the Huskies have a bevy of Pietila family members on the roster, with senior forward Logan Pietila contributing 29 points and brother Chase Pietila, a defenseman, adding 22. Brother Blake is a standout netminder who topped the CCHA last season and posted a .920 save percentage this season to go with a 2.28 GAA. There’s also cousin Jed Pietila, a defenseman who was second on the roster with a plus-8 rating.