Michigan State hockey vs. Bowling Green: Three things to watch
EAST LANSING – Michigan State hockey will open its regular season with a non-conference home-and-home series on Friday and Saturday against Bowling Green.
It will be the first regular season game under new coach Adam Nightingale and with a roster that has 12 newcomers from a team that started 10-7-1 through the first half of last season, but finished 12-23-1 and in last place in the Big Ten.
Here are three things to watch for in the Spartans' first series of the 2022-2023 season.
Scouting the Falcons
BGSU began its season last weekend by splitting a road CCHA series with Northern Michigan – winning 6-4 on Saturday before falling Sunday, 4-3, in overtime. Sophomore forward Austen Swankler had three of the Falcons' nine goals on the weekend to lead BGSU.
Senior forward Taylor Schneider, who had one goal and two assists against NMU, was BGSU's leading scorer last season, scoring eight goals and recording 22 assists. Swankler was right behind Schneider with 26 points as a freshman, while senior forward Nathan Burke led the Falcons in goals with 16.
The Falcons' defense includes freshman Dalton Norris, a heralded recruit and younger brother of former Michigan star and current Ottawa Senators forward Josh Norris.
Sophomore Christian Stoever and senior Zack Rose both received starts in goal against the Wildcats, with Stoever earning the win on Saturday. Stoever, a Northville native, started 28 of BGSU's 41 games last year as a freshman and finished with a 9-15-1 record and a .898 save percentage.
MSU lineup expectations
MSU is likely to roll out a similar lineup as it had in last Saturday's 4-3 exhibition loss to the U.S. National Team Development Program U-18 team. The Spartans' four forward lines generated more offense as the game went along and MSU dominated throughout the third period.
Defensively, MSU may again be without a key defenseman in sophomore David Gucciardi, who sat out Saturday and is still questionable this weekend due to an illness. If he is available, expect either junior defenseman Powell Connor or one of the two freshmen – Matt Basgall or Viktor Hurtig – to sit out to make room.
Nightingale rolled out two power play units during three opportunities on Saturday. The first unit comprised of defenseman Nash Nienhuis at point with forwards Jeremy Davidson, Erik Middendorf, Jesse Tucker and Tanner Kelly. Basgall ran point on the second unit with forwards Nico Muller, Miroslav Mucha, Jagger Joshua and Zach Dubinsky.
MSU used multiple penalty-kill units at the forward spot, but Joshua and Muller are both seniors who have thrived at penalty killing in their time as Spartans. Those two should be regulars on the PK with players like forward Justin Jallen, Mucha, Middendorf and Dubinsky to fill out the rest of the unit.
Grad transfer Dylan St. Cyr and junior Pierce Charleson both saw time in net against the NTDP, with the former playing the first two periods. Expect both St. Cyr and Charleson to see time this weekend, but if Friday goes well for whoever draws that start, it could lead to another.
"It's been really competitive in practice, whether it's small area games or in drill work, they are both competing," Nightingale said. "Obviously two different goalies, (St. Cyr) is more undersized and (Charleson) fills the net a bit more, but between the two of them I think goaltending will be a real strength of ours."
Handling an early road test
Saturday's contest will be the Spartans' first on the road, taking the 130-mile trip to Slater Family Ice Arena on Bowling Green's campus. The low-ceiling, 5,000-seat arena can get loud – and with it being BGSU's home opener and with Barstool Sports' College Hockey Gameday setting up shop on the Falcons' campus, the environment will be a factor.
Mucha, a transfer from Lake Superior State who is MSU's new captain, has experience against the Falcons, recording four assists in nine games against BGSU during his time with the Lakers. He could provide the team some insight in dealing with this particular road crowd, especially to the freshmen.
"(Mucha)'s a guys that does it right every day – in the classroom, in the community, he's ultra prepared and his teammates respect him," Nightingale said. "When you are establishing a culture and building what we want to do, I think he's a great guy for our players to look at."
MSU will face off with BGSU Friday at 7pm from Munn Ice Arena before facing BGSU on the road Saturday with a 7pm puck drop.
Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on Twitter @Nathaniel_Bott
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Michigan State hockey vs. Bowling Green: Three things to watch
