Iced Hate: A top 3 matchup between Michigan State and Michigan (Preview)
The most played series ever in college hockey history begins it's chapter for this season.
For the eighth and ninth time under head coach Adam Nightingale, the Spartans hockey team (ranked No. 3 in the country) will play a game against the top ranked team nationally, as this weekend the annual home-and-home series with in-state rival Michigan gets underway.
In the previous seven games against No. 1-ranked teams, the Spartans have a record of 5-1-1, with the sole loss coming in Nightingale's first season in East Lansing, losing to Minnesota in the B1G Playoff Semi-Final game. This will be the first time the top-ranked team facing Nightingale's Spartans is the University of Michigan.
The Spartans and Wolverines have faced each other 352 times - dating back to 1922 - back when whole seasons were cancelled in the series history due to ponds not freezing over on which to play games during the winter.
Under head coach Adam Nightingale, the Spartans are 7-7 against the Wolverines, holding true to the majority of the series history between the two schools, with domination stretches being extremely rare.
As has been a theme with many series this season (Boston University and Penn State chief among them), this weekend will hold the most professional talent ever assembled on the ice between these teams, due to the recent change in player eligibility in NCAA hockey.
The Wolverines will bring 13 NHL draft picks into the series, just slightly below the Spartans' 15. Each net will be manned by a NHL draft pick. For MSU, it will be junior Trey Augustine, second round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings in 2023, in his tenth start against the Wolverines. For UM, it will be freshman Jack Ivankovic, second round draft pick of the Nashville Predators in 2025, in his first games in the rivalry.
The Spartans are 4-0 in their match-ups with Penn State and Boston University - games in which the NHL talent was clear - with two of those wins coming in overtime.
No. 1 Michigan Wolverines (15-3-0)
After a disappointing season in Ann Arbor in 2024-25, which included missing the NCAA tournament, head coach Brandon Naurato has reloaded his talent pool, especially in net and on the blue line to insure such a disappointment would not be repeated in his third year at the helm.
Besides adding Ivankovic in net, the Wolverines added junior Ben Robertson in the transfer portal from Cornell, who ended the Spartans' season in the 2025 NCAA tournament, as well as freshman Asher Barnett from the US National Team Development Program.
Having a well rounded roster has paid off extremely well for the Wolverines in the first half of the season, rising from their pre-season ranking of 12 to the top ranked spot last weekend.
While the roster has improved on the back end, once again the headliner of the Michigan roster is their offense, this season led by the three leading scorers nationally (all tied at the top with 26 points) and the top ranked offense in the country scoring 5.11 goals per game.
Sophomore Will Horcoff (son of MSU alum Shawn) leads the country with 18 goals to go with eight assists on the season. Senior T.J. Hughes (undrafted) leads the country with 17 assists to go with his nine goals, and sophomore Michael Hage - who has been on the 2nd line this season with Horcoff - has 10 goals and 16 assists.
Keys to the Weekend
Face-offs
It is not a hot take or hidden fact to expect this weekend to be won on the margins as the talent is near equal, and the playing style is close as well.
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