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Mitten Hockey story card: Michigan State Spartans, NCAA Division I

No. 3 Michigan State opens its season with in-state series against Northern Michigan

Michigan State begins its 2026-27 regular season this weekend at Munn Ice Arena with a two-game series against Northern Michigan.

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Michigan State opens its 2026-27 regular season this weekend with an all-Michigan series, hosting Northern Michigan at Ron Mason Rink at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing. The teams meet Friday, Oct. 9, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m.

The Spartans

The Spartans start the season ranked third in both the USCHO.com and USA Hockey polls, behind Denver and Michigan, and drew five first-place votes in the USCHO poll released Oct. 5. Their only game so far was a 5-2 exhibition win over No. 12 Boston College on Oct. 2, when sophomore Eric Nilson had two goals and two assists and sophomore Anthony Romani added two goals. Freshman forward Ethan Belchetz had two assists in his first game in green and white.

The goaltending picture is worth watching. With Trey Augustine gone to the pro ranks, freshman Joshua Ravensbergen and junior Quentin Sigurdson split the exhibition, each playing about half the game. Patrick Geary was named captain in September, and Ryker Lee was a preseason second-team All-Big Ten pick. Coach Adam Nightingale was not satisfied after the exhibition, saying Boston College was the better team that night despite the result.

The Wildcats

Northern Michigan already has a weekend of regular-season hockey behind it. The Wildcats opened their 50th season by splitting a home series with Miami at the Berry Events Center on Oct. 2-3, winning 3-0 in the opener before falling 4-1 the next night. Sophomore goaltender Oliver Auyeung-Ashton (CCHA Goalie of the Week) and freshman center Coster Dunn (CCHA Rookie of the Week) both earned league honors, as Mitten Hockey reported Wednesday. This weekend is NMU’s first road trip of the season, and it comes against one of the top teams in the country.

How to watch

Both games stream on Big Ten+. Northern Michigan’s radio broadcast is on 100.3 The Point, and Michigan State’s radio call and live stats are available through msuspartans.com.

Sources

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