Hockey Preview: No. 1 Michigan State at Notre Dame

Last weekend went just about as well as the No. 1-ranked Michigan State hockey team could have dreamed of. The Spartans took five out of six points from a weekend series against formerly No. 3 Penn State, and now enter this weekend of play as the consensus No. 1 team in the country after winning seven-straight games. The Spartans have gone 4-0 over their two biggest match-ups in the season so far (PSU and Boston University) and after a summer of intense expectation setting, it feels odd to say MSU has not only met expectations but perhaps surpassed them.

However, the hockey season is long, and Michigan State is just one week into league play, now hitting the road for the first time in Week Two as the Spartans travel to a rebuilding Notre Dame. This series instead is a test to see if the Spartans can show the maturity needed to take care of business against an overmatched opponent, one week after a premier matchup at the top of the Big Ten and national standings. Sandwiched between top-10 home series (No. 7 Wisconsin visits Munn Arena next weekend), MSU will lean on its upperclassmen to set the tone for the team's talented freshman class, to show that no Big Ten series can be taken for granted.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (3-6-1)

Notre Dame is expected to finish last in the B1G this season as it rebuilds under first-year head coach Brock Sheahan, replacing the legendary Jeff Jackson after his retirement at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 season. Sheahan was a player under Jackson when he first was building up the Fighting Irish program in the 2000s, and comes to the head coaching position after two seasons as Notre Dame's associate head coach. Sheahan came back to South Bend as the presumed head coach in waiting, after he gained lots of buzz and attention as a head coach of the Chicago Steel in the USHL (including a 2020-2021 Clark Cup Championship).