Munn Arena provided an electrifying atmosphere for Michigan State University ice hockey last season.
The Spartans went 12-3-1 on home ice during the regular season and then defeated Ohio State and Michigan in front of a sold-out crowd to win the Big Ten Tournament championship.
Highlights of this season’s home schedule, released Wednesday, include a high-profile series against national power Boston College on the second weekend of the season, all home games in November (except for an away exhibition game) and two home games against Michigan – one in mid-January and the other in early February.
The Spartans open their season with two games on Oct. 4 and 5 at Lake Superior State, a week before their home opener against Boston College, which will likely begin the season ranked in the top five in the nation. Last season, MSU traveled to BC and was defeated just before Big Ten play began.
MSU will have a home exhibition match against Windsor the following Friday before heading to New York for an away series at Canisius, who the Spartans defeated at home last year.
MSU will play at home all of November, except for an exhibition match with the U.S. National Team Development Program in Plymouth. MSU’s first two conference series will be at Munn, where they will face Ohio State and Notre Dame on back-to-back weekends, followed by a nonconference series with Lindenwood on the last day of November and the first day of December.
MSU then hits the road for the rest of December, including the toughest two-week stretch of the season at Wisconsin and Minnesota before the Christmas break. The Spartans then play in the Great Lakes Invitational with their first game against Northern Michigan on Dec. 29. Western Michigan and Michigan Tech meet in the other game, with the winners meeting the next night.
January is a jam-packed month of conference matchups, culminating in the first week when the Spartans host Wisconsin on Jan. 2 and then face the Badgers in the Frozen Confines outdoor game two days later at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.
MSU will face Penn State on the road the following weekend before facing rival Michigan for the first time in a home-and-away series on Jan. 17 and 18. MSU then hosts Minnesota the following weekend before taking a quick turnaround and finishing the month in Columbus, where they face the Buckeyes in a Thursday-Friday series.
The Spartans will begin February by playing the Wolverines in Munn before heading to Little Caesars Arena for the annual Duel in the D. MSU will then host Penn State the following weekend, with the final game of the series kicking off with a Senior Day celebration.
MSU finishes the regular season at Notre Dame before the first round of the Big Ten Tournament begins the following week.
2023-24 MSU Hockey Schedule (all times to be announced)
October 4th – at Lake Superior State
October 5th – at Lake Superior State
October 11 – Boston College
October 12 – Boston College
18 October – Windsor (exhibition)
25 October – at Canisius
26 October – at Canisius
November 8 – Ohio State
November 9 – Ohio State
15 November – Notre Dame
16 November – Notre Dame
21 November – at USNTDP (exhibition)
29 November – Lindenwood
December 1st – Lindenwood
December 6 – in Wisconsin
December 7 – in Wisconsin
December 13 – in Minnesota
December 14 – in Minnesota
December 29 – against Northern Michigan (GLI)
December 30 – vs. Michigan Tech/Western Michigan (GLI)
January 2 – Wisconsin
January 4 – vs. Wisconsin, 9:00 p.m. ET (Frozen Confines at Wrigley Field)
January 10 – at Penn State
January 11 – at Penn State
January 17 – in Michigan
January 18 – Michigan
January 24 – Minnesota
January 25 – Minnesota
January 30 – at Ohio State
January 31 – at Ohio State
February 7 – Michigan
February 7 – vs. Michigan (defensive duel)
February 21 – Penn State
February 22 – Penn State (Senior Night)
February 28 – at Notre Dame
March 1 – at Notre Dame
March 8-10 – Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals (best-of-three series, campus locations)
March 16 – Big Ten Tournament semifinals
March 23 – Big Ten Tournament Championship
Contact Nathaniel Bott at [email protected] and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott