Preview: UND, Michigan State have plenty of similarities
· Yahoo Sports
Oct. 31—AUSTIN, Texas — On Monday, a UND hockey player was asked if he's excited to go to Austin and play in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game.
"I'm excited to play a game again," he responded.
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It has been a long eight days since UND's pair of losses at Minnesota, but there are no layups on the upcoming schedule.
It starts with the showdown against No. 4 Michigan State at 7:07 p.m. in H-E-B Center in Cedar Park. The matchup will feature
the highest number of NHL first-round picks
to play in a college hockey game.
"We're not afraid to play big games," UND general manager Bryn Chyzyk said. "They test our group and they make us better in the end. Any chance we can play another perennial program like Michigan State, kind of go toe-to-toe, we'll take that every time."
Michigan State coach Adam Nightingale said the same thing on his weekly radio show.
"You want to try to find some things out about (your team)," Nightingale said. "It's not just trying to schedule something easy so you can feel good about yourself. You're going to trip sometimes and lose a game but you're going to look at some areas and say, 'These are things we can't do if we want to try to win hockey games.'"
UND and Michigan State have some similarities.
They're both young, especially on the back end. UND has
the youngest defensive corps
in the country; Michigan State is third-youngest.
They both have gamebreakers up front. UND's Cole Reschny, Will Zellers and Hudson Malinoski are averaging a point per game. Michigan State's Anthony Romani, Ryker Lee and Eric Nilsson are, too.
"They've got a lot of guys who can skate and make plays," UND coach Dane Jackson said. "You've got to be really diligent with your puck management. You've got to stay out of the penalty box, because their power play, when you have that many of these skilled guys, is dangerous."
Michigan State's power play is ranked No. 2 nationally at 38.1%. UND's power play is ranked No. 4 nationally at 34.6%.
"When I look at their roster, I think we're pretty similar, where it's about depth," Nightingale said. "They have depth at every position. They have really good goaltending. They play an in-your-face, physical brand. This is exactly what we want. This is a great test for our guys."
Both teams also are coming off of challenging weekends.
While UND lost a pair of games at Minnesota, Michigan State split at New Hampshire and was heavily outshot in the series opener.
"I don't think anyone will ever understand — especially even moreso now with the rules changes and the amount of players who can play college hockey — how hard college hockey is," Nightingale said.
UND has played several destination games in the last 15 years, starting with a contest against Clarkson in Winnipeg.
UND also has played an outdoor game against Omaha at the home of the College World Series, a game against Boston College at Madison Square Garden and contests in Nashville (vs. Penn State) and Las Vegas (vs. Minnesota and Arizona State).
UND won the first four and has lost the last two.
UND and Ralph Engelstad Arena began working on the Austin game about four years ago.
"It should be an awesome event," Nightingale said. "I'm thankful they asked us to be a part of it. I think that's what you want to try to do, right? You want to try to play the top programs, and they're definitely one of them."
UND — None known
Michigan State — None known
Ryker Lee has incredible hands and is a magician with the puck. He does Evan Trupp-like stuff all the time.
As a freshman, he tallied 15 goals and 30 points. The Nashville Predators first-round pick has six points in five games to start this season. Four of those six points have come on Michigan State's 38.1% power play.
Lee played with UND's Will Zellers for two seasons at Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep School in Fairbault, Minn. They won a national championship together in 2024.
In the words of the great Santana Moss, big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.
When UND won in New York City, Tyson Jost was the best player on the ice. When UND won in Vegas, captain Colton Poolman scored twice.
Carson Carels is a big-time player. Don't be surprised if he shines in the state where he won a gold medal for Canada in the IIHF World Under-18 Championship along with Keaton Verhoeff and Cole Reschny.
"I think winning that gold with the age above — Resch. . . and Versey was there, too — it was just really special," Carels said. "I think we've got to keep that mojo going in Texas."
Michigan State's skilled forwards will give UND a challenge similar to Minnesota's. The Spartans' back end is much younger than Minnesota's, though. The Fighting Hawks need to force the Spartans into mistakes and limit their power-play chances and time in the offensive zone. If they do that, a bounce-back is in order. If not, it will be a scary Halloween night in Texas.
UND 4, Michigan State 3
When: 7:07 p.m.
Where: H-E-B Center, Austin, Texas.
TV: Midco Sports (GF Ch. 27/622 HD). Alex Heinert play-by-play, Jim Scanlan analyst, Taylor Budge rinkside.
Radio: The Fox (96.1 FM). Nick Hulberg play-by-play, Mike LaMoine analyst.
Stream:
NCHC TV.
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