Michigan State hockey fans won’t have to wait long for one of the more anticipated Big Ten series this season.
MSU will host Penn State and freshman phenom Gavin McKenna in the opening Big Ten series on Nov. 7-8. McKenna, the likely No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft and one of the more acclaimed hockey prospects in recent years, chose the Nittany Lions over the Spartans earlier this summer. MSU and Penn State are both expected to be preseason top-five teams in the nation this winter.
That series was one of the highlights as MSU’s hockey schedule was released on Friday, Aug. 22.
MSU’s season begins Oct. 3 with an exhibition against the University of Windsor before the regular season starts the following week with a non-conference home series against New Hampshire (Oct. 9-10). The Spartans then travel for two road series against Boston University (Oct. 17-18) and Northern Michigan (Oct. 24-25).
After starting Big Ten play with Penn State, MSU hits the road the following weekend, Nov. 14-15, against Notre Dame and first-year head coach Brock Sheahan. The Spartans will then host a Wisconsin team looking to rebound from a struggling year on Nov. 21-22.
MSU takes a week off from Big Ten play to host a non-conference series with Colgate on Nov. 26 and Nov. 28 before two games the following weekend against rival Michigan. The Spartans host the Wolverines for the lone time this regular season on Dec. 5 before heading to Yost Arena in Ann Arbor to play the following night.
After the holiday break, the Spartans conclude 2025 with the 59th Great Lakes Invitational at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids MSU will face Ferris State on Dec. 28 and either Michigan Tech or Miami (Ohio) on Dec. 29.
MSU will play an exhibition with the U.S. National Team Development Program U18 team on Jan. 4 at Munn Arena before resuming conference play.
The Spartans then start the toughest portion of their schedule, jumping back into Big Ten action with four road games at Ohio State (Jan. 9-10) and at Wisconsin (Jan. 15-16) before returning home for a series against traditional national power Minnesota (Jan. 23-24). That will be followed by a road series at Penn State (Jan. 31-Feb. 1) and two games against Michigan the following weekend — in Ann Arbor on Feb. 6 and at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Feb. 7 for the “Duel in the D”.
MSU then gets an off week before hosting its final two home series of the regular season against Notre Dame (Feb. 19-20) and Ohio State (Feb. 27-28). MSU concludes the regular season March 5-6 in Minneapolis against the Gophers.
The Big Ten tournament will take place March 11-21 with a new format. The tournament will be shortened to two weeks and begin on Wednesday, March 11, with single-elimination quarterfinal games on campus sites. The No. 1 seed will gain a bye into the semifinals, slated for Saturday, March 14. The highest seeded team following the semifinals will host the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday, March 21.
Contact Nathaniel Bott at nbott@lsj.com and follow him on X @Nathaniel_Bott
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