Michigan State hockey coach Adam Nightingale on Dan Sturges being the ‘Glue Guy.’
Michigan State hockey coach Adam Nightingale on Dan Sturges being the “Glue Guy.”
Sports Illustrated – Michigan State Spartans
The biggest college hockey weekend of the year is taking a slight detour, moving to Detroit and a sold-out crowd in a big-time arena.
No. 1 Michigan (23-4, 14-3 Big Ten) is playing No. 2 Michigan State (21-6, 12-5 Big Ten) on Saturday, Feb. 7, in the annual Duel in the D at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The game started at 6:30 p.m. ET and is televised on the Big Ten Network.
Michigan State leads Michigan 2-0 after one period.
This is the final regular-season meeting between the two rivals in the 2025-26 season, with the Wolverines winning two of the three games so far this season against the Spartans. That includes a 4-3 overtime win over Michigan State at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor on Friday, Feb. 6, as the Spartans blew a 3-1 third-period lead before finally bowing out after Michigan forward Jayden Perron’s overtime winner.
Watch Big Ten hockey on Fubo
This is only the second time these two programs have ever played in a No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup, the first coming on Friday. The Spartans are looking to salvage a regular-season draw against their biggest rivals on Saturday with a win, though they have won their last two Duels in the D, including a 6-1 win over the Wolverines in Detroit in 2025.
We’ll have live updates from this titanic college hockey matchup right here.
Michigan vs Michigan State hockey live updates
End 1st: Michigan State 2, Michigan 0.
An opening goal from Gavin O’Connell and a patient score from Porter Martone on the power play gives the Spartans a 2-0 lead over Michigan after one period. Michigan has gotten a few chances in front of the net, but Michigan State is outshooting the Wolverines 14-9 while mostly keeping the Wolverines away from their offensive zone.
With 57 seconds left in the power play, Michigan State star forward Porter Martone took a pass from winger Ryker Lee and buried the Spartans’ second goal of the game. Michigan State has a 2-0 lead late in the first period.
A slashing penalty called on Michigan forward Cole McKinney with 4:51 left in the first period will give the Spartans the first power play of the game.
Michigan State has so far outshot Michigan 12-4, keeping the Wolverines from possessing the puck much in the offensive zone after a furious first few minutes of action.
The Spartans took a 1-0 lead with 10:12 left in the first period as freshman Anthony Romani found junior Gavin O’Connell on the right side of the offensive zone, with O’Connell shooting a wrister into the net. It’s O’Connell’s fourth goal of the season.
Freshman Cayden Lindstrom was also credited for an assist on the goal.
Michigan State has made Michigan goaltender Jack Invankovic work, putting together four shots in the first three minutes of action. The Spartans also lead the overall shot count 7-4, though we still have no score a little more than seven minutes into the game.
It’s official: freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic has been announced as the Wolverines starter for tonight’s game against the Spartans.
Ivankovic has been out since Jan. 10 after suffering a lower-leg injury against Notre Dame and was expected to be out for the rest of the regular season.
Both the Michigan and Michigan State bands are trading songs pregame as we are a little over 10 minutes away from the start.
Michigan’s band significantly outnumbers Michigan State, with over 60 Wolverines band members compared to about 30 for the Spartans – though the MSU band had a bit of a longer drive to get here.
Starting Michigan goalie Jack Ivankovic, who has been out since Jan. 10, is warming up for the Wolverines and could be the team’s starting goalie for tonight’s game against the Spartans.
Backup Stephen Peck had been tending goal in his place, with Ivankovic initially thought to be out for the rest of the season after suffering a leg injury against Notre Dame.
Michigan and Michigan State are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the country, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that that’s where they are ranked in the Big Ten standings, as well.
- Michigan – 38 points.
- Michigan State – 36.
- Penn State – 32.
- Wisconsin – 24.
- Minnesota – 20.
- Ohio State – 16.
- Notre Dame – 5.
The Spartans entered the ice first, soon after joined by the Wolverines for pregame warmups.
Michigan State is wearing white, while Michigan is wearing blue.
Michigan leads the season series 2-1 so far in the 2025-26 season.
Some of the first spectators to make their way into Little Caesars Arena are members of the Michigan State band, who spent a few minutes warming up with scales while a song from Alice in Chains was playing over the arena’s loudspeakers.
A handful of Michigan State players have made their way to the other bench, taking in the sites and sounds of a (mostly) empty arena.
A few members of the Michigan hockey team in hats and hoodies have made their way to the bench at Little Caesars Arena, taking in the atmosphere (and taking some selfies) before tonight’s game.
Arena staff are still setting up the goals so the Wolverines are staying off the ice, for now.
The big game tonight in Detroit is officially sold out, but tickets are still available on secondhand sites like StubHub.
But they’re going to cost you. As of 4:15 p.m. ET, the cheapest ticket on StubHub is $113 (before fees) for an upper-level seat. And if you want to sit in the lower bowl, those start around $200 per ticket (with very few of those left.
Michigan hockey vs Michigan State channel
- Time: 6:30 p.m. ET.
- Channel: Big Ten Network.
- Streaming: Fubo.
- Radio: WTKA-AM 1050 (Ann Arbor), WCSX-FM 94.7 (Detroit), WJIM-AM 1210 (Lansing).
Saturday’s game between Michigan and Michigan State will be available on TV and can be streamed on Fubo, which carries the Big Ten Network.
Watch the Duel in the D on Fubo
NCAA hockey rankings
According to USCHO.com
- Michigan.
- Michigan State.
- North Dakota.
- Western Michigan.
- Quinnipiac.
- Penn State.
- Providence.
- Denver.
- Cornell.
- Minnesota Duluth.
- Boston College.
- UConn.
- Wisconsin.
- Dartmouth.
- St. Thomas.
- Augustana.
- Minnesota State.
- Maine.
- UMass.
- Michigan Tech.
Michigan hockey next four games
- Friday, Feb. 13: vs Penn State, 6:30 p.m. ET (B1G+).
- Saturday, Feb. 14: vs Penn State, 5 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network).
- Friday, Feb. 20: at Wisconsin, 8 p.m. ET (B1G+).
- Saturday, Feb. 21: at Wisconsin, 7 p.m. ET (B1G+).
Michigan State hockey next four games
- Thursday, Feb. 19: vs Notre Dame, 7:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network).
- Friday, Feb. 20: vs Notre Dame, 6 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network).
- Friday, Feb. 27: vs Ohio State, 8:30 p.m. ET (Big Ten Network).
- Saturday, Feb. 28: vs Ohio State, TBD (Big Ten Network).
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You can reach Christian at [email protected].
