East Lansing, Mich. — Michigan State was selected as the favorite in the Big Ten coaches pre-season poll, as announced Friday by the Big Ten Conference.
The Spartans, the 2024 regular-season and tournament champions, return 16 letterwinners from last year’s squad, including three pre-season First Team All-Big Ten selections Trey Augustine (goaltender, South Lyon, Mich.), and forwards Karsen Dorwart (Sherwood, Oregon) and Isaac Howard (Hudson, Wisconsin). 2024 All-Big Ten Honorable mention selection Joey Larson also returns. MSU lost three forwards and two defensemen who played 30 or more games last season, and 10 newcomers (two transfers and eight freshmen) will look to step in to bolster the Spartan veterans.
Under the tutelage of second-year head coach and Big Ten Coach of the Year Adam Nightingale, MSU earned its first-ever Big Ten regular season championship in 2024 and its first regular-season conference title since 2001. MSU’s Big Ten Tournament championship was secured with a dramatic 5-4 overtime victory over Michigan at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament (their first tournament bid since 2012) and advanced to the NCAA Regional Final for the first time since 2008.
One of two unanimous selections to the preseason All-Big Ten team, Augustine was a Second Team All-Big Ten and All-Freshman Team honoree in 2023-24 and was also named the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player. In 35 games, he posted a .918 save percentage (fourth B1G/15th nationally), 2.96 GAA, and ranked first nationally in saves (1113), fifth in victories (23), ninth in winning percentage (.710) and eighth in shutouts (3). Augustine backstopped Team USA to a gold medal in the 2024 IIHF World Junior Tournament (U20), and then in May was selected to represent the US at the Men’s senior IIHF World Championship in Prague and Ostrava, Czechia, where he made four appearances (4-0-0), with a 1.75 GAA and .936 save percentage.
Dorwart will serve as an alternate captain for the Spartans for the second consecutive season. As a sophomore, he was an honorable Mention All-Big Ten pick and was also an Academic All-Big Ten selection. Established new career bests in goals (15), assists (19) and points (34), tying for second in the Big Ten and 11th nationally in shorthanded goals.
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