By: Connor Toomey
East Lansing, Mich. – The Fighting Irish Hockey team of Notre Dame travel northeast this week for a rematch with Big Ten foe, the No. 1/1 Michigan State Spartans. The second series between the Irish and Spartans will occur this Thursday and Friday at Munn Ice Arena (Feb. 19-20). Thursday’s puck drop is slated for 7:30 pm while the Friday contest is scheduled for 6:00 pm. Both games will be aired on Big Ten Network.
This week marks the 154th & 155th game milestone in the all-time series as Michigan State and Notre Dame clash for the second time this season after previously meeting in South Bend back in November. The Spartans got the best of the Irish in the last showdown, taking wins in a pair of tightly contested games.
Dating back to 1926-27, Notre Dame currently trails in the all-time series record with 53 wins, 84 losses, and 16 ties. Previously when the Irish visited Munn Ice Arena in 2024-25 they were bested in a close 1-0 battle during the Big Ten Playoff semifinals matchup. The Irish were bested by the Spartans off a powerplay goal early in the third period which proved to be the lone goal of the contest. Owning 21 wins on the road, Notre Dame looks to improve on their record against the nation’s top ranked team and split the season series with the Spartans.
The last time these teams met, sophomore goalie Nicholas Kempf recorded 73 saves over the course of the two-game weekend. During game one of the November series, Kempf posted a then career-high in saves with 43 in the 4-1 loss. He followed it up with a 30-save performance in Saturday’s contest. Additionally, Paul Fischer highlighted the Irish in points on the weekend, with a goal in Friday night’s match before picking up an assist in game two of the weekend to finish the series with two points.
In their most recent outing, it was a weekend defined by resilience for the Irish, who fought back from goal deficits in back-to-back games against the Minnesota Golden Gophers to earn a victory and a draw. Nicholas Kempf earned Second Star conference honors from the Big Ten as a result from his performance over the course of the weekend. Posting a .931 save percentage with 54 saves across the series, the sophomore netminder ranked first and second in the respective categories in the Big Ten conference. Junior Cole Knuble led the Irish in points against Minnesota with three (1-2-3). His second assist of the series set up the game-winning goal that came off the twine of junior captain Danny Nelson’s stick to secure victory for Notre Dame late in the third period of Saturday night’s contest.
As the Irish head up I-69 to East Lansing, they look to carry their past weekend’s resilience into Munn Ice Arena. Entering the final regular season meeting with Michigan State, Notre Dame travels to the Mitten State primed and ready to add another exciting chapter to this 99-year-old rivalry with the Spartans.
SERIES OVERVIEW
Opponent: #1/1 Michigan State Spartans (Feb. 19-20)
Location: East Lansing, Mich.
Schedule: Thurs. 7:30 PM | Fri. 6:00 PM
TV/Streaming: Big Ten Network
Live Stats: FightingIrish.com
Radio: fightingirish.com/radioaffiliates/
Game Notes: Notre Dame