2021–22 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey season explained

The 2021–22 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey season was the 80th season of play for the program. They represented Michigan State University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season. This season marked the 32nd season in the Big Ten Conference. They were coached by Danton Cole, in his fifth season, and played their home games at Munn Ice Arena.

Season

Michigan State began the season well, posting a winning record through the first month of the season. After dropping both games to arch-rival Michigan, the Spartans dipped below .500 but they responded with four consecutive wins to get back onto the plus side of the ledger. MSU ended the first half of their season with a split against Notre Dame, putting them in a strong position to make a run for a home game in the postseason.

Unfortunately, both the team's offense and defense faltered in the back half of their campaign and the Spartans lost 13 consecutive games. Both goaltenders played during the stretch and performed well, but neither received much help. MSU allowed an average of 37 shots per game, while recording just 27 of their own. While most of their losses were against ranked teams, that would provide little solace as Michigan State finished last in the conference for the fourth time in five years.

They faced Michigan in the first round of the conference tournament and were thoroughly beaten, losing both games by a combined 1–12 score.

Departures

Tommy Apap	Forward		Graduation (Signed with Indy Fuel)
Charlie Combs	Forward		Graduation (Signed with Wichita Thunder)
Gianluca Esteves	Forward		Graduation (Signed with Cincinnati Cyclones)
Austin Kamer	Forward		Graduation (retired)
Tommy Miller	Defenseman		Graduate transfer to Northeastern
Jake Smith	Forward		Graduation (retired)
Brody Stevens	Forward		Graduation (retired)

Recruiting

Christopher Berger	Forward		23	Amherst, NY graduate transfer from Brown
Jeremy Davidson	Forward		21	Schoolcraft, MI transfer from Massachusetts
David Gucciardi	Defenseman		18	Toronto, ON
Tanner Kelly	Forward		19	San Diego, CA
Griffin Loughran	Forward		22	Orchard Park, NY transfer from Northern Michigan
Erik Middendorf	Forward		21	Scottsdale, AZ transfer from Colorado College
Jesse Tucker	Forward		21	Thunder Bay, ON

Roster

As of August 12, 2021.^[1]

Schedule and results

|-!colspan=12 style=";" | Exhibition|-!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season|-!colspan=12 style=";" | |-!colspan=12 style=";" | Regular Season|-!colspan=12 style=";" |

Scoring statistics

		36	2	22	24	12
		32	11	11	22	24
		36	12	8	20	24
		21	7	12	19	12
		36	8	8	16	14
		26	7	8	15	4
		36	3	11	14	6
		22	3	9	12	34
		34	2	10	12	8
		36	5	6	11	22
		35	4	7	11	72
		36	2	6	8	68
		36	2	6	8	79
		36	1	5	6	18
		34	3	2	5	8
		36	2	2	4	39
		34	0	4	4	4
		23	1	2	3	16
		32	1	1	2	8
		25	0	2	2	0
		27	0	1	1	17
		12	0	0	0	0
		28	0	0	0	2
Bench	-	-	-	-	-	10
Total			76	142	218	501

^[2]

Goaltending statistics

	25	1449	9	15	1	71	799	2	.918	2.94
	12	707	3	8	0	43	406	0	.904	3.65
Empty Net	-	12	-	-	-	5	-	-	-	-
Total	36	2169	12	23	1	124	1205	2	.910	3.29

Rankings

See main article: 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey rankings.

Poll	Week
	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25 (Final)
USCHO.com	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	bgcolor=FFFFFF	-	NR
USA Today	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 24.^[3]

Players drafted into the NHL

2022 NHL Entry Draft

6	180	Jack Sparkes^†	Los Angeles Kings
7	213		Washington Capitals

† incoming freshman^[4]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2021–22 Men's Ice Hockey Roster . Michigan State Official Athletic Site . August 29, 2017.
2. News: Michigan State Univ. 2021-2022 Skater Stats . Elite Prospects . March 7, 2020.
3. Web site: USCHO Division I Men's Poll . USCHO.com . November 26, 2019.
4. News: NCAA player rankings, selections in 2022 NHL Draft . USCHO.com . July 9, 2022.