B1G Postseason Begins in South Bend

Big Ten Quarterfinals No. 20/20 Michigan State (16-16-2, 10-12-2 B1G) at No. 19/17 Notre Dame (15-14-5, 10-10-4 B1G)
Dates/Times	Friday, March 3, 2023, 7 pm Saturday, March 4, 2023, 4:30 pm ET Sunday, March 5, 2023, 6 pm (if necessary)
Location	C ompton Family Ice Arena; South Bend, Ind. \| Bag Policy
Tickets	Notre Dame Ticket Office
Television	FS2 Ben Holden (pxp) and Paul Caponigri (analysis)
Radio	WJIM 1240 AM Listen Online: Click "Spartan Media Network" Scott Moore (pxp) and Rob Woodward (analysis)
Webstreams	Fox Sports App
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Notre Dame
Social Media	Facebook Twitter Instagram

THE ORIGINAL SIX
What you need to know about Spartan Hockey
Click "Game Notes" above to see the entire notes packet for the weekend.

• Michigan State opens the 2023 Big Ten tournament with a quarterfinal series at Notre Dame. MSU is searching for its first victory in the Big Ten Tournament since the league began play in the 2013-14 campaign. The Spartans are the No. 5 seed, its highest seeding since the 2015-16 campaign when it was also the No. 5.

• The Spartans lead Notre Dame in the all-time meetings of the teams by a 68-57-16 margin. The Irish are 32-26-11 all-time against MSU in South Bend, which includes a 4-2-2 record since the start of the 2020-21 season. Notre Dame earned a win (5-0) and a tie (1-1, shootout loss) when the teams played in South Bend in late October, but MSU swept Notre Dame when hosting the Irish Feb. 3-4, 3-0 and 3-2.

• The Spartans finished fifth (34 points) in the Big Ten, tied for its second-best finish all time (2013-14, 2015-16). MSU was one point out of home ice position and just four points behind second-place Michigan. MSU's 16 wins is the most since the Spartans had 17 victories in 2014-15. That squad was also MSU's last to finish over .500 (17-16-2). MSU has won four more games than in 2021-22 (12).

• Senior Nicolas Müller sits atop the Spartan statistics sheet with 29 points (seven goals, 22 assists). His scoring line represents single-season bests in all three offensive categories. He has nine points in the last seven games, including two goals and two assists in the most recent Notre Dame series (he was named the Big Ten First Star of the week after that performance). Müller leads all Spartans in career scoring against Notre Dame with a 2-5-7 line. Erik Middendorf is right behind with 3-3-6 in eight career games.

• MSU's line of Karsen Dorwart centering Jagger Joshua and Daniel Russell have a combined 30 goals and 77 points, while the Middendorf-Müller- Jeremy Davidson trio boasts 21-39-60. Russell (28 points) and linemate Dorwart (26 points) - who were linemates in Sioux City last season before coming to MSU - are MSU's top scoring freshmen since Derek Grant had 30 points (12g, 18a) in 2009-10.

• Cole Krygier is MSU's top scoring defenseman, as his 10 goals ranks second on the team and his 10-6-16 scoring line features career bests in both goals and points. He shares the Big Ten lead in shorthanded goals (2), and also has blocked 33 shots and is a +3. His 10 goals is tied for the third highest total among Division I defensemen in goals this season and leads all B1G rearguards.

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Players Mentioned

Jeremy Davidson

Karsen Dorwart

Jagger Joshua

Cole Krygier

Erik Middendorf

Daniel Russell