Michigan State University Athletics
Saturday, October 17
Rochester, NY
7:05 PM
Michigan State University
3-0-0
5
at
1
RIT
1-3-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan St. | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| RIT | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Photo by: RIT Athletics / Elizabeth Robert
No. 3 Hockey Takes Down RIT in Front of Raucous Sellout Crowd
10/17/2026 10:25:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – In front of a sellout crowd of 10,556 at Blue Cross Arena, No. 3-ranked Michigan State hockey took down RIT, 5-1, in its first road contest of the season on Saturday night.
MSU improves to 3-0-0 overall while RIT falls to 1-3-1 on the season.
"This is why you want to play the game, to put our guys in this type of environment," said Michigan State Head Coach Adam Nightingale. "Ton of respect for RIT, we knew they were going to play with desperation and that's important for our guys to see. It's one thing to have talent but there's a desperation and a hunger level you have to play with. I thought they really pushed us tonight."
The Spartans out-shot RIT 37-26, which included a 12-5 margin in the second period. Michigan State's power play went 1-for-5, including a goal from sophomore forward Ryker Lee in the first period, while MSU's penalty kill was 2-for-3 overall and 2-for-2 in the third.
Freshman goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen made 25 saves in goal (.961 Sv%), including 15 in the third period alone, allowing just one power play goal while in net.
Three Spartans turned in multi-point nights, with sophomore forward Anthony Romani, sophomore forward Eric Nilson and freshman defenseman Chase Reid all tallying a goal and an assist each. Senior forward Tommi Mannisto and Lee also scored for Michigan State. Adding assists for MSU were sophomore defenseman Sean Barnhill and senior forward Gavin O'Connell.
How It Happened
After Lee was denied on a 3-on-2 opportunity early in the period, he wasted no time scoring on Michigan State's opening power play 2:34 into the first. MSU won the face-off and got the puck down low to O'Connell who made a no-look between the legs pass to Lee who was waiting at the right face-off dot to make it 1-0. The Spartans were active on their second power play of the period with five shots on goal and consistent possession in their offensive zone.
Reid provided Michigan State with a 2-0 lead six minutes into the period on a shot through traffic from the center point. RIT pulled back within one at the 8:50 mark on a redirected shot from right in front of the net. MSU looked as if it had scored its third goal of the evening on a power play at 13:52, but Romani's goal from the left dot was waved off due to goaltender interference by a Spartan earlier in the sequence.
RIT nearly evened the score at 2-2 late in the second period, but Ravensbergen sprawled out for the save and junior forward Cullen Potter made a great play with his stick to break up the shot.
After a slew of penalties to open the third period, Mannisto provided Michigan State with some much-needed insurance shorthanded, streaking down the ice past the RIT defense and using a backhanded shot to beat the Tigers goalie. Just three minutes later, Romani got his goal back, sniping one past Jakub Krbecek after a cross-ice pass from Barnhill.
Nilson capped things off with an empty-netter in the final three minutes of action to seal the 5-1 victory.
MSU improves to 3-0-0 overall while RIT falls to 1-3-1 on the season.
"This is why you want to play the game, to put our guys in this type of environment," said Michigan State Head Coach Adam Nightingale. "Ton of respect for RIT, we knew they were going to play with desperation and that's important for our guys to see. It's one thing to have talent but there's a desperation and a hunger level you have to play with. I thought they really pushed us tonight."
The Spartans out-shot RIT 37-26, which included a 12-5 margin in the second period. Michigan State's power play went 1-for-5, including a goal from sophomore forward Ryker Lee in the first period, while MSU's penalty kill was 2-for-3 overall and 2-for-2 in the third.
Freshman goaltender Joshua Ravensbergen made 25 saves in goal (.961 Sv%), including 15 in the third period alone, allowing just one power play goal while in net.
Three Spartans turned in multi-point nights, with sophomore forward Anthony Romani, sophomore forward Eric Nilson and freshman defenseman Chase Reid all tallying a goal and an assist each. Senior forward Tommi Mannisto and Lee also scored for Michigan State. Adding assists for MSU were sophomore defenseman Sean Barnhill and senior forward Gavin O'Connell.
How It Happened
After Lee was denied on a 3-on-2 opportunity early in the period, he wasted no time scoring on Michigan State's opening power play 2:34 into the first. MSU won the face-off and got the puck down low to O'Connell who made a no-look between the legs pass to Lee who was waiting at the right face-off dot to make it 1-0. The Spartans were active on their second power play of the period with five shots on goal and consistent possession in their offensive zone.
The ruling is overturned! Ryker Lee opens the scoring just seconds into the power play to make it 1-0! https://t.co/WhMR73XkTU
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) October 17, 2026
Reid provided Michigan State with a 2-0 lead six minutes into the period on a shot through traffic from the center point. RIT pulled back within one at the 8:50 mark on a redirected shot from right in front of the net. MSU looked as if it had scored its third goal of the evening on a power play at 13:52, but Romani's goal from the left dot was waved off due to goaltender interference by a Spartan earlier in the sequence.
RIT nearly evened the score at 2-2 late in the second period, but Ravensbergen sprawled out for the save and junior forward Cullen Potter made a great play with his stick to break up the shot.
Chase Reid with the first goal of his collegiate career to make it 2-0! RIT headed to the penalty box here too to put MSU on its first power play of the period https://t.co/oSY063h0sN
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) October 18, 2026
After a slew of penalties to open the third period, Mannisto provided Michigan State with some much-needed insurance shorthanded, streaking down the ice past the RIT defense and using a backhanded shot to beat the Tigers goalie. Just three minutes later, Romani got his goal back, sniping one past Jakub Krbecek after a cross-ice pass from Barnhill.
Nilson capped things off with an empty-netter in the final three minutes of action to seal the 5-1 victory.
Tommi Mannisto goes backhand to score shorthanded and make it 3-1, Spartans! https://t.co/qtUfqzL2Fd
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) October 18, 2026
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Ice Hockey
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/ Men's Ice Hockey
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GK
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/ Men's Ice HockeyTeam Stats
MSU
RIT
Shots
37
26
PPG
1
1
SHG
1
0
Penalties
16
19
Penalty Mins
72
89
Faceoffs Won
40
30
Game Leaders
+/-
2
Goals
1
Sh
6
A
1
+/-
4
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
1
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
3
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
1
Sh
4
A
0
Wednesday, October 14
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