3 Stars From MSU Hockey's Series Sweep of Northern Michigan

EAST LANSING -- Third-ranked Michigan State looked the part during its first series of the 2026-27 season.

MSU breezed past Northern Michigan twice this past weekend, taking down the Wildcats 6-2 on Friday night and then winning again 5-1 on Sunday afternoon. The Spartans' next game is at RPI on Saturday, Oct. 17. Here are the team's (unofficial) three stars from the sweep of their neighbors from Up North.

One of Michigan State's most hyped-up additions this year is freshman defenseman Chase Reid. He was the seventh overall pick in this year's NHL Draft by the Seattle Kraken, making him the second-highest-drafted player on the team behind Cayden Lindstrom (fourth overall in 2024).

Reid didn't score a goal in either game this past weekend, but he's not been afraid to generate offense alongside line mate Brady Peddle. Reid had three assists and got six shots on goal during the Northern Michigan series. Two assists came in Game 1, and Reid had another secondary assist during Game 2.

The early impression is certainly that Reid will be an effective player for MSU on either end of the ice. That was the book on Reid entering the NHL Draft this past spring, with his point-per-game play with the Soo Greyhounds in the OHL. He keeps the puck moving on the offensive end and seems to consistently make pretty mature decisions in the defensive zone, especially for a player who is still 18.

Michigan State has a pretty strong group of defensemen, overall. Captain Patrick Geary brings tons of experience to the top line, and Tommy Bleyl, one of the team's many first-round picks, showed a lot of talent this weekend. Peddle and Sean Barnhill were also impressive during these first two games of the year.

Freshman left winger Jack Hextall was also excellent. He was the official first star from Sunday's victory after a fantastic three-point performance that included a goal and a pair of assists. Hextall had also scored during the third period of the season opener on Friday.

Both of Hextall's goals against NMU came on the power play. That unit was absolutely clicking against Northern Michigan, going 7-for-13, and one of those "failed" power plays lasted just one second at the very end of Game 1. Exclude that, and Michigan State really converted on 58.3% of its opportunities.

Hextall's most impressive play may have been one of his assists, though. This happened in the second period of Game 2. Northern Michigan had tied it at 1-1 a few minutes prior, and MSU's offense needed a spark.

NMU gave the Spartans a power-play opportunity, and Hextall provided that spark with a one-timer of a pass that seemed to go intentionally wide of the net, right towards Ethan Belchetz, who basically had no choice but to redirect it in with his body or the upper portion of his stick. Hextall's Sunday goal, a real one-timer from the left circle, was also a beauty.

Anthony Romani made another big statement with his play this weekend, too. He was among the Spartans' top returning players from last year's team, but Romani looks like the favorite to become Michigan State's leading goal scorer right now. Romani scored two goals last week during the Boston College exhibition and then scored three goals this weekend. Two goals came in Game 1, and another came during Game 2. That third one came while MSU was short-handed, too.

Romani also added an assist in Game 1, giving him four points for the weekend. He, Hextall, and Ryker Lee are all atop the team leaderboard in points through two games, though Romani is the only player with three goals. He also totaled 13 shots on net against Northern Michigan; nobody else on the team had more than 10.

MSU had a lot of scoring and offense to replace this offseason, with Porter Martone and Charlie Stramel both departing the program. If there was a big question about where a weak point would be on this year's squad, it would probably be the lack of a clear, alpha-level scorer. Romani looked like a player ready to step into that sort of role this weekend, even if he's not even technically on the team's first line.

As a whole, the expectation for Michigan State is to be a national title contender again. Northern Michigan isn't the strongest opponent by any means, but the fact that neither game was ever in any real doubt is a great start. Even then, NMU looks stronger than it did last year, and it was able to earn a split against a respectable Miami (Ohio) team a week prior.