The top-ranked Michigan State Spartans got their first taste of Big Ten play this season, hosting the No. 3 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions over the weekend. The main storyline in this matchup was Porter Martone facing off against Gavin McKenna, and the Flyers’ 2025 sixth overall pick came out on top over the course of the series.
Series recap
In their first home in about a month, the Spartans delivered a thrilling overtime victory to open up the series. What began as a defensive battle quickly turned into high-pace hockey that continued beyond regulation. Tiernan Shoudy would be the hero for Michigan State after two Penn State skaters collided while attempting to collapse on Tommi Männistö. That collision allowed Männistö to find a wide open Shoudy on the opposite side of the net, who put home the winner. The final score was 2-1 (OT) for the Spartans.
On Saturday, the Spartans took control early and never looked back. In a feisty game that saw 78 penalty minutes in total, Michigan State out-shot Penn State 48-36 on their way to a 5-0 victory. Charlie Stramel scored twice, and Trey Augustine made 36 saves for his third shutout of the season. Martone scored his fourth goal of the season and picked up another assist; more on that in a bit.
Michigan State’s penalty kill was excellent in the opener, not only killing all four of Penn State’s power plays, but generating scoring chances themselves. As a group they had three or four clean shorthanded breakaway opportunities while Penn State struggled to get a threatening look with the man-advantage. The Spartans’ penalty killers actually out-shot the PSU power play 6-4 in game one. The penalty kill was a perfect 9-for-9 in the series.
One member of the impressive MSU penalty kill is the Flyers’ 2025 second round pick, Shane Vansaghi. Vansaghi did some good work on the kill, and was noticeable on the neutral zone forecheck helping disrupt entries. While we may be hoping for some more offense from him, Vansaghi and his linemates Cayden Lindstrom and Gavin O’Connell appeared to see a lot of Gavin McKenna in this series, especially in game one. Facing off against the consensus first overall pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft is a tough assignment, and while McKenna got his shots (10 in the series), the trio kept him off the board. At least during their minutes against him, as he did pick up Penn State’s lone goal with a different line on the ice.
Porter Martone exploded against Penn State
Martone’s series began with a bang. Literally. On just his third shift of the game, Martone leveled PSU forward Nicholas Chin-DeGraves and, following a review for a potential major penalty, was given a two-minute minor for head contact. Martone was very engaged physically, laying at least four solid hits in game one, and a few more in game two. He was also involved in numerous post-whistle scrums, from throwing elbows to getting cross-checked himself. When it comes to drawing penalties, he did draw a tripping minor in game one, and probably should have drawn a hooking penalty a bit later that ultimately went uncalled.
While he was held off of the scoresheet Friday night, Martone created a ton of offense for the Spartans, both at even strength and on the power play. Martone was directly involved in three Spartans’ scoring chances (slot shots and attempts off high-danger passes such as cross-ice and behind-the-net looks) at even strength and another five on the power play. Four of his scoring chance contributions were his own shots, all of which coming on the power play. While eight is already a solid number, there were a few other instances where Martone helped create what would’ve been a scoring chance, only for a shot to never be taken due to a broken stick, or once in his own case, a straight-up whiff.
Martone continued to drive the Spartans offensively in game two, except this time he’d be rewarded. Just two and a half minutes into game, Martone entered the zone and hit Stramel with a quick pass, who made no mistake.
Charlie Stramel puts the Spartans on the board first! pic.twitter.com/5dB6j0TiDr
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 8, 2025
This shift began with a defensive zone draw that saw Spartans defender Matt Basgall flip the puck out of the zone. Martone found the loose puck in the neutral zone and was able to make a quick pass while being collapsed on. Michigan State’s top line of Martone, Stramel, and Daniel Russell were dominant in game two, and that Stramel-Martone connection would strike again late in the first period.
Porter Martone lights the lamp late in the first period to make it 2-0 Spartans! pic.twitter.com/p6Q3W0eCme
— Michigan State Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) November 8, 2025
This was arguably Martone’s most impressive game of the season, and the bar was already set pretty high. He finished with a goal and an assist in this one, as well as another four scoring chance contributions. Martone helped set a screen on the third goal as well, and also made a standout defensive play to break up a pass when Penn State was making a bit of a push in the middle of the final frame.
The Spartans heavily won his minutes this weekend, out-attempting (23-15), out-chancing (11-7) and out-scoring (3-0) the Nittany Lions at five-on-five with Martone on the ice. Individually, Martone had seven scoring chances and was the primary set-up man for another five (all-situations).
With his fourth goal of the season on Saturday, Martone is up to eleven points through the first eight games of the season, and has had at least a point in six contests. This marks the second time that Michigan State has swept a top-three ranked team this season, having previously taken both games against the then-no. 1 ranked Boston University Terriers. With the series sweep, the Spartans improve to 7-1-0 on the season.
