BC at Michigan State doesn't count, and it's the weekend's best game

It doesn't count, and it's still the best game in college hockey this weekend. No. 12 Boston College visits No. 3 Michigan State on Friday at Munn Ice Arena in an exhibition, and I'd rather watch this than half the games that go in the standings.

Here's why. Both teams turned over their rosters, and both are going to show you on Friday what they actually are. There's no NPI hole to dig here and no points to protect, so the coaches will play everybody they want to learn about. That's the point.

The Spartans' new kids

Michigan State has won three straight Big Ten regular-season titles and still hasn't been to a Frozen Four since the 2008 title. Captain Patrick Geary said it plainly: "We haven't even made it to the Frozen Four, so honestly you can't really say it's been that close."

Adam Nightingale's answer is youth, and a lot of it. The Spartans have nine freshmen, three transfers and three new goalies. Chase Reid went seventh overall in June and Ethan Belchetz went 17th, part of a roster with nine first-round picks on it.

The name I care about is in net. Joshua Ravensbergen is expected to start after three seasons with Prince George in the WHL. Not long ago, a CHL goalie couldn't do this at all. Now the Spartans' season rides on one, and Friday is his first look at a Hockey East team that can shoot.

Nightingale knows what that means for everybody in front of him. The group has to "limit opportunities in front of him," he said.

The Eagles without Hagens

Boston College is the other half of the experiment. The Eagles missed the NCAA tournament last spring after two straight trips, lost to UConn in the Hockey East semis and dropped four of their last five regular-season games. James Hagens, last year's Hockey East Player of the Year and their leading scorer at 47 points, is gone.

So it's Dean Letourneau's team now. He went from three points as a freshman to 22 goals and 39 points as a sophomore, which is one of the best one-year jumps you'll see. Greg Brown has 11 freshmen around him and Louka Cloutier back in goal after a .910 season in 33 games.

These two have split the recent history. BC won both games in 2023, and they split in East Lansing in 2024.

Prospect watch: Joshua Ravensbergen, G, Michigan State. San Jose's first-round pick in 2025, 30th overall. Three WHL seasons, now a college freshman under the CHL eligibility change. Timeline: if he's the guy by January, the Spartans are the team I picked in September.

My call: BC's forwards test him early, Ravensbergen settles in, and Michigan State wins by two. The score won't matter. How the kid handles the first 10 minutes will.

The real season starts the next weekend: BC opens with Alaska on Oct. 9, and Michigan State hosts Northern Michigan the same night.