February 11, 1923 — MAC’s hockey team claims its first-ever victory, a 6-1 win over the Lansing Independents.
More about MAC/MSU Hockey:
The first record of an ice hockey game is from January 11, 1922, when a M.A.C. team traveled to Ann Arbor to play the University of Michigan. The following week the Aggies hosted Notre Dame University on the Red Cedar’s frozen waters. In 1924 a rink was established in the Old College Field, abandoned by the football squad for the new stadium.
In 1926 the Spartans were admitted in the Western League but in 1931 the program was cancelled indefinitely. The ice hockey program took a long hiatus from 1931 until 1948 when indoor facilities where available in Demonstration Hall. There are many reasons that this occurred, including the lack of facilities, institutional indifference towards the sport and the dependence on the unreliable Michigan weather.
The hockey team would return in the late 1940s and would continue until present day, conquering three NCAA National Championships in the process in 1966, 1986 and 2007. Michigan State coaches are in the lead for all time wins in the NCAA as well, with former coach Ron Mason in first and current coach Rick Comley in second. The program has come from the early days skating on the Red Cedar River to a national powerhouse in the sport of ice hockey.
Sources:
Lansing State Journal, Spartifacts, Lansing State Journal, February 10, 2015.