Speaking just before the Red Wings final game before the All-Star break, prospects Red Savage and Trey Augustine discuss life at MSU under Adam Nightingale, the rivalry with Michigan, and a potential return to the NCAA Tournament
Speaking just before the Red Wings final game before the All-Star break, prospects Red Savage and Trey Augustine discuss life at MSU under Adam Nightingale, the rivalry with Michigan, and a potential return to the NCAA Tournament
An hour or so before the the Detroit Red Wings' final game prior to the All-Star break, Detroit prospects and Michigan State Spartan teammates Red Savage and Trey Augustine assume the podium in Little Caesars Arena's interview room.
Savage—whom the Red Wings selected 114th overall in the fourth round of the 2021 draft—˘wears a green snapback and white polo shirt with a hockey-playing Sparty logo on the breast. Augustine—the 41st pick in last summer's draft—wears a gray MSU hockey quarter-zip.
The duo has made the trek down from East Lansing to help promote the Duel in the D, an annual LCA-hosted clash between the Spartans and the University of Michigan with the Iron D Trophy on the line.
The two schools began competing for that trophy in 2016, and after the Spartans won the first edition of the rivalry with the trophy on the line, they haven't recovered it since, but there is a different energy around the MSU program than there has been for any previous incarnation of this event. Adam Nightingale's team sits atop the Big Ten and seventh in the Pairwise, poised for the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012.
"It's been a lot of fun so far," says Savage, who transferred into State from Miami Ohio over the summer. "It's obviously a big change for me coming to the Big Ten and playing at such a big school and the history behind the school and everything. It's been a lot of fun. We have a really talented team and a really hard-working team. Makes coming to the rink every day that much easier, especially when we're stringing wins together like we have been."
"[Getting back to the tournament] is obviously something you think about," adds Augustine. "Just the past couple years seeing what the program has become now, it's pretty special to see the growth. Obviously that's super important to us, but still we're just kinda focused on [each] upcoming weekend."
Nightingale—an MSU alum who spent the two seasons before returning to his alma mater coaching the National Team Development Program and before that three seasons with the Red Wings as a video coach then assistant—took over behind the Spartan bench last season. He had before him the task of uplifting a proud program from a decade in the wilderness. Before he's even finished his second season at the helm, the on-ice results speak for themselves.
According to Savage, Nightingale's "best attribute is he knows how to get the most out of every player, whether it's the top line guys or the guys that see limited minutes. His message to everyone is the same. He wants us to be the last team standing at the end of the year...He's done a really good job of reminding us what our goal is and the fact that we're a developmental team, not a team that's trying to win every night but trying to be the best by the end of the year...We really have our eyes set on that tournament at the end of the year."
For Savage, the move to East Lansing has brought changes on and off the ice.
"I think Miami and [the] NCHC, they're both amazing places to play," he explains. "It's just there's a difference between Big Ten and Miami. There's a lot more money in the Big Ten, so it's a little bit easier getting to games and stuff, being able to charter flights and getting treated a little more like a professional. The NCHC is still one of the hardest leagues to play in in college hockey. It's just different from a skill and age level. I think the Big Ten is a little bit younger and a little bit more skilled, a little bit less hard on the puck in some areas. The NCHC, it's really old, and every night's like a game seven battle, where the Big Ten it feels like everyone's kinda running and gunning a little bit more, which I think is a little bit more fun to play. It's a little bit eye-opening to see the amount of skill in the Big Ten and how good each team is every night."
Amidst that more skilled environment, Savage has taken his own offensive game to new heights. In 28 games at MSU, he's put up nine goals and 16 assists, nearly matching his totals from 67 games over two years at Miami (13 goals and 17 assists).
Among the pleasures of joining the Spartan program for the 20-year-old has been rejoining Augustine, with whom he won bronze at the 2023 World Junior. "It's nice being able to spend a full year with him, trying to get under his skin a little bit, try to crack his code a little bit," he says of Augustine with a grin. "He just brings it every day, and it's just hard to put the puck past him. That's really all you want out of a goalie is to be able to stop the puck. He does an amazing job at it, and it's been fun this past six months being able to build our friendship and be able to be friends off the ice, along with being able to play great hockey together."
As just an 18-year-old freshman, Augustine has established himself as one of the best goaltenders in college hockey and the Spartans' backbone. He has played 25 games to the tune of a 2.99 goals against average and .914 save percentage. Over the holidays, he backstopped Team USA to World Junior gold in Sweden, earning a 1.75 GAA and .936 SV% in four games at the tournament.
As for this weekend's rivalry series, it's something Savage has had at the top of his mind since he got to East Lansing. On Friday night, the Wolverines and Spartans will do battle in Ann Arbor. Then, on Saturday, they will take center stage at LCA.
The two sides met for a home-and-home in mid-January, with Michigan routing State in East Lansing, only for the Spartans to score a dramatic come-from-behind victory at Yost the following evening. The Friday night blowout featured 151 penalty minutes in the third period alone.
Having gotten his first taste of the rivalry, Savage is eager for more. "I think intense is a good word to describe [UM-MSU]," he says, the excitement evident in his voice and his eyes.
"We're both super highly skilled teams and highly competitive. Coming into this year, I kinda had this date circled toward the end of the year for Duel in the D. When you're growing up here in Michigan, you hear about it, you go to those games, and you see how intense the rivalry is. So it's something I've been looking forward to for a long time. It's easy to make enemies with those guys down the road. Even though I played with a handful of them, it's definitely easy to make enemies. Just that intense rivalry, it's easy to flare up, especially on the big stage here. Everyone on our team's super pumped."
Also from THN Detroit
Stat of the Day: Red Wings Lead NHL in Goals by Newcomers
DeBrincat Picks Up Six Points as Team Matthews Takes All-Star Victory
Cossa Continues Strong '24 in Guiding Griffins to Win Over Rockford
Which Red Wings Merit Mid-Season Award Consideration?
Should the Red Wings Carve Out a Bigger Role for Daniel Sprong?
DeBrincat, Veleno Hit Milestones in Red Wings' Loss to Ottawa
Red Wings 2, Senators 3 (OT): Flat Effort Dooms Detroit in Final Game Before Break
Report: Red Wings First-Round Pick Axel Sandin Pellikka Poised to Return from Injury