EAST LANSING – Michigan State junior forward Tommi Männistö has had a great start to his 2025-26 campaign, and the Big Ten has taken notice. Männistö earned the conference’s First Star of the Week on Tuesday, which is the first B1G weekly honor of Männistö’s career.  

This award came after Männistö’s five-point weekend, which helped the Spartans sweep Northern Michigan on the road. This performance was good enough for Männistö to be tied for the most points and goals in the conference last week, matching teammate senior forward Tiernan Shoudy in points.  

On Saturday, Männistö scored two first period goals for Michigan State, which increased his total to five for the season. Männistö leads the Spartans in goals and has already surpassed his season total from last year (3).  

He later assisted on both of Shoudy’s goals in the third period of game two, first preventing an icing call by racing down the ice and beating an NMU player to the puck before passing it back to the trailing Shoudy who scored his first of the season. Männistö currently is on pace for 39 points this year, a huge step forward compared to the 11 he recorded last year.  

Männistö’s impact can be seen on both sides of the rink as he was a key component of MSU’s penalty kill that went 13-14 in successful kills last weekend. In a weekend series where the Spartans struggled with penalties, racking up over 50 minutes in the two games, Männistö’s defensive effort helped the Spartans only give up two goals over the weekend. 

Männistö is a key player in the Spartan’s success, and if Michigan State keeps rolling, this won’t be his last weekly award of the year.