MAY 19 • 2022 | 51

The next stop on Josh 
Noder’s hockey journey is 
the University of 
Massachusetts.
The center from 
Oak Park, who 
announced his 
verbal commitment 
to Michigan State 
University when he 
was a sophomore 
at Berkley High 
School, is transfer-
ring to UMass after spend-
ing the first three years 
of his collegiate career at 
Michigan State.
UMass checked all the 
boxes for Nodler. Winning 
program. Good facilities, 
coaches and academics. 
He’ll be able to remain a 
computer science major.
“And they’ve proven they 
can develop guys to play at 
the next level,” said Nodler, 
a 2019 draftee of the NHL’s 

Calgary Flames who will 
remain the Flames’ property 
for one more season.
Nodler said 
coaches from about 
a dozen Division I 
programs contacted 
him after he entered 
the NCAA’s transfer 
portal in early April.
One call, a day or 
so after Nodler put 
his name into the 
portal, came from UMass 
associate coach Jared 
DeMichiel.
“That call drew me into 
UMass,” Nodler said.
A few other colleges were 
“semi-intriguing,” Nodler 
said, but UMass eventually 
became his choice.
Nodler hopes to have a 
great senior season.
He didn’t set the world on 
fire at Michigan State, com-
piling just 34 points in 99 

games over three seasons.
And the Spartans strug-
gled as a team during 
Nodler’s tenure, going 
34-60-5 including 12-22-1 
this season.
Michigan State won 
NCAA titles in 1986 and 
2007, but hasn’t qualified 
for the NCAA tournament 
since 2012, the second-lon-
gest drought in program 
history.
Nodler is joining a pro-
gram on the rise.
UMass won its first NCAA 
and Hockey East tourna-
ment championships in 
the 2020-21 season. The 
Minutemen repeated as 
Hockey East tourney win-
ners this season.
Coach Greg Carvel is 
116-88-12 in his six sea-
sons at UMass, with 49 of 
the 88 losses coming in 
his first two seasons. The 

Minutemen were 22-13-2 
this season.
Eleven of Carvel’s former 
UMass players are NHL 
draftees.
Michigan State has 
changed coaches since 
Nodler entered the transfer 
portal. Danton Cole is out 
after five unsuccessful sea-
sons (58-101-12) and Adam 
Nightingale is in.
An extensive renovation 
project at Munn Arena, the 
Spartans’ home, will be com-
pleted before next season.
Those developments 
weren’t enough to con-
vince Nodler to stay in East 
Lansing.
“It was a difficult deci-
sion for me to leave MSU, 
but it was 100% the right 
decision,” the 5-foot-10, 
195-pounder said. “UMass 
has all the opportunities I 
was looking for.”

Nodler Is Taking His Talents to UMass

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY

Josh Nodler

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