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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