Michigan State Wins 2024 GLI

For the first time in 15 years, Michigan State is the Great Lakes Invitational champion. The Spartans defeated Western Michigan, 3-1, on Monday night at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. in the 2024 title game.

Joey Larson scored the game-winning goal, then set up an insurance marker by Isaac Howard in the third period, to lift top-ranked MSU to its first GLI crown since 2009 at the now-demolished Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. GLI MVP Luca Di Pasquo stopped 29 shots for the Spartans, one night after making 16 saves in a 2-0 opening-round victory over Northern Michigan. 

WMU had advanced to this year's championship contest by besting Michigan Tech, 4-3, in overtime on Sunday. MTU then won the consolation game, 4-3 in OT, over NMU yesterday.

MSU has now won 13 GLI titles all-time dating back to the tournament's start in 1965, second behind only former participant Michigan's 17 crowns. Next year's GLI field, the fourth straight that will be played at the VAA in West Michigan, will again feature co-hosts MSU and MTU, plus Ferris State and Miami (Ohio).

GLI to Remain in Grand Rapids Through 2026

The venerable Great Lakes Invitational has found a new regular home, at least for the next few seasons.

It was announced last week that the GLI will continue to be played at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., where it was contested last year after more than a half-century of being played largely in the Detroit area. The new agreement runs through 2026, with the tournament to be played in the month of December. 

Next year's field will include Ferris State, Michigan Tech, Western Michigan and first-time participant Alaska (Fairbanks). Last year's participants included Ferris State, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, and Western Michigan, with WMU winning the tournament.

The GLI fields for the following three seasons are as follows:

2024 - Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan, Western Michigan

2025 - Ferris State, Miami, Michigan State, Michigan Tech

2026 - Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Notre Dame, Western Michigan

Michigan, which holds the record with 17 GLI championships, is not scheduled to participate in any of the upcoming years, after also sitting out last season for the first time since 1973.

Home of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins since its opening in 1996, the VAA seats 10,834 spectators for hockey. It has also hosted several NCAA men's hockey regionals in its existence, along with several non-tournament college contests.

Western Michigan Wins 2022 GLI

The first Great Lakes Invitational held outside Detroit is done.

18th-ranked Western Michigan took home the crown earlier this week by winning both of its games, 8-1 over No. 17 Michigan Tech in the first round, and 8-2 over Ferris State in the championship contest. MTU finished in third place by edging 11th-ranked Michigan State, 3-2, in the consolation game. FSU had beaten MSU, 4-2, in the first round.

WMU senior forward Jason Polin scored three goals in each game for the Broncos (10-9-1 overall), giving him five hat tricks on the 2022-23 season, and a nation-leading 19 goals through 22 games. His scoring efforts also garnered him the Jack Tompkins Trophy as this year's GLI MVP. Cameron Rowe stopped 52 of 56 shots over two games for the Broncos, who also got five assists in all from Ryan McAllister, the top scorer in NCAA Division I with 28 assists and 38 points through 22 outings..

The victory was WMU's fourth GLI title in six appearances, the last coming in 2016. WMU also won the GLI in 2013 and 1986.

All four games this year were held at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., home of the AHL's Griffins. It was the first time the tournament had been held since 2019, with the 2020 version being canceled due to COVID-19, and last year's version being played on campus sites in what was a non-traditional, non-championship format. The GLI began in 1965 at the old Olympia, before later being played at now-demolished Joe Louis Arena, Comerica Park (outdoors) and Little Caesar's Arena, all in Detroit.

GLI Moving to Grand Rapids for 2022

The Great Lakes Invitational is moving west.

For the first time ever, the annual holiday college hockey tournament will be played outside Detroit, as the 2022 version will be contested on Dec. 27-28 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., home of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins. 

The semifinals for the 57th incarnation of the GLI will feature Michigan Tech against Western Michigan, and Michigan State versus Ferris State, with the winners meeting on the second day for the title. Longtime GLI participant Michigan, which holds the tournament record with 17 championships, will not be a part of the field for the first time since 1973. 

The GLI began in 1965 at the Olympia in Detroit, before moving to Joe Louis Arena in 1979 and then Little Caesars Arena in 2017. The 2018 version was contested outdoors at Comerica Park, home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers, while the 2020 edition was canceled due to COVID-19. Last year's tournament was held on campus sites, with MSU hosting Western and Tech, and Michigan hosting MTU before the Wolverines bowed out the next night against WMU due to extenuating circumstances. 

MTU won the last regular GLI title in 2019, defeating Michigan in the final.

Van Andel Arena has previously hosted a number of college hockey games, including Ferris State-Michigan State and Michigan-Western Michigan regular-season contests in its first season of operation (1996-97). The facility has also hosted NCAA men's hockey regionals in 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2013.