It’s a Friday night at Munn Ice Arena, as the lights come down there is a nervous energy while lineups are announced as fans anticipate puck drop. As the lights come on, a sea of white sweaters rises from a corner of the building and unhinges their deafening chants through the walls of Munn.
The Munnsters, Michigan State’s student section, believe that they are responsible for the crazy atmosphere at Munn Ice Arena. They are the group responsible for the cowbell ringing through the stadium, chanting the fight song midway through the second period, and letting the opposing team’s goalie know when he allows a goal.
The MSU hockey team has seen a recent increase in success. It barely missed the NCAA tournament a year ago and came into this season ranked No. 9 in the nation. This success has driven more students to join the Munnsters and bring their fiery energy alongside them.
“It makes you feel like we actually impact the game and we actually have a reason for being there,” Justin Babbitt, a section leader, said. “Because when Munn’s full there is a palpable shift, and before a few years ago we were just kind of there as placeholders it felt like.”
The Munnsters, which has 1,000 members in the group, are led by five students. Babbitt, Kira Vander Molen, Dana Winslow, Allie Goetz, and Helena Bunte. These five are tasked with leading the chants, traditions, and sign making for their section.
Babbitt and Vander Molen are seniors, meaning they experienced two seasons of poor performing teams.
“I think last year was really when you started to see the upward trajectory of attendance and noise in the building,” Babbitt said. “There’s a different buzz, it’s very palpable and fun so I think over the past two years specifically I can really notice a shift in energy and product, whether it’s on the ice or in the stands.”
The buzz has reached outside the walls of Munn. MSU students have been talking more about the hockey team, resulting in more people looking to join the Munnsters.
It should not come as a surprise that MSU students are ready to jump on the hockey bandwagon. The football team had a disappointing and tumultuous season, leaving students hungry to see a national contender.
“I’m an RA so I’ve interacted with a ton of freshmen, but I would say even just compared to last year a lot more of them are asking me about hockey, or saying how cool hockey looks so they want to go to a game,” Vander Molen said.
The team is not the only driving force behind the Munnsters. The people within the section are the ones providing the energy to the stadium. They provide more than noise, though. The Munnsters is a gathering place for MSU students to come together and bond over their school’s hockey team.
“I just love the people, my first ever Michigan State hockey game I met my best friend to this day,” Goetz, a junior, said. “And meeting all the other Munnster section leaders, I love all of the things I get to do with them now.”
The Munnsters take their energy on the road for a few games throughout the season. The section leaders said that they always try to get to the Great Lakes Invitational tournament in Grand Rapids, and the “Duel in the D'' between MSU and Michigan.
While the people travel to Detroit for the rivalry game, the cowbells could not. Last season, the stadium security told the Munnsters they had to leave the cowbells behind in order to enter the stadium.
“We were in a mostly Michigan State-dominated side and when you’re in an environment like that it is easier to get a little chant started,” Winslow said. “I know we got some good ‘Go Green, go White’ started in there.”
The process for getting season tickets at MSU is much easier for hockey than it is for men’s basketball. Students go to the MSU athletics website and purchase their tickets. There is no campout, or point system to determine where students are able to sit during the game.
To join the Munnsters, students purchase season tickets and join the intense group of fans yelling the opposing goalie’s last name. Members receive a Munnsters jersey which allows the section to match their gameday outfits.
“They are now buzzing about hockey, they’re telling all their friends. All these new people who are coming in are telling their friends. All of the sudden we are selling out Munnsters tickets before the summer is over,” Winslow, a junior, said.
The Munnsters do not always work alone. They have a strong relationship with the brass section of the MSU band, and the groups work together by playing a tune that results in a specific chant from the section.
There even used to be a tradition between the two groups. After each MSU goal, one of the Munnsters grabs a tuba from the band and runs around the concourse with that and an MSU flag. The tradition has since become increasingly rare due to large crowds blocking the previously open concourse.
“Knowing that they see what we do and that they’re appreciating it is a really cool moment,” Winslow said. “To have them acknowledge that to your face is really cool as well.”
The 2023-24 season has gotten off to a great start for both MSU hockey and the Munnsters. The Spartans have been ranked in the top 20 every week. The Munnsters have become so popular the ushers at Munn said they’ve been having to kick people out of the section for sneaking in.
Whether it is through signs, chants, or raising hands into the sky, the Munnsters force opposing teams to feel their presence.
Experiencing countless games and intense moments together has driven the Munnsters close to one another. They have to be tight-knit in order to execute the traditions their alumni created years ago.
“The atmosphere is made by the Munnsters and that’s just my favorite memory. Without a doubt, I love the Munnsters, you just can’t be beat,” Goetz said. “The Munnsters are the best student section and I mean it when I say that, they’re the best and it’s my favorite sport to go to here on campus.”
