There’s a mutual respect between MSU hockey head coach Rick Comley and Michigan coach Red Berenson.
Because many of the Michigan-born players have grown up playing with, or against, each other, there’s some respect there too.
MSU, U-M games have CCHA implications
Hockey reporter Alex DiFilippo breaks down this weekend’s series against Michigan for the No. 12 MSU hockey team.
Both teams are coming off tough losses last Saturday and are looking to rebound this weekend in the rivalry series.
DiFilippo talks about the intense rivalry between the two teams, Saturday’s game at the Joe and the key matchups in both games.
DiFilippo also makes his weekend prediction.
But when the two teams lace up the skates and come out of the tunnel this weekend, winning becomes both teams’ main priority.
Time has proven anything can happen when the two rival schools hit the ice. Often, the games are high-energy, physical affairs with end-to-end action.
Comley expects nothing less this weekend when the two rivals face off at 7:05 p.m. Friday at Munn Ice Arena and again at 7:35 p.m. Saturday at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
“When you drop the puck with those two jerseys, it escalates for sure,” Comley said. “I don’t know if it’s ever been totally belligerent, but there’s always situations in each game that draw attention.”
With the conference standings tightening up as the CCHA playoffs approach, this weekend could set a team’s sails — or sink its ship — for the rest of the season.
“If you look at the schedule, there’s a lot at stake this weekend,” Berenson said. “Both teams are trying to advance in the standings and both teams are fighting for the same thing. It’s a huge series.”
The two teams met earlier this season in a home-and-home series. For the first time since the 1997-98 season, the No. 12 Spartans won both ends of the weekend set against the Wolverines.
Last year, U-M won all five meetings between the two teams.
“Last year’s memories were still kind of stuck in our heads where we didn’t beat them at all,” sophomore forward Trevor Nill said. “But coming off that (winning) weekend, it was such a high.”
As the end of the regular season draws to a close with only four series left for MSU, the Spartans are trying to hold onto their second-place standing in the conference race.
After a horrid start, the Wolverines slowly are creeping up the standings. U-M posted a 5-0-1 record before dropping a heartbreaker Saturday to Ferris State in the last minute of regulation. The Wolverines now are in seventh place in the CCHA.
“We are playing better in a lot of areas,” Berenson said. “We’re still not there. I’m not sure when this team will really peak, or if they will. We have been inconsistent in a lot of areas, but I see us playing better hockey.”
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The Spartans (16-8-4 overall, 11-5-4-1 CCHA) haven’t been playing their best hockey of late, sporting a 2-2-2 record in January.
Comley said the main reason for the Spartans’ recent struggles has been an inability to stay out of the penalty box.
In last weekend’s split against Ohio State, 15 penalties were called each night, resulting in a lack of 5-on-5 play.
“The key thing now is stay out of the penalty box, which is becoming more difficult to do in the league,” Comley said.
“If you look around the league, the number of penalties being called is unbelievable. So as a result, your bench is thin.”
If the series becomes a special teams battle, the Wolverines have the edge. U-M is fourth in the league on the power play (19.7 percent) and third in penalty kill (88.7 percent), while MSU sits in sixth on the power play (18.5 percent) and eighth on the penalty kill (82.8 percent).
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Whether this weekend’s series becomes a special team battle, those involved in the rivalry have these games marked on the calendar months in advance.
“You know it’s always a big weekend whenever we go in there and play Michigan,” Nill said. “It’s pretty neat to be a part of one of the biggest rivalries in college hockey.”
