The ticket sale count for the MSU vs. Michigan hockey game in Spartan Stadium is at 43,500, sports information director John Lewandowski said.
That number would break the North American record for attendance at a hockey game, which stands at 28,183, set at the ThunderDome in St. Petersburg, Fla., in a game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1996 NHL playoffs.
The world record is 55,000, set in 1957 in Moscow. Spartan Stadium holds 72,027.
Lewandowski said the record number of ticket sales was expected.
“Not only did we expect to break the record but we expect to sell out the entire stadium,” he said. “We haven’t been surprised by the sales.”
Lewandowski also pointed out that only a small fraction of students have contributed to the sales.
“We hope they purchase the tickets sooner than later - we’re holding the tickets for them.”
Tickets are priced at $18 for lower-level seats between 20-yard lines and $10 for the rest of the stadium.
Men’s basketball
MSU will play the University of Detroit in the opening round of the Preseason National Invitation Tournament on Nov. 13.
The MSU/Detroit winner will face the winner of Central Connecticut vs. Oklahoma in the second round.
The Spartans lost 68-65 the last time the teams met, on Dec. 13, 1997. MSU is 24-6 at home against Detroit and leads 43-16 in the overall series.
Other first-round matchups include Maine at Arkansas, North Carolina-Wilmington at Wake Forest, Manhattan at Syracuse, Wyoming at USC, Montana State at Fresno State and Fordham at Depaul. Half of the first-round games will be played Nov. 12 and the rest Nov. 13.
Area golf
Lansing firefighter Dan Perrone is still “riding on a cloud” as he reminisces about his hole-in-one victory at MSU’s Missing Link golf outing last week.
Perrone scored the perfect shot on hole No. 8, the second-ever hole-in-one recorded at Forest Akers West Golf Course.
“It was something else,” he said. “After the hole-in-one, I still had five holes to go, but I played them. Everyone gave me a pat on the back.”
Perrone won a two-year lease on a 2001 Ford Explorer, courtesy of Metro Ford.
He will receive his prize Friday.
The 7th Annual Missing Link outing, held June 19, helped support programming and activities at the MSU Museum.
