Reporters weren’t asking Joe Goodenow the questions he expected to hear in his first three seasons at MSU.
Instead of queries about hat tricks, tape-to-tape passes or bone-rattling body checks, Goodenow has had to explain separated shoulders and groin pulls.
Those are certainly not the topics the 5-foot-10, 196-pound Toronto native wants to be synonymous with his collegiate career.
“The last four years have really been a struggle to be healthy,” said Goodenow, a senior left wing and center. “You never can forecast what’s going to happen with your health and you never want to take it for granted.”
In three unproductive, pain-filled years, Goodenow recorded nine goals and 21 assists in stop-and-go action.
He played in 36 games as a freshman but only 16 as a sophomore, and he suffered groin injuries both seasons. Last year, Goodenow played in 29 games, but missed 14 games total with two separated shoulders.
But Goodenow leads MSU with three goals in as many games this season and is just one goal shy of his career-high set last year. He earned CCHA Offensive Player of the Week honors Monday for his three-goal effort against Lake Superior State on Thursday and Friday.
“My body’s starting to work a little bit,” Goodenow said after a career-best two-goal game Friday. “I’m starting to feel pretty good right now and I’m starting to hit my stride and things are starting to work for me.
“All I can ask is for my body to stay together and have a healthy year.”
With the emergence of three freshmen centers this season, MSU head coach Ron Mason has shifted Goodenow from center to left wing - a position Mason calls “more natural” for him.
“His strength really helps him in the corners,” Mason said. “He’s good along the wall, he’s good in front of the net. He’s got an excellent shot - it’s a heavy shot - and he’s been in the right place at the right time, and he’s taking advantage of it.”
Goodenow said he also feels liberated by the position switch.
“On the wing, you can actually focus more on offense,” Goodenow said. “You don’t have to go up and down and cover as much ice, so in that way, the game’s a little simpler.”
Goodenow played alongside 6-foot-4, 202-pound freshman center Lee Falardeau in both Lake Superior games and credits Falardeau and fellow freshman Brock Radunske (6-foot-4, 190 pounds) with a lot of his early-season success.
“I’ve been blessed with linemates that are big, strong guys that can go in the corner and win pucks,” Goodenow said.
“In past years, I’ve had to be the guy to go into the corner and get the puck out. Now, I don’t feel like I have to do it. You can kind of anticipate that they’re going to come out with it, and I can get in position to take a chance at the net.”
Probably no one on the Spartan roster is happier about Goodenow’s sizzling start than senior right wing Adam Hall.
Hall has worn the same sweater as Goodenow since the two played junior hockey together in Bramalea, Ontario six years ago and has lived with him for four years in East Lansing.
“Of all the guys on the team that could score a goal, I’m probably the most happy for him,” Hall said. “He’s really persevered through these past four years and he’s getting paid back right now for sticking with it and working hard to get back.
“His skills have always been there - he’s a great stickhandler, he sees the ice really well, he’s got a really accurate, really hard shot. It was just a matter of time and this is Joe Goodenow’s time.”
