Friday, March 29, 2024

Limited playing time motivates scratches to improve play

October 10, 2001
Junior left wing Steve Clark (center) celebrates after scoring a goal against Alaska-Fairbanks on Feb. 19, 2001. Clark sat out ?The Cold War? on Saturday night and said he wants to improve his play to get back in the lineup. —

MSU junior left wing Steve Clark said Saturday was “maybe the biggest disappointment” of his career.

It seems like an odd statement considering Saturday was the day the top-ranked Spartans hosted “The Cold War,” broke the world hockey attendance record and tied archrival Michigan 3-3 in Spartan Stadium.

Many of Clark’s teammates actually called Saturday one of the best, most memorable days of their lives.

But Clark - who played in 75 games in his first two seasons with the Spartans - was a healthy scratch on MSU’s score sheet for the biggest game of his career. Hockey history was made, and he was wearing street clothes. He was no more a part of it than the 74,554 other people crammed into Spartan Stadium.

“I was skating with the fifth line all week, so I wasn’t really expecting to play,” Clark said Monday. “There was some hope, obviously, that maybe the experience might get me in.

“But everyone who got to play deserved to play, and if I want to play, I have to earn everything.”

Of the 12 forwards who suited up for “The Cold War,” six were freshmen. And while the heralded rookies are expected to provide MSU with an added offensive punch, they have bumped veterans such as Clark out of their spots in the lineup.

But Clark said he understands why.

“My play lately hasn’t been where I think it should be or where the coaches think it should be,” Clark said. “My game has gotten to the point where it’s just become routine. If I want to excel at this level, or even succeed, I need to step up and prove to these people why the picked me to come here and kind of pay them back for that.”

The gatekeeper to MSU’s starting lineup is head coach Ron Mason, and he said he doesn’t scratch players to motivate them - he makes the decisions based on the overall team good and not on the individuals’ feelings.

“I have to put together the best 12 forwards that I feel are going to win the game for us,” Mason said. “If they make that 12, then they’re in the lineup. If they don’t, they’ll have to work to make it.”

Regardless of its purpose, Clark said the demotion has motivated him.

“It’s kind of given me a new desire out there,” Clark said. “Hopefully they’ll give me a chance and I can earn my way back in. I’m not asking them to hand me anything - it was pretty much my spot to lose and I lost it.

“Now I just want to find out what I need to do to get back in.”

But Clark isn’t alone as a veteran needing to prove himself again to Mason and the coaching staff. Junior right wing Steve Jackson also sits on the bubble of the 12-forward lineup, with his game-to-game playing status basically hinging on how he practices in a given week.

Jackson was a healthy scratch for MSU’s exhibition game against Queen’s University (Ontario) on Sept. 29 but dressed and logged significant ice time in “The Cold War.”

“It always comes as a surprise when you’re not playing,” said Jackson, who has played in 60 of 64 possible games since joining the team midway through the 1999-2000 season. “But you know, no big deal, (Mason is) looking at new freshmen and how they play. It doesn’t matter if you’re a senior or a freshman, the best players are going to play.

“I just play when I’m called,” he said. “When you get your shot, you have to go out and perform. I got my shot Saturday, and I thought I played well, the whole team played well.”

Mason agreed.

“Jackson came back off the scratch and played probably his best game since he’s been here,” Mason said. “He worked hard and paid attention to detail and if he can continue to do that, he’s in the lineup.

“As far as Clarkie goes, hey, he’ll get his chance and when he does, we hope he contributes.”

Both players, at the urging of coaches, underwent rigorous off-season training programs - Clark to gain strength and Jackson to improve his endurance. The training actually went too well for Clark, who said he bulked up from 170 pounds to 195 pounds and is now trying to slim down to 185.

But Jackson said his training went “great.”

“I feel fresh in the third period this year - last year I would just get out there and be dead,” Jackson said. “I worked really hard this summer.”

The two were linemates when they were freshmen, and neither of them have compiled impressive numbers in their careers. Clark has amassed four goals and four assists and hasn’t scored since Nov. 24 against Minnesota. Jackson has two goals and four assists and hasn’t scored since Oct. 26 against Notre Dame.

Clark said he and Jackson have discussed the situation in the past.

“(Jackson) understood what he needed to do and I thought he was one of the best players on the ice in ‘The Cold War,’” Clark said.

“He’s so fast and so talented that he just needed to get things together. And I hope that’s the same thing that will happen to me.”

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