Thanksgiving weekend means one thing to most sports fans - football and lots of it.
But for college hockey fans, the holiday signifies the return of the College Hockey Showcase, when CCHA powers MSU and Michigan duke it out with Western Collegiate Hockey Association forces Minnesota and Wisconsin.
This year, it’s the WCHA teams’ turn to come to Michigan as No. 4 MSU hosts Wisconsin at 7:05 p.m. Friday and No. 1 Minnesota at 1:35 p.m. Sunday at Munn Ice Arena.
U-M (5-4-2 overall, 4-3-2 CCHA) plays the Golden Gophers at 7:05 p.m Friday and Wisconsin at 8:05 p.m. Saturday at Yost Ice Arena.
“It renews some long-standing traditions that are here at Spartan hockey,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said. “It gives a Big Ten flavor to our schedule and they’re usually two very, very good programs that we’re playing.
“We can’t ask for anything more than that.”
The Spartans (8-2-1, 7-2-1) swept last year’s Showcase, beating Minnesota 3-2 and the Badgers 6-2 on the road. But MSU has never won back-to-back Showcases in the nine-year history of the event.
Senior defenseman Jon Insana wants to change that this season.
“We have a lot of confidence going into it, we know what we’re coming up against,” Insana said. “It’s one of those things where we’re going to have to get the bounces and we’re going to have to play our game and not alter our style to match their high-flying kind of run-and-gun type game.”
Some of the team’s confidence stems from the fact that MSU has owned Wisconsin recently, posting a 9-2-0 record against the Badgers (6-4-0) since 1993. In addition to the Showcase triumph last season, the Spartans also beat Wisconsin 5-1 in the NCAA West Regional final on March 25.
The Badgers are led offensively by Brad Winchester (4 goals, 7 assists), Matt Hussey (5, 5) and Andy Wheeler (5,1).
In goal, Scott Kabotoff has been outstanding for the Badgers, posting a 1.88 goals against average and a .947 saves percentage.
“They’re a really skilled team, but at the same time, really physical and a little chippy,” sophomore center Tim Hearon said. “They kind of bring both ends. They’re a well-rounded team.”
But Sunday’s game, when Minnesota’s NCAA-best offense (6.27 goals per game) collides with MSU’s steadfast defense (1.55 goals per game), should be the real gem of the Showcase.
The Gophers (10-0-1) are paced by center John Pohl, who’s second in the nation with 24 points (9, 15), and defenseman Jordan Leopold, who was a Hobey Baker Award finalist last year. He has nine goals and nine assists for 18 points this season.
In all, Minnesota has eight players with 10 points or more, compared with MSU’s three.
“It’s nice to kind of be the underdog coming in, as far as the national rankings go,” Insana said. “It’ll be a good chance to play our game against the best competition in the nation right now and, hopefully, knock them off.”
Recruits sign
MSU announced the signing of three recruits Tuesday as right wing Colton Fretter, defenseman Corey Potter and forward Drew Miller all inked National Letters of Intent with the Spartans.
Potter is an Okemos native and Miller, who won’t join the Spartans until the 2003-04 season, is the younger brother of MSU junior goaltender Ryan Miller.
