In the wake of a 1-1 tie with archrival Michigan, MSU climbed up a spot in both national polls this week.
The Spartans (17-5-3 overall, 12-4-2 CCHA) are now ranked No. 5, which MSU head coach Ron Mason said is fine by him.
“Being first in the league is our biggest concern,” Mason said. “Where we are in the nation, as long as you’re in position to get into the NCAA Tournament, I guess that’s what we have to be looking at.
“But that’s so far down the road, we just want to focus on winning the league title if we can.”
The Spartans trail No. 1 Denver, No. 2 New Hampshire, No. 3 Saint Cloud State and No. 4 Minnesota in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/American Hockey Magazine polls.
Denver is the unanimous No. 1 team in both polls, but the Pioneers have to travel to Minnesota for a key series this weekend.
With the tie against MSU, U-M stayed at No. 8 in USCHO, but fell to No. 9 in USA Today. The Spartans’ next opponent, Ohio State, is ranked No. 14 in both polls.
Still Munn-dane?
MSU’s last game at Munn was a 6-3 win over Western Michigan on Jan. 11. After the game, senior left wing Joe Goodenow gave a vote of confidence to the reputedly quiet arena.
“It’s not the wildest place in the world, but it’s starting to get a little louder,” Goodenow said. “My freshman year was kind of dead, except when we played Michigan.
“I don’t know if they’re getting younger out there or what, but it’s starting to liven up out there a little bit, no doubt.”
Four of a kind
MSU embarks on a rare four-game series with the Buckeyes this weekend at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans host fourth-place OSU (14-8-2, 9-5-2) on Friday and Saturday, then travel to Columbus, Ohio, on Feb. 1 and 2.
According to MSU records, the last time MSU played four straight games against the same opponent was in 1971, when the Spartans hosted Denver on Dec. 10 and 11 and played the Pioneers on the road on Dec. 15 and 17.
MSU dropped three out of four in that series, by a combined score of 21-16.
Feeling the Draft
The Central Scouting Service released its Midterm Ranking for the 2002 NHL Entry Draft last week, with four Spartans and an MSU recruit making the list.
Freshman center Jim Slater is considered the seventh-best North American prospect in this year’s draft and is the second-highest rated U.S. college player behind Boston University’s Ryan Whitney.
“It’s quite an honor,” Slater said. “I didn’t really expect to be that high, but I’ll take what I can get and just keep working hard.
“I feel like I deserve it, I mean, I’ve been working hard my whole life and this is ultimately what it comes down to.”
MSU freshman center Lee Falardeau is ranked No. 37, freshman forward Brock Radunske is No. 47 and freshman defenseman Duncan Keith is No. 69 among North American skaters. Spartan commitment Corey Potter, a defenseman from Okemos, is No. 53.
Vote for Hobey
Junior goaltender Ryan Miller, the 2001 Hobey Baker Award winner, ranks ninth in this year’s “Vote for Hobey” with 2,447 points. Northeastern defenseman Jim Fahey leads the fan vote with 12,345 points.
Fans can vote for their top three candidates once a day at voteforhobey.com. The winner of the fan vote, which ends on March 7, gets one out of 61 votes that determine the 10 Hobey finalists.
Injury update
Junior right wing Steve Jackson (sprained thumb) and Falardeau (sprained knee) are both out this weekend.
Senior defenseman Andrew Hutchinson (neck strain) is listed as day-to-day and will probably only play if he practices Thursday.
