While you were away from the world of Spartan hockey...
• The Spartans (15-4-2 overall, 10-3-1 CCHA) advanced to the title game of the Great Lakes Invitational, but lost the championship 5-4 in overtime to North Dakota on Dec. 29 at Joe Louis Arena.
MSU was trying to claim its fifth-straight GLI championship, but the Fighting Sioux built a 4-1 lead in the first period and then scored 7:09 into overtime to end a furious Spartan comeback.
MSU junior defenseman John-Michael Liles scored a goal in the second and third periods and junior defenseman Brad Fast scored the game-tying goal with 1:36 left in the game to force overtime.
“Losing in overtime is frustrating no matter what,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said. “We’ll learn from this on two sides of the puck - one, getting off to a better start and making quicker decisions when you know the other team is going to pressure you, and two, learning as to why we were able to get back in the game. That’s a positive learning experience.”
MSU advanced to the championship by toppling Michigan Tech 4-1 in the first round behind goals from Liles, freshman center Ash Goldie, freshman left wing Kevin Estrada and senior right wing Adam Hall.
• Junior goaltender Ryan Miller was nominated for the 2001 James E. Sullivan Award, which annually goes to the country’s top amateur athlete.
Former winners include Peyton Manning, Bill Walton, Mark Spitz and Florence Griffith Joyner, but a hockey player has never won.
Miller earned the 2001 Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s outstanding player by posting a 31-5-4 record and an NCAA-leading 1.32 goals against average, while setting NCAA records for career shutouts (18) and single-season saves percentage (.950).
“I never have a good explanation for things like this,” said Miller, who became the first Spartan to be named Big Ten Male Athlete of the Year in June. “I’m obviously flattered. Some of the winners are amazing athletes and have gone on to do world-caliber things.”
The Amateur Athletic Union will narrow the 30 Sullivan nominees to 10 to 15 finalists next month and will name the winner in April in New York City.
• Freshman center Jim Slater helped the U.S. team to a fifth-place finish at the World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic.
Slater tied for third on the U.S. team with five points (1 goal, 4 assists) in Team USA’s seven games in the tournament. He has six goals and 11 assists in 17 games with the Spartans.
The Americans (4-1-2) scored a 3-2 overtime win over Sweden in the losers’ bracket championship Friday. The United States fell to the losers’ bracket after getting bounced 6-1 by Russia in the quarterfinals.
• Former Spartan center Mike York, a Waterford native, was named to the U.S. Olympic team on Dec. 22. The team will compete in the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, which start Feb. 8.
York played for MSU from 1996-99, finished his career with 201 points, and was the Hobey Baker runner-up his senior year.
He now plays for the New York Rangers and is tied for fifth in the NHL with 42 points (16 goals, 26 assists).
• Former MSU forward Tom Ross, college hockey’s all-time scoring leader, was named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association’s Top 50 players in 50 years last month.
Ross, who scored 324 points for MSU from 1972-76, was a two-time All-American and scored at least one point in an amazing 78 straight games from 1973-75.
MSU played in the WCHA from 1959-81 before joining the CCHA.
