Three-quarters of the Spartans’ eight-player freshman class finally got to practice with their new team Tuesday, but there also were two noticeable absences.
Rookie forwards Colton Fretter and David Booth missed the season-opening practice because of ailments. Fretter is out indefinitely with mononucleosis, while Booth is fighting through a thigh contusion suffered last week.
Without them on skates, it was tough to gauge the strength of this year’s crop of newcomers. But a few newbies managed to impress their coaches and teammates.
The three rookie defensemen - Corey Potter, Evan Shaw and Jared Nightingale - seemed to have more trouble adjusting to the speed of the college game than did the freshman forwards. But Potter, Shaw and Nightingale, who are all at least 6-foot-2, showed glimpses of why coaches are excited about the group.
“All three of us are pretty much stay-at-home defensemen,” Potter said. “We’re all physical, smart players who make smart first passes. We’re all pretty similar in style.
“We can learn from each other and compete with each other because we’re all on pretty much the same level.”
As promised, new MSU head coach Rick Comley showed his preference for up-tempo hockey Tuesday by staging multiple drills featuring long outlet passes and quick transitions between offense and defense. The new style didn’t seem to trip up many returning players, but Shaw admitted to being a little shell-shocked.
“I’ve got a lot of question marks in my head about what’s going to happen,” Shaw said. “I just want to see what (Comley) wants us to do in certain situations. It’s still unclear to me.
“We’re scrimmaging a lot now, so those questions will be answered during scrimmages because whenever he thinks something is going wrong, he stops play and lets you know. He let me know a few times.”
Without Fretter and Booth, only two new forwards skated Tuesday - high-scoring Nenad Gajic and preferred walk-on Chad Hontvet. Both had ample chances to show what they can do with the puck on their sticks.
“I wanted to go out there and show the coaches they weren’t wrong for recruiting me,” said Gajic, who arrived at MSU about a week into the semester after helping his team win the Canadian national junior lacrosse championship. “I made a couple of nervous mistakes, but I’m just going to try to fight through those with the coaches.
“You can’t get in too much trouble for trying hard.”
And while only a select few freshmen usually play right away in many college sports, newcomers in hockey often have to jump into the fray immediately. Senior defenseman Brad Fast has been around long enough to understand the importance of rookies.
“So far, they seem to be very competitive and willing to do whatever it takes to win,” Fast said. “The freshmen are going to have to be a big part of our team if we’re going to go anywhere this year.”
That’s especially true of new goaltender Justin Tobe. Although he’s only 17, Tobe will initially split the team’s goaltending duties with sophomore Matt Migliaccio.
At his first practice Tuesday, Tobe made several nifty stops, but also allowed some soft goals at times. It’s all part of a new collegiate athlete’s growing pains.
“Practice was definitely a different pace than last year, but that’s what happens when you go against better players,” Tobe said. “The mental aspect is a little different here, and you have to have a little better technique.
“But I was happy with today in terms of movement and conditioning.”
Assistant captains named
Fast, the team’s captain, will have three assistants this season, Comley announced Tuesday.
Senior defenseman John-Michael Liles, senior left wing Brian Maloney and sophomore center Jim Slater will all be wearing an “A” on their jerseys. MSU has usually gone with two assistant captains, but Comley said he wanted at least one nonsenior to have the honor this year in preparation for next season.
Backup’s backup
Rod Tocco, a crop and soil science sophomore, seems to have a leg up in the race for the third-string goalie job. Tocco’s primary role would be as the team’s practice goalie. He would likely only dress for a game if an injury forced Migliaccio or Tobe out of the lineup.
Comley held open tryouts for walk-ons at all positions Tuesday night, but Tocco already has been skating with the Spartans for several weeks.
