Among the changes made by new hockey head coach Rick Comley this season is the segmentation of duties for assistant coaches Tom Newton and David McAuliffe.
In the past Newton and McAuliffe worked with former head coach Ron Mason on all aspects of the team, but Comley wants the duo to focus their attention on smaller factions.
Therefore, Newton will coach the team’s forwards this season, while McAuliffe will work with the defensemen. They will both work on special teams with Comley.
“I like it a lot,” said Newton, who was a forward at Bowling Green from 1975-80. “You’re really looking at your, in my case, 15 guys - how they’re working, their strengths, their weaknesses, where I can help them develop as players to help our team.
“I see it as a real advantage because I’m focusing in on a smaller group.”
McAuliffe, who was a defenseman with the Spartans from 1986-90, said his job is even easier than Newton’s.
“Whereas Tom has 15, I have eight,” McAuliffe said. “I definitely have a much better eye for exactly what they’re doing. I know the mistakes and I know the good things our guys are doing as defensemen, so I can help them with the little parts of their game to make them better.
“I’m very excited about what we’re doing as a staff with the split we have.”
Seventh heaven
The Spartans are ranked No. 7 - trailing Minnesota, Michigan, Denver, New Hampshire, Boston University and Maine - in both national preseason polls.
The Wolverines are ranked No. 2 in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine poll and No. 3 in the USCHO.com poll.
MSU opens its regular season against Denver in the first round of the Maverick Stampede on Oct. 11 in Omaha, Neb. The Pioneers are ranked No. 2 in the USCHO poll and No. 3 by USA Today.
Speed demon
Sophomore forward Mike Lalonde has the dubious distinction of being the “Slowest Spartan” after a series of untimed races in practice last week.
Near the end of Thursday’s session, Comley staged the elimination contest in which three Spartans at a time raced about two-thirds the length of the ice. The winner of each heat went to the bench, while the losers went back into the pool of contestants.
After Lalonde sealed his fate by losing the final race, he had to skate around the rink with a toilet seat reading “Slowest Spartan” around his neck.
Perhaps his problem was confidence.
“It’s a race that’s not my strong point, so I had a good idea (that I would lose),” Lalonde said. “I have a real tough time with starting out, but I already knew that and it’s just something I have to work on, I guess.”
The contest didn’t include goaltenders, who are usually slower than regular skaters, but Lalonde joked that he might not have beaten them either.
See ’em live
Student season-tickets are still available through the Athletic Ticket Office. The tickets come in two split-season packages with eight games a piece for $64.
Tickets to the Green and White intrasquad scrimmage on Friday are $5 and are only available at the door at Munn Ice Arena.
Public single-game tickets are still available for MSU’s other two exhibition games and a few regular-season home games. Call (517)355-1610 or (800)GO-STATE for more information.
See ’em live (kinda)
At least six MSU games will be televised across the state on Fox Sports Detroit this year - Oct. 18 at Northern Michigan; Jan. 10 vs. Alaska-Fairbanks; Jan. 17 vs. Nebraska-Omaha; Feb. 8 at Bowling Green; Feb. 14 at U-M; and March 1 vs. U-M at Joe Louis Arena.
