Hockey head coach Rick Comley’s ax finally fell last week, and little-used junior defenseman Mike Porter took the brunt of it.
Porter, a 6-foot, 185-pounder, was cut from the MSU team to fulfill Comley’s wish for a 26-man active roster.
The 23-year-old Northville native played three games last season, but didn’t register any statistics. After redshirting in 1999-2000, he didn’t play as a redshirt freshman the next season.
Still, Porter said he was “shocked” when Comley called him into his office last Monday to break the news.
“I didn’t know what to say,” Porter said Tuesday. “He had never talked about cutting a defenseman - it didn’t make much sense to me.”
The move leaves MSU with seven defensemen on the roster. Teams usually play six defensemen per game, meaning that the Spartans aren’t terribly deep at the position should a rash of injuries strike the corps.
But Comley said he couldn’t envision Porter playing at all this season.
“I think the hardest thing in the world is to practice and never have an opportunity to play,” Comley said. “When it gets to that point, I think the fairest thing to do is call that person in and tell them.
“Cutting players isn’t always because they’ve done something wrong. He was a good person and a good student. He just needs to get on with the rest of his life.”
Porter, a general management and pre-law major, expects to graduate in May.
“I guess you could say I’m angry,” Porter said. “I never had aspirations of playing after college, but I’m just disappointed in the whole thing.
“What I’m going to miss the most is being around the guys at the rink every day - that’s the hardest part of all this.
“It’ll be different for sure. We’ll see what happens.”
Comley said he might cut one or two of the team’s 16 active forwards in the future.
Double (digit) trouble
After a disappointing performance at the Maverick Stampede, the Spartans fell from No. 7 to No. 10 in both national rankings this week.
In the USCHO.com poll, MSU (1-1-0) was jumped by Boston College, Cornell and North Dakota.
Give it U.P. for Comley
The Spartans open CCHA play this weekend at Northern Michigan, the school Comley coached for 26 seasons before coming to MSU.
As would be expected, the coach will take part in several special events related to his homecoming on Friday.
Comley will open the day by speaking at the NMU Blue Line Club luncheon at 11:45 a.m. in the Bottum University Center. Then, right before Friday’s game, Comley will help new Wildcat head coach Walt Kyle dedicate the Berry Events Center press box to Northern longtime play-by-play radio broadcaster Joe Blake.
During the second intermission Friday, Comley will receive a lifetime membership to the NMU Alumni Association.
Injury update
Sophomore left wing Brock Radunske, whose bruised back kept him out of Saturday’s 2-1 win over Colgate, is questionable for this weekend.
Senior right wing Kris Koski (shoulder) has been cleared for contact, but probably won’t play this weekend, Comley said. Freshman right wing Colton Fretter (mononucleosis) is skating, but isn’t ready for full-contact hockey.
