The MSU hockey team has some things to be thankful for this weekend - a healthy roster, a slew of home games next semester and the fact that the NCAA Tournament will expand to 16 teams this year.
But the Spartans are not at all pleased at this point in late November. Not with a 5-6-0 overall record. Not with a 3-4-0 league record. And not with losses to college hockey have-nots Niagara and Bowling Green marring their schedule.
Right now, MSU is arguably going through its most trying time in a decade. Even considering the losses of longtime head coach Ron Mason and star goaltender Ryan Miller, nobody expected such a rough start.
"People are worried, and we're worried," senior defenseman Brad Fast said. "People know that we're going to continue to work hard. We aren't going to be complacent with the record we have right now and we're going to do everything we can to improve it.
"We have what we need within the walls of this locker room."
The Spartans could take a huge step toward rectifying their season at the 10th annual College Hockey Showcase this weekend. MSU plays at No. 9 Minnesota on Friday and at Wisconsin on Saturday. Both the Golden Gophers (7-3-3) and the Badgers (5-7-0) are in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.
In the other half of the showcase, No. 8 Michigan (9-2-1) plays at Wisconsin on Friday and at Minnesota on Sunday.
"You always want to get two wins, but with the current situation, all we can really do is come out and play well on Friday and just go from there," senior defenseman John-Michael Liles said. "It's going to be a tough weekend.
"There's a lot of tradition in the showcase. Every team has a hockey program that dates back a long, long time."
Minnesota, the defending national champion, has an explosive offense that ranks ninth nationally at 4.38 goals a game. The Gophers are led by forwards Troy Riddle and Thomas Vanek and defensemen Paul Martin and Keith Ballard.
Wisconsin is struggling a bit under the direction of first-year coach Mike Eaves, who left his head coaching post with the Under-18 U.S. National Development Team to go to Madison.
While with the Nationals, Eaves coached several current Spartans, including sophomore center Lee Falardeau, freshman left wing David Booth and freshman defensemen Corey Potter and Evan Shaw.
Historically, the Spartans and Wolverines have been better than their WCHA counterparts in the showcase. U-M is 12-5-1, followed by MSU at 11-6-1, Minnesota at 9-8-1 and Wisconsin at an abysmal 2-15-1.
The showcase was started to give the four Big Ten rivals a chance to meet every season, since they are split between two conferences in hockey. MSU head coach Rick Comley said he knows some coaches who fear the tournament might cause public clamoring for a Big Ten hockey conference.
"I didn't fear it (at Northern Michigan) because I thought 'Let them beat up on each other,'" Comley said. "But for the CCHA, the two biggest draws for most schools are the Michigan schools, and they would lose that.
"But personally, I think the showcase is great. It's a special weekend."
Feel the draft
Potter is ranked 10th among draft-eligible U.S. college hockey skaters in the NHL Central Scouting Service's preliminary rankings for the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Behind Potter is Shaw (No. 14), Booth (No. 17) and freshman goaltender Justin Tobe, who is the fourth-ranked collegiate goaltender.
The scouting service does not numerically rank junior hockey players in its preliminary ranking, instead listing them as "A" or "B" prospects. East Lansing forward Drew Miller and Clinton Township goaltender Dominic Vicari, who have both committed to play for MSU, are considered "B" players.
