MSU's most important players were dropping like flies against Nebraska-Omaha this weekend. But fortunately for MSU head coach Rick Comley and the vitality of Spartan hockey, no one was hurt too seriously.
In Friday's first period, freshman left wing David Booth, senior defenseman John-Michael Liles and freshman defenseman Corey Potter all had to be helped into the locker room after incurring various injuries within a 73-second span. By the time Potter, the last to be hurt, crumpled to the ice after getting hit in the leg with a slap shot, there were no trainers left on MSU's bench to attend to him.
When asked what he was thinking while watching his players parade one-by-one into the training room, Comley had a one-word response:
"Help!"
All three of the walking wounded returned to action for the second period, but the hits kept on coming. At the final horn of the series opener, senior defenseman Brad Fast got hit with a high stick and was slow to get up. Maverick right wing Joe Pereira got a five-minute major penalty on the play.
In Saturday's game, which MSU won 7-0, sophomore goaltender Matt Migliaccio was run over by Omaha right wing Gus Groslie. Migliaccio laid in his crease for several minutes before getting up and finishing the game. Groslie got a five-minute major and a 10-minute misconduct for the deed.
"I think it was totally intentional to get me off my game," Migliaccio said. "They'll do that when they're frustrated and not getting a lot of goals. He made a shot and I clearly had it, but he ran into me. I wasn't expecting it, and it kind of gave me an instant headache and jammed my neck."
The most entertaining turn of events regarding an injury occurred later in Saturday's third period. Sophomore center Jim Slater came up lame in the offensive zone and then, realizing there was no penalty called on Omaha, he got up and took a run at several Mavericks.
He finally drilled one into the boards near the penalty box and then skated to the bench to a round of applause from the home crowd.
"I either got speared or slashed, I don't really know what happened," Slater said. "But it kind of ticked me off a little bit because we were winning by that much and they do something like that. So I just tried to go headhunt someone and get the team riled up."
Hard-to-get hardware
Fast missed the cut of five finalists for the Hockey Humanitarian Award, which annually goes to college hockey's finest citizen. Fast was named one of 15 semifinalists last month. No Central Collegiate Hockey Association player made the list of finalists.
Meanwhile, Fast and Liles were the only Spartans to advance to the second phase of fan voting for the Hobey Baker Award. On Tuesday afternoon, Liles was in 41st place with 72 points. Fast was in 63rd with 19 points.
North Dakota forward Zach Parise leads the balloting with 911 points.
Registered fans are allowed to vote once a day through March 9. The winner of the fan balloting gets one of 61 overall votes for the Hobey. To vote, go to www.voteforhobey.com.
Back to where it all begins
MSU (13-9-1 overall, 9-6-0 CCHA) got six votes in this week's USCHO.com national poll, and two votes in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine ranking.
It marked the first time since Nov. 11 that the Spartans received a vote in either national poll.
MSU is No. 22 in the Pairwise Rankings, which mimics the selection process used to fill out the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans would probably have to move up to at least No. 16 in the Pairwise to get an at-large bid to the tournament.
He puts the AD in "award"
The American Hockey Coaches Association will bestow the John MacInnes Award upon former head hockey coach Ron Mason at its banquet April 26 in Naples, Fla.
Mason, who is now MSU's athletics director, is receiving the award for his charitable work around Lansing. He is the honorary chairperson of the Children's Miracle Network and recently completed a four-year term on the board of directors of the Sparrow Foundation. He also started the Ron Mason Fund for Pediatric Rehabilitation, which has raised more than $300,000.
Live while you're young
Former goaltender Ryan Miller and former right wing Adam Hall will play in the Topps/NHL YoungStars Game during the NHL's All-Star Weekend on Feb. 1 in Sunrise, Fla. Miller, who plays professionally for the Buffalo Sabres, will be on the Eastern Conference team, and Hall, of the Nashville Predators, will play for the Western Conference.
The game, which features the league's best players under the age of 25, starts at 7 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN and CBC.
