Not being recognized by the university doesn't keep the 25 players who make up the Spartans' club hockey team from playing with green-and- white pride.
The MSU club hockey team beat Davenport University, 5-4, on March 11 after defenseman Jeff Marley's overtime goal to win its second American Collegiate Hockey Association Division II national championship in the last three years.
After splitting with Davenport in the regular season, but losing 7-3 in the Great Midwest Hockey League final, the Spartans knew they would be playing the role of the underdog.
"We knew we would have to jump on them early and quickly," said John Perkovich, food industry management junior and team captain. "If we got on them early, it would take too long for them to come back."
"They couldn't start really playing with us until the second period," Perkovich said through the broken jaw he sustained in the second round of the tournament against San Jose State.
"John's injury was unfortunate," said Brian Hergt, an assistant team captain and hospitality business and economics junior.
"When it happened, everybody was kind of down. He is the leader of our team, and he plays an important role, not just on the ice, but in the locker room as well.
"He motivates everyone, and I can't think of anyone else on the team that loves the game more than him. We all thought, 'Let's do this for him.' We knew how badly he wanted to be in our shoes."
In the end, the victory cake and championship T-shirts already prepared by an overconfident Davenport team went unused as the Spartans took home the glory.
"You could see the tears in their eyes after walking into the lobby of the arena," defenseman Hergt said. "So many people were saying 'Oh yeah, this is Davenport's year to win it, they've been at the top all year.'"
It turned out to be the Spartans' year. Goalie Justin Sand, a civil engineering sophomore, was tournament MVP, while forward Scott Anderson, a marketing sophomore, was first-team all tournament.
Without funding from the university, the players pay for everything themselves, including equipment, ice time and plane tickets. Hergt said despite this, the Spartans practice hard and pride themselves on cooperation.
"The team chemistry is definitely the most important thing," Hergt said. "If you have a bunch of superstars on your team playing as individuals, it only ends up hurting the team. It's not about who is going to get the most points in a game."
Without fans packing the bleachers, motivation needs to come from within, Perkovich said.
With only forward Jason Keene, an economics senior, not returning for the 2007-08 season, the team will have a group of guys who knows what it's like to play in high-pressure championship games.
"Jason's a huge chunk of this team, but having everyone but one return is a huge advantage for us," Perkovich said.
"It's our championship to lose, so there is no reason we shouldn't go out and win it again."
The Spartans will begin defending their title in September.
"Teams are going to be more ready for us," Hergt said. "Of course, everyone is going to try and knock off the defending national champions. It's definitely going to be in the back of their minds.
"We need to bring what we did this year into next year. Be confident, but not overconfident."
