Junior forward Tim Kennedy, to put it lightly, is on fire.
After ending last season with five goals and five assists in the final seven games, Kennedy has added nine goals and five assists in nine games this season and leads the CCHA in scoring.
Kennedy, Abdelkader pace scoring; Dunne to return against no. 1 Miami
Freshman forward Dustin Gazley congratulates junior forward Tim Kennedy after a Spartan goal in the series against Mercyhurst College last weekend. Kennedy had three goals during the series.
Adding to that is his linemate, junior forward Justin Abdelkader, who has five goals and four assists this season.
“I wouldn’t trade Kennedy and Abdelkader for any two forwards in the country,” MSU head coach Rick Comley said. “Every night, they impact the game as much as anybody and more than most.”
Kennedy currently leads the country in power play goals with seven and game-winning goals with four.
“The more that’s on the line, the better he is,” Comley said.
With a big weekend against Mercyhurst, Kennedy overtook senior defenseman Daniel Vukovic for the team lead in points.
Having Kennedy and Abdelkader open the season so well helped ease the burden of the slow starts for junior forward Tim Crowder and senior forward Chris Mueller, who each scored their first goals of the season Saturday.
Welcome back
Senior defenseman Jeff Dunne is expected to be back in the lineup when the Spartans battle Miami (Ohio) on Thursday and Friday at Munn Ice Arena.
Dunne has missed the last four games after he sprained his knee when he was checked from behind Oct. 27 against Northern Michigan.
“He’s cleared all week,” Comley said.
“The first couple days (of practice) will be harder for him, but it’s a short week, but I think he’ll be pretty good by Thursday.”
Comley says he expects Dunne to be able to play his usual minutes against the RedHawks.
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“He should be fine,” Comley said.
Freshman A.J. Sturges and sophomore Justin Johnston split time for Dunne, and Sturges recorded his first collegiate goal Saturday in a 6-2 victory over Mercyhurst.
Taking over?
The CCHA occupied the top three slots in the USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Poll released Monday, as Miami retained the No. 1 position, followed by No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 MSU.
Notre Dame, which handed Miami its first loss of the season Friday, moved up two spots to No. 10.
Both MSU and U-M are tied for the longest winning streak in the country at eight games, as the Spartans haven’t tasted defeat since the season opening 6-0 loss to then-No. 1 North Dakota.
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MSU’s winning streak is the longest it’s had under Comley and longest overall streak since the 2000-01 season when the Spartans won nine straight en route to a Frozen Four appearance.
