Lerg’s post-to-post, sprawling save on Boston College’s giant, Brian Boyle, during a 2-on-1 in the third period of the 2007 NCAA National Championship game gave the Spartans exactly what they needed — the momentum.

“That will probably go down as the save of my career because of the stage it was on,” Lerg said. “I read the pass and slid over. Once I saw it in my glove, my heart just kind of stopped for a second. I shocked myself and thought, ‘Oh, boy we have a chance still.’”

Instead of being down two goals, the heroics displayed by Lerg sprang life into the Spartans, and they would eventually tie the game before taking the lead with 18.9 seconds remaining in the third period.

The save made Lerg, then a sophomore, a household name for college hockey fans. It helped the Spartans fight back from a one goal deficit to win their first National Championship in 21 years.

On a play that looked to be a certain goal, Lerg defied the odds — something he has done his entire life.

Lerg doesn’t fall back on excuses — whether it be his small size or severe asthma. Instead he battles through, learns ways to cope and provides inspiration for teammates and anyone who spends time around him.

Off the ice

The mood has been gloomy at Munn Ice Arena this week — not what you’d expect as six seniors prepare to be honored at Senior Night on Saturday.

On Sunday, 16-year-old Brandon Gordon passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer.

Brandon spent much of his time in the last two years hanging out with members of the MSU hockey team and establishing close relationships with everyone associated with the program.

Lerg was particularly close with Brandon and served as a pallbearer at Brandon’s funeral, held on Wednesday afternoon at Munn — Brandon’s home away from home.

“We had so many great moments with him,” Lerg said. “I miss being around him and his positive attitude toward life. He inspired us all just to show what he goes through everyday. We have all of these advantages but he can still have a smile on his face every day.”

While Lerg will be remembered this weekend for his accolades on the ice, his involvement with the community has been just as important to him as his on-ice heroics.

Lerg is nominated for the 2009 Bank of New York Mellon Hockey Humanitarian Award and is a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, both of which are given to college hockey’s outstanding citizens for their work in the community.

“We get to compete and represent our school and then we have to take it a step further,” Lerg said. “You have that high pedestal with other kids in the community and it’s time to give back a little bit. I didn’t get here because of me, I got here because of the people that surrounded me and if there is any you can give back to people and give them an extra advantage, then you should do it.”

Lerg’s hard work in the community also extends to the classroom, where he earned the CCHA Scholar Athlete of the Year award last year.

“I’ve always wanted to do my best in everything,” Lerg said. “Whether it be school or any other sport, I’m just trying to view it as a competition.”

Wearing the “C”

When it came time for MSU head coach Rick Comley to announce captains for the 2008-09 campaign, he didn’t have to put much thought into who would wear the “C.”

A goalie had been named captain only once before in program history, but Comley didn’t have any doubt pinning the honor and responsibility on Lerg.

“Everybody has a lot of great athletes over the time,” Comley said. “But for me, there’s been none better than him. He’s by far the best student-athlete I’ve had in 36 years of coaching.”

Comley knew Lerg would be the natural leader of the team, set a good example for the incoming class of 11 freshmen and be the rock between the pipes to give the Spartans a chance to win every night.

But no one could have expected the rocky road the hockey team has endured this season.

Whether it was losing close games, an 11-game winless streak, countless injuries or players being dismissed or suspended from the team, Lerg quickly had to adapt and redefine his role as a leader.

Lerg threw his lead-by-example style out the window and became more vocal and outspoken in the locker room to help his teammates stay motivated through the tough times.

“I didn’t expect anything to this extent when I was named captain,” Lerg said. “I think this has been the most challenging season any team has ever had coming through here. I just have to keep the guys at an even mind-set and make sure they keep their heads on straight.”

Comley expected Lerg to show the freshmen the ropes of the MSU hockey program, but he was hoping Lerg would have the biggest impact on freshman goaltender Drew Palmisano.

Comley plucked Palmisano from his United States Hockey League team so he could learn more of the tricks of the trade from a proven veteran, Lerg, before stepping into the starting role next season.

“It’s always hard when you are coming from being such an all-star at the past level to sit on the bench as much as he did this year,” Lerg said. “But I think he’s learning a little bit and I can still learn a lot from him because he’s a solid goalie, too.”

Comley said he’s witnessed Lerg’s work ethic and attention to detail rub off on Palmisano.

“I think Palmisano will be better because he has spent a year with Jeff,” Comley said.

Overcoming the odds

With Jeff’s father, Ken Lerg, playing hockey during his younger years and earning a scholarship at Ohio State, it’s no surprise Jeff Lerg was introduced to hockey at a young age.

Some of Ken’s fondest memories of Jeff are when he ran around the house with plastic mini-sticks whacking anything that came across his path at the mere age of 2. By the time Jeff was 3, Ken was lacing up the skates for him.

But a year after Jeff got on the ice, he was rushed to the emergency room after struggling to breathe. He was diagnosed with severe asthma, a condition that still plagues him. It has no simple cure or solution.

Jeff spent hours each day breathing into a nebulizer, which sends a mist into the lungs to help counter asthma.

The Spartans locker room is equipped with a nebulizer, and before Jeff touches the ice for practices or games, he spends time breathing through the machine.

To add to the constant battle with asthma, Jeff started having other problems at the age of 7.

“Jeff had a vision problem we had no idea of,” Ken Lerg said. “It turns out he was practically blind in one eye. It was weird because he never would stop a puck going to his right side that was low on the ice but he would stop them all on the left side.”

To combat the weakness of his right eye, Lerg wore an eye patch over his left eye to force the right to develop.

By the time Jeff was eight, his vision had improved to a normal level that could be easily corrected with glasses or contacts.

But perhaps Jeff’s biggest obstacle in his hockey career was discovered four years later, when he was 12.

With Jeff’s father Ken being 5-foot-8 and Jeff’s mom, Jane, being 5-foot-2, some started wondering how tall Jeff would end up. So his parents took him to a doctor to have his future height estimated.

“We found out he was only going to be in the 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8 range,” Ken Lerg said. “Unfortunately he doesn’t come from great genes. But he never held it against himself, never complained and just never had a problem with it.”

Taking over the starting role

Despite battling a size disadvantage his whole life, Lerg wanted to be a goalie.

Under his father’s watchful eye behind the bench for the first 10 years of his hockey career, Lerg found a way to earn the starting nod wherever he went. He worked his way up through Detroit’s Honeybaked program, which slowly branched him further away from home.

As Lerg was getting more attention across the Midwest for his goal tending abilities, he earned an opportunity to try out for the Omaha Lancers of the USHL.

The tryout was to be held in the summer, which was usually the offseason for Lerg.

Six other goalies were trying out for the team, and Mike Hastings, the head coach of the Lancers at the time, said Lerg was off his game and was in the bottom half of the pile of goaltenders.

But it was in the player interview portion of the tryout that changed his luck.

“Jeff walked into the room and said ‘Hey, I want to let you know, I’m going to be fighting for the No. 1 job here,’” Hastings said. “My first take was, ‘Right now you need to be fighting for a position here, kid.’ He walked out of there, and I thought that kid is the cockiest kid I’ve ever met, or he’s going to be something special. But there was no arrogance to him at all. I’ve had other guys who said similar things but haven’t backed it up. I knew that wasn’t going to happen with Jeff.”

Hastings offered Lerg a spot on the roster as the team’s backup goalie, and the junior at Detroit Catholic Central High packed up his bags, left his parents and was off to pursue his dream.

The gamble of signing Lerg paid off for Hastings and the Lancers.

Lerg quickly took over the starting job en route to earning a handful of awards in his second year with the team, including being named the USA Hockey Junior Player of the Year, USHL Player of the Year and USHL Goaltender of the Year.

“In all of my coaching career I’ve seen a lot of kids, but Jeff really is the complete package,” Hastings said. “Few people in life have that tendency in the classroom, locker room, or on the ice. He has a great gift at making people around him better.”

It was in Omaha, Neb., where Lerg said he took his game to the next level and prepared himself for the big jump to the college game.

“That was the stepping stone,” Lerg said. “I was always on a good team growing up so I just had to play a decent game and we would win because we had great players. Then when I got to Omaha, the level of competition leveled out and I had to learn how to come prepared every game.”

A legacy at MSU

By this time, the MSU coaching staff had overlooked Lerg’s size disadvantage and decided he was their man for the future.

Much like Hastings, Lerg made a favorable impression on Comley from the moment they met.

“If college coaches were smart, at all sports you would recruit only Jeff Lergs because there is no gamble and there is no risk,” Comley said. “It would make all of our lives easier.”

But with competing offers on the table from Boston University and his father’s alma mater in Ohio State, Lerg had a tough decision to make.

In the end, MSU’s close proximity to his home in Livonia and being able to play with his cousin Bryan proved to be the tipping points in Lerg’s mind.

“I couldn’t be happier with my decision,” Lerg said. “When I put the pieces together, I knew I wanted to come here.”

Since setting foot on campus, Comley said Lerg has brought nothing but positives along with him.

“I’m not sure anybody could have had a more storied career as a student-athlete,” Comley said. “What he’s done here as far as wins, losses, the national championship, the way he’s approached the game, his work ethic, the obstacles he’s had to overcome and his involvement with the community has been amazing.”

Despite being one of the smallest collegiate goalies in the country, Lerg has built up quite the résumé in his time in the green and white — being named an All-American, chosen as the 2007 College Hockey Player of the Year by USA Hockey and named a finalist for the 2008 Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

This season, Lerg broke MSU’s all-time save record by Halloween weekend and needs just 18 more saves to become the CCHA’s all-time saves leader.

“He’s everything you want in a college athlete,” CCHA Commissioner Tom Anastos said. “I thought he would be good college goaltender and I expected him to do quite well. But he’s gone beyond my wildest expectations.”

Through all of the accolades for activities both on and off the ice, Lerg wants to be remembered for one thing in his time at MSU.

“I just want be remembered as a winner,” Lerg said. “I’m sure when a lot of people saw me play for the first time they were a little unsure about me. I’ve always wanted to prove everywhere I went that I was a winner. I think I started that off the bat in my freshman year and I think I’ve become a better goalie since then.”

Back at square one

Five players on MSU’s roster already have been drafted by NHL teams.

Lerg is not one of them.

The main argument against Lerg making the transition to the NHL is the same one he has heard his whole life — he’s too small to be able to compete at the next level.

After seeing Lerg’s game mature and watching his work habits every day, Comley is absolutely certain Lerg can make the transition to the professional game.

“I haven’t a shadow of a doubt that he can be a very good pro,” Comley said. “He certainly deserves every opportunity to prove he can or can’t.”

Lerg has proved all the naysayers wrong up to this point in his hockey career.

Now he’s just looking for someone else to take another chance on him.

“It doesn’t make it any easier not having an outstanding year numbers-wise, and wins-wise. And the size thing always gets to people,” Lerg said. “So I’m just hoping I can get a good opportunity and start my road to proving people wrong again.”