ICE HOCKEY
Miller remains in the dark on professional career
Sure, there was a coin flip. A new head coach officially took over and a pair of assistants decided to stay in East Lansing.
ICE HOCKEY
U-M wins coin toss, home game
Stockbridge - MSU head coach Rick Comley and Michigan head coach Red Berenson couldn’t hammer out a decision on which school would get an extra home game in their season series this year, so they reverted to a problem-solving method that would have made the East Lansing school board proud. They flipped a coin in a far-off location. The setting was the tiny village Stockbridge, which is nearly equidistant between Ann Arbor and East Lansing.
ICE HOCKEY
Mason brings coachs touch
The waters have been calmed, the ship has been righted and now there’s a new captain. MSU athletics director Ron Mason has taken over the controls of MSU sports, and said he doesn’t expect a lot of change. Mason officially took over duties of the department Monday, after former athletics director Clarence Underwood ended his 23 years of work with MSU and more than three years at the helm of MSU sports. Despite some tumultuous times, Mason and others credit Underwood with bringing unity and direction to the athletics department. “I’m not coming in here with any grand plan,” Mason said.
ICE HOCKEY
Spartans nab brothers from Lake Superior State
A pair of Nightingales will soon migrate south to East Lansing, and the Spartan hockey team will be the beneficiary of the move. Adam Nightingale, a forward for Lake Superior State, is transferring to MSU, and his little brother, Jared Nightingale, has signed a National Letter of Intent with the Spartans and will be a freshman in the fall. Per NCAA transfer rules, Adam Nightingale will not be allowed to play for a season, but can practice with the team.
ICE HOCKEY
5 Spartans chosen in NHL draft
Jim Slater sat in the Air Canada Centre for several hours Saturday, in disbelief about what was unfolding in front of him.Slater, a sophomore center at MSU, was projected as a solid first-round pick in this weekend’s NHL Entry Draft in Toronto.
ICE HOCKEY
Spartans look ahead to NHL draft
A quartet of Spartan sophomores - led by center Jim Slater - expect to hear their names called at this weekend’s NHL Entry Draft in Toronto, but the players say they have no inkling as to which team will pick them. “I really don’t have a clue,” defenseman Duncan Keith said from his home in Penticton, British Columbia earlier this week.
ICE HOCKEY
McAuliffe to stay with Spartans
Assistant coach Dave McAuliffe will be back with the Spartan hockey team next season, after being passed over for the vacant Northern Michigan head coaching job.McAuliffe, 36, was one of three finalists for the Wildcat position, but the school ultimately chose former Northern player and assistant coach Walt Kyle to succeed Rick Comley.
ICE HOCKEY
Trophy stops in Lansing as part of Michigan tour
Lansing - On an otherwise gloomy day, the glory, mystique and tradition of the NHL’s most coveted award shined bright at the state Capitol on Wednesday. The Stanley Cup made its way to Lansing on Wednesday morning, where fans of all ages waited in line to catch a glimpse and take a picture with the cup.
ICE HOCKEY
Icers add fifth recruit to 2002 class
MSU’s newest hockey recruit has some Wolverine ties.Nenad Gajic, an 18-year-old center, has verbally committed to MSU coaches for next season.
ICE HOCKEY
Recruits make good on verbal commitment
The MSU hockey team didn’t surprise anyone when it announced the signings of two recruits Tuesday.Defenseman Evan Shaw and left wing David Booth, each of whom verbally committed to the Spartans during the winter, officially signed National Letters of Intent last week.
ICE HOCKEY
Miller takes home MVP honors at banquet
Senior right wing Adam Hall pocketed three awards and junior goaltender Ryan Miller claimed two at the hockey team’s annual awards banquet Thursday night at the Holiday Inn South, 6820 S.
ICE HOCKEY
The hockey awards that count
The Spartan hockey team’s year-end awards banquet starts at 5:30 p.m. today at the Holiday Inn South, 6820 S.
ICE HOCKEY
Newton expects to remain at U
MSU assistant coach Tom Newton, who expressed interest in becoming Bowling Green’s next head coach, said Wednesday that he doesn’t expect to be offered the job. “It would really shock me,” Newton said from his home.
ICE HOCKEY
Miller headlines three Spartans as All-Americans
Junior goaltender Ryan Miller earned his second-straight West All-America first-team honor Thursday, while two Spartan defensemen made the second team. The second-team accolades taken by junior defenseman John-Michael Liles and senior defenseman Andrew Hutchinson make MSU the only school with three All-Americans this year.
ICE HOCKEY
Goaltender ready to man the pipes
If junior goaltender Ryan Miller leaves school early - and that’s still an “if” at this point - Spartan fans probably will be a little worried about MSU’s last line of defense next season.After all, Miller has been the epitome of excellence and durability in his three-year MSU career.
ICE HOCKEY
Icers get verbal commitment
The voice mail greeting on hockey recruit David Booth’s cell phone goes something like this: “Hey, what’s up?
ICE HOCKEY
Freshman plans to stay with Spartans
When longtime MSU head coach Ron Mason announced that the recently concluded season was going to be his last behind the bench, freshman center Jim Slater started considering options.
ICE HOCKEY
No chance for Miller to claim second Hobey Baker
MSU suffered a disheartening loss to North Dakota in last year’s Frozen Four, but Ryan Miller won the 2001 Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s outstanding player the very next day.This year, the Spartans’ season ended earlier - with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss Friday - and so did the junior goaltender’s Hobey Baker pursuit.Miller, one of 10 semifinalists for the 2002 Hobey, didn’t make the cut of three finalists announced Wednesday by the Hobey Baker Award Selection Committee.St.
ICE HOCKEY
Comley era begins; changes expected
Some fans were grinding their teeth just as hard as the MSU hockey team was trying to grind out a goal during the NCAA Tournament West Regional on Friday in Ann Arbor. In the end, the toil didn’t pay off for the Spartans - who wrapped up their season with a 2-0 loss to Colorado College that day.
ICE HOCKEY
Longtime assistants in search of other options
A big chunk of the uncertainty surrounding the MSU hockey program’s future ended Monday with the hiring of Northern Michigan head coach Rick Comley.But the uncertainty for Tom Newton and Dave McAuliffe is just beginning.The two Spartan assistant coaches are in a precarious position.