Three more players will don the Green and White for the MSU hockey team starting this fall after giving their commitments in the spring signing period. Defenseman Jeff Dunne and forwards Jim McKenzie and Chris Mueller join forward Peder Skinner and defenseman Daniel Vukovic as MSU's freshman class for the 2004-05 season.
Time was almost running out for former Spartans defenseman Brad Fast to record his first NHL goal in his professional debut with the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. With less than three minutes left in regulation, Fast's wrister went past Miami goaltender Roberto Luongo to force the game into overtime.
The MSU hockey team's season-long struggles with offensive production and maintaining consistency hurt the Spartans when it mattered most - the NCAA Tournament. MSU finished the season with two losses to stand at 23-17-2, but in those two losses, only one goal was scored and only two players tallied points. "It's such a blessing in today's game to score," head coach Rick Comley said after Saturday's loss to Minnesota-Duluth.
For someone who understands most of the sports out there, except cricket - can't they just run faster to speed up games?
Grand Rapids - The MSU hockey team played a strong first period against Minnesota-Duluth, down by only one goal in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Van Andel Arena. All the Spartans needed was to carry their play over to the next period.
Freshman defenseman A.J. Thelen and sophomore forward David Booth were ranked 16th and 24th, respectively in the NHL's midterm Central Scouting Report, released Jan.
MSU junior captain Jim Slater says this season hasn't been a good year for him. It's not enough that he leads the MSU hockey team in points, with 48, and ranks as one of the top 10 in the nation. It's not enough the Lapeer native has registered 15 points in the past 11 games. And it just might not be enough that a 2004 All-CCHA First Team member was recently named one of 10 finalists for college hockey's most prestigious individual award - the Hobey Baker. Slater still isn't satisfied with what he's done. "I went through a drought from November to January," Slater said.
Coach Rick Comley, it is time to put on another pot of coffee, crack that playbook and review more game tape.
If he weren't teaching the game of hockey to a group of college kids, MSU head coach Rick Comley isn't sure what he'd be doing with his life.
After a one-year hiatus, the MSU hockey team is back in the national spotlight when the Spartans face Minnesota-Duluth in the Midwest Regional at 3:30 p.m.
MSU athletics director and former Spartans ice hockey coach Ron Mason will be honored as the Hobey Baker Award Foundation's 2004 "Legend of Hockey" at the Frozen Four on April 10 in Boston. The award is given to the person who has committed a significant amount of time and energy in promoting college hockey.
Fans are encouraged to attend a pre-game rally for the MSU hockey team Saturday at 11 a.m. at The BOB, 20 Monroe Ave.
Maybe it's the extra motivation that drives the MSU hockey team to win games its critics say the Spartans should lose. They took the season series away from CCHA regular-season champs Michigan by tying and winning the final two regular-season contests against the then-No.
For any regular bystander, it looked like a normal Sunday afternoon at a local bar - small tables of people watching the basketball games and a few shooting pool or throwing darts. But in the back area of Reno's East Side Sportsbar & Grill, 1310 Abbott Road, members of the MSU hockey team and their families waited anxiously to hear the Spartans' NCAA Tournament fate. Toward the end of the half-hour selection show, MSU finally was announced, prompting the fight song to break out - with "ball" replaced by "hockey." No.
Detroit - The Spartans knew they couldn't keep digging themselves into a hole early in games because sooner or later they wouldn't be able to crawl out of it. Thursday was the night they fell behind and stayed behind. Just 6:05 into the CCHA Super Six quarterfinal game, the MSU hockey team was down, 2-0, to Northern Michigan.
Northern Michigan always seems to get in the way of the MSU hockey team's quest for a CCHA championship. This year is no exception. The No.
The MSU hockey team's hopes of dressing its current full roster for the next series against Michigan vanished after this past weekend. Freshman forward Drew Miller and junior forward Kevin Estrada are ineligible to compete in game one of the U-M series at 8:05 p.m.
With a satisfied look on his face, head coach Rick Comley stood on the ice, clapping as his players acknowledged the crowd following their 5-0 shutout over Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday night. After struggling since the beginning of the season to string together back-to-back wins, the MSU hockey team finally completed its first home sweep of the season.
For the MSU hockey team (18-5-1 overall, 14-9-1 CCHA), wins at Munn Ice Arena this season have been tough to come by. Three games remain on the Spartans' home schedule, starting with today's matchup against Nebraska-Omaha at 7 p.m., and the icers are close to finishing below .500 at home. Currently, MSU has lost three straight games at home to carry an 8-10-1 record.
Junior forward Mike Lalonde says his game of hockey is simple. He doesn't have to be the fastest skater, nothing about his game is flashy - it's the little things he does that make him the Spartans' leading goal-scorer with 18, tying him for the lead in the CCHA with Miami (Ohio) freshman Matt Christie. Overall, his 31 points rank second behind junior captain Jim Slater, who is the Spartans' candidate for the Hobey Baker Award, given to Division I hockey's top college player. Even with a handful of underclassmen searching for their role on the team, Lalonde, an assistant captain, doesn't feel the pressure from others to perform a notch higher - he puts plenty on himself. "I don't feel as much pressure as much as I put on myself to have a solid, clean game," Lalonde said.