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Sports | Ice Hockey

ICE HOCKEY

Mason brings coachs touch

Andrew Fifer
July 3, 2002

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

James Jahnke
June 26, 2002

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

James Jahnke
June 24, 2002

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

James Jahnke
June 20, 2002

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

Antonio Planas
June 6, 2002

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

Recruits make good on verbal commitment

James Jahnke
May 15, 2002

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

Newton expects to remain at U

James Jahnke
April 11, 2002

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

James Jahnke
April 5, 2002

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

James Jahnke
April 3, 2002

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

No chance for Miller to claim second Hobey Baker

James Jahnke
March 28, 2002

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

James Jahnke
March 27, 2002

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

James Jahnke
March 26, 2002

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.

ICE HOCKEY

Spartans welcome Comley

James Jahnke
March 26, 2002

Rick Comley was so firmly entrenched at Northern Michigan University that only a “very good reason” could sway him to leave Marquette. Apparently, the head coaching position at MSU was enough persuasion. Comley, 55, was formally introduced as the fifth head coach in the history of MSU hockey at a press conference Monday in Munn Ice Arena.

ICE HOCKEY

Mason exits ice, leaves legacy

James Jahnke
March 25, 2002

Ann Arbor - It really was a pretty strange ending. As it turned out, longtime MSU head coach Ron Mason concluded his career Friday afternoon with a 2-0 loss to Colorado College in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Yost Ice Arena. The loss, particularly so early in the tournament, was surely disappointing for Mason - a 62-year-old, super-competitive, old-school coach who will become MSU’s next athletics director on July 1.