No. 3 MSU woke up Saturday morning to frigid temperatures and a harsh reality in Fairbanks, Alaska. After a 2-1 loss to heavy underdog Alaska-Fairbanks the night before, head coach Ron Mason’s Spartans fell to 0-3 on the road this season and were grappling for answers. “I think we came out a little tired from traveling,” junior right wing Kris Koski said from Alaska on Sunday.
Fewer than two months into the season, Alaska-Fairbanks has already appeared on and disappeared from the national radar. The perennial doormat Nanooks, under head coach Guy Gadowsky, won six of their first seven games and began garnering attention from pollsters across the country. That was until Fairbanks (6-6-0 overall, 2-6-0 CCHA) dropped five straight contests - a streak it’s trying to break at home against No.
In addition to sitting atop the CCHA standings, MSU also leads many of the league’s team statistical categories.Through 13 games, the Spartans have scored more goals (3.62 per game) while giving up fewer (1.69) and have also killed off a greater percentage of opponents’ power plays (.894) than any other team.MSU head coach Ron Mason particularly enjoys that third statistic.“Our penalty kill’s been phenomenal,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said of the unit that is ranked eighth nationally.
Aided by a Denver loss to New Hampshire during the weekend, the MSU hockey team moved up a spot to No.
The nation’s top-ranked hockey team visited East Lansing on Sunday afternoon and didn’t win. But neither did the Spartans. Instead, 6,871 fans at Munn Ice Arena were treated to a back-and-forth 4-4 tie between No.
Like a good lawyer, head coaches can often view a replay and see something totally different than their opponent sees. Such was the case after No.
Thanksgiving weekend means one thing to most sports fans - football and lots of it. But for college hockey fans, the holiday signifies the return of the College Hockey Showcase, when CCHA powers MSU and Michigan duke it out with Western Collegiate Hockey Association forces Minnesota and Wisconsin. This year, it’s the WCHA teams’ turn to come to Michigan as No.
Granted, it’s still early in the season, but Ryan Miller said the H-word hasn’t come up too much so far. Last season, the goaltender stormed through the regular season and set numerous team, conference and national records en route to winning the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s outstanding player. Now a junior, Miller is subject to the question that nags every underclassman who wins a major award... Can he do it again? “Some people were asking me before the season, before they saw what kind of team I have to play with,” Miller said last week.
Apparently new players and a fresh season don’t make much difference - at least not for MSU and Miami (Ohio).The fourth-ranked Spartans blanked Miami 3-0 on Friday and 2-0 on Saturday, extending their defensive dominance over the RedHawks (6-5-1 overall, 4-3-1 CCHA) to four straight games.MSU also shut out Miami twice last January - 1-0 and 5-0 - and the RedHawks haven’t scored against the Spartans in 292:07 minutes of hockey, dating to the first period of a 5-1 MSU win on March 11, 2000.All five games in the streak have been played at Munn Ice Arena.“I’m always surprised we get a shutout,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said.
Ryan Miller seems to have turned the usually potent Miami (Ohio) RedHawks into his personal statistic-padding team. The junior goaltender recorded another shutout over the RedHawks - his fourth straight whitewash of Miami - in Saturday night’s 2-0 MSU win at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans (8-2-1 overall, 7-2-1 CCHA) have now held Miami (6-5-1, 4-3-1) scoreless for 292:07 minutes of hockey, dating to March 11, 2000. Miami came into the series averaging 3.90 goals per game, but Miller made 28 saves Saturday for his 23rd career shutout.
Ryan Miller seems to have turned the usually potent Miami (Ohio) RedHawks into his personal statistic-padding team.The junior goaltender recorded another shutout over the RedHawks - his fourth straight whitewash of Miami - in Saturday night’s 2-0 MSU win at Munn Ice Arena.The Spartans (8-2-1 overall, 7-2-1 CCHA) have now held Miami (6-5-1, 4-3-1) scoreless for 292:07 minutes of hockey, dating to March 11, 2000.Miami came into the series averaging 3.90 goals per game, but Miller made 28 saves Saturday for his 23rd career shutout.
Ryan Miller and the fourth-ranked Spartans continued their defensive mastery over Miami (Ohio) in a 3-0 win Friday night at Munn Ice Arena. Junior goaltender Miller stopped 23 shots for his 22nd career shutout, and MSU (7-2-1 overall, 6-2-1 CCHA) has now held Miami (6-4-1, 4-2-1) scoreless for more than 11 straight periods.
Miami (Ohio) rolls into East Lansing tonight with a high-octane offense and one of the CCHA’s premier players in forward Jason Deskins. But the RedHawks (6-3-1 overall, 4-1-1 CCHA), who finished second to MSU in the CCHA last year, were the pupils of a Spartan defensive clinic in the teams’ last meeting.
Within MSU’s new offensive scheme, the Spartan forwards are darting all over the ice and generating plenty of goals for head coach Ron Mason.But fourth-ranked MSU’s offensive glory doesn’t start and end with centers and wings.
For the second straight week, MSU went unbeaten and untied for a weekend and still slipped in one of the national polls. This time, the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine rankings dropped MSU from No.
There are players who lead on the ice - scoring goals, directing players, giving pep talks on the bench - and there are players who lead away from the rink - going to class, getting good grades and being an upstanding member of the community.For his teammates and coaches, MSU senior right wing and team captain Adam Hall fills both roles.Hall was an on-ice leader in MSU’s 6-1 win over UMass-Amherst on Friday at Munn Ice Arena - notching his first career hat trick and recording his 100th career point.But Hall, an assistant captain last season, is also a CCHA All-Academic honoree and is no stranger to team volunteer activities - such as speaking at local schools through the D.A.R.E.
Weekends generally aren’t very relaxing for the fourth-ranked Spartans, who usually face a challenging two-game weekend series.But MSU (6-2-1 overall, 5-2-1 CCHA) eased to a 6-1 win over UMass-Amherst on Friday at Munn Ice Arena and kept things light for the rest of the weekend.The Spartans held a moderate practice Saturday after defeating their first nonconference foe of the season and then observed their traditional off-day Sunday.“I like it,” senior left wing Joe Goodenow said.
MSU senior right wing Adam Hall knocked in two power play goals less than eight minutes into the game and recorded his first career hat trick as the Spartans breezed past UMass-Amherst 6-1 Friday night at Munn Ice Arena.Hall’s second man-advantage tally was his 100th career point, and his four-point night Friday took his career totals to 66 goals and 36 assists.The fourth-ranked Spartans (6-2-1 overall, 5-2-1 CCHA) outshot the Minutemen (3-4) 34-29 and MSU junior goaltender Ryan Miller made 22 saves for the win.Hall, who missed considerable practice time this week while nursing a “skate bite” above his ankle, showed no ill effects Friday.
Head coach Ron Mason and his fourth-ranked Spartans rarely look too far down the road. But for tonight’s nonconference matchup against UMass-Amherst at 7:05 at Munn Ice Arena, MSU admits it’s thinking ahead a little bit.
A two-game sweep of Bowling Green couldn’t keep the Spartans from falling a spot in this week’s USCHO.com national rankings. MSU (5-2-1 overall, 5-2-1 CCHA) fell from No.