ICE HOCKEY
BREAKING NEWS: Mason by the numbers
MSU hockey head coach Ron Mason is expected to leave behind an impressive record on the ice to accept the post of MSU athletics director.
ICE HOCKEY
Icers prepare for Buckeyes
MSU begins a four-game odyssey with No. 14 Ohio State - its first four-game stand in 31 years - with two contests at Munn Ice Arena today and Saturday. The teams also play Feb.
ICE HOCKEY
Spartans move up in polls, play Buckeyes
In the wake of a 1-1 tie with archrival Michigan, MSU climbed up a spot in both national polls this week. The Spartans (17-5-3 overall, 12-4-2 CCHA) are now ranked No.
ICE HOCKEY
Bragging rights still unclaimed
Ann Arbor - Coming out of Saturday night’s showdown with No. 8 Michigan at Yost Ice Arena, fifth-ranked MSU is still where it wants to be - alone in first place in the CCHA. Things could have been better for the Spartans - they took a 1-0 lead into the game’s final seven minutes - but they sounded more pleased than disappointed after the 1-1 tie with U-M kept them two points up on the Wolverines in the CCHA standings. “It’s a great tie for Michigan State,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said.
ICE HOCKEY
Miller shines, despite weaker supporting cast
Ann Arbor - About 30 minutes after the book was closed on MSU’s 1-1 tie with Michigan, Ryan Miller stood amid a group of reporters in a makeshift interview room in the bowels of Yost Ice Arena. Without warning, a U-M writer listening to Miller’s comments dropped his tape recorder.
ICE HOCKEY
Miller in line for Sullivan
MSU junior goaltender Ryan Miller is a preliminary finalist for the 2001 James E. Sullivan Award, presented annually to the nation’s top amateur athlete by the Amateur Athletic Union.
ICE HOCKEY
Spartans, U-M ready for round two
The state’s two biggest college hockey powers have some unfinished business to take care of - and the game that has been circled with both blue and green ink for the past three and a half months is now just a day away. Sixth-ranked MSU (17-5-2 overall, 12-4-1 CCHA) and No.
ICE HOCKEY
Injury bug bites Spartans
MSU head coach Ron Mason has been shooing it away all season, but the injury bug finally bit Tuesday night in Big Rapids. And although it bit hard, the sting doesn’t look quite as bad as it did at first.
ICE HOCKEY
Win gives icers sole ownership of CCHA
Big Rapids - Everything Chris Kunitz did Tuesday night, Adam Hall had an answer for. Kunitz, a Ferris State left wing and the CCHA’s leading goal-scorer, put the Bulldogs up 1-0 and 2-1, but MSU senior right wing Hall provided the equalizer each time. And just when a scoring duel seemed to be shaping up between the two players, MSU freshman center Jim Slater gloved a bad clearing attempt deep in the Bulldog zone, and banged home the game-winning goal to lift No.
ICE HOCKEY
Spartans face tough stretch
The sixth-ranked Spartans are in the midst of a rare eight-day, three-game stretch against three different schools at three different arenas. Behind MSU is a 2-0 loss at Western Michigan on Saturday night. Looming on the horizon is a main event showdown against the co-first-place Michigan Wolverines at Yost Ice Arena this Saturday. But for the only time this season, Tuesday is a game-night this week.
ICE HOCKEY
Spartans split weekend series with Broncos
Kalamazoo - Sixth-ranked MSU had the pedal to the metal in Friday’s 6-3 win over Western Michigan, but the Spartans’ offensive fuel tank went dry a night later as they sputtered to a 2-0 loss in Kalamazoo.The Spartans (16-5-2 overall, 11-4-1 CCHA) seemed to get all the bounces in the series opener at Munn Ice Arena, but MSU players and coaches were left scratching their heads after their luck took a 180-degree turn Saturday at hostile Lawson Arena.Western (12-9-3, 6-8-2) packed 4,575 rowdy fans into Lawson for a “Black Out” promotion Saturday, and the arena continued to be an Achilles’ heel for the Spartans.
ICE HOCKEY
Icers try to reverse bad trend vs. Western
It’s hard to believe, but only four players on MSU’s roster have ever won a game against Western Michigan. All four - right wing Adam Hall, left wing Joe Goodenow, and defensemen Andrew Hutchinson and Jon Insana - are seniors now.
ICE HOCKEY
Icers find goals from unexpected player
Quick, who leads sixth-ranked MSU in goal scoring?No, it’s not senior captain Adam Hall, sensational freshman center Jim Slater or even thunder-shooting junior wing Brian Maloney.It’s John-Michael Liles - a 5-foot-10 defenseman from the renowned hockey hotbed of Indiana.Against Quinnipiac on Saturday, Liles became the first Spartan to notch 10 goals this season.
ICE HOCKEY
Icer honored to carry Olympic torch
Redshirt-freshman right wing Steve Swistak was in the American spotlight for a couple minutes Monday morning.
ICE HOCKEY
Spartan hockey has success with new ripples
The new year found three new faces in the Spartan lineup searching for, well, new beginnings.MSU head coach Ron Mason used a nonconference series against overmatched Quinnipiac to insert freshman goaltender Matt Migliaccio, junior left wing Steve Clark and redshirt sophomore forward Pat Brush into the Spartan lineup.Each played one game of the series - Clark in Friday’s 4-1 win and Migliaccio and Brush in Saturday’s 3-1 victory - but all hope the appearances won’t be their only cameos of the 2002 campaign.“I try to approach every weekend as if I was going to play,” said Brush, who had played in one previous game on Jan.
ICE HOCKEY
Icers skate to weekend sweep over Quinnipiac
The sixth-ranked Spartans got exactly what they wanted from Quinnipiac this weekend - two hard-fought games and two victories.MSU (15-4-2) overwhelmed its nicknameless foe 4-1 Friday and 3-1 Saturday in the nonconference series at Munn Ice Arena.
ICE HOCKEY
Spartans take second at GLI; reap honors over winter break
While you were away from the world of Spartan hockey... • The Spartans (15-4-2 overall, 10-3-1 CCHA) advanced to the title game of the Great Lakes Invitational, but lost the championship 5-4 in overtime to North Dakota on Dec.
ICE HOCKEY
Icers rebound against Quinnipiac in first of series
No. 6 MSU, still reeling from a loss to North Dakota in last week’s Great Lakes Invitational, reinforced its ego at the expense of nonconference foe Quinnipiac on Friday at Munn Ice Arena. The Spartans (14-4-2 overall, 10-3-1 CCHA) netted a 42-15 shot advantage and physically manhandled Quinnipiac in securing the 4-1 victory.
ICE HOCKEY
MSU sweeps series with 3-1 victory at Munn
Junior goaltender Ryan Miller missed his first game of the season Saturday night, but the sixth-ranked Spartans didn’t miss a beat. With MSU head coach Ron Mason giving Miller the day off, freshman goaltender Matt Migliaccio earned his first career start and made 11 saves in a 3-1 victory over Quinnipiac (7-10-1) at Munn Ice Arena. Quinnipiac goaltender Jamie Holden was awesome in making 37 saves, but MSU (14-4-2 overall, 10-3-1 CCHA) got goals from junior right wing Steve Jackson, junior left wing Brian Maloney and junior defenseman John-Michael Liles to complete the weekend sweep. The Spartans beat Quinnipiac 4-1 Friday. Saturday’s win was Migliaccio’s first decision of the season, although he had played in two previous games - both times in relief of Miller. And he looked understandably shaky on Quinnipiac’s first goal - 4:49 into the game.
ICE HOCKEY
Hockey continues losing streak against North Dakota, falls in GLI championship game
Detroit - MSU’s oldest player, junior left wing Brian Maloney, was not quite 14 months old the last time the Spartans beat North Dakota.Things didn’t change in the 37th annual Great Lakes Invitational championship game Saturday night.The underdog Sioux (9-9-1) raced to a three-goal first-period lead and then held on to beat No.