ICE HOCKEY

Mason leaves program in good shape

MSU’s two oldest players - junior left wing Brian Maloney and sophomore center Tim Hearon - were infants when Ron Mason took over the reins of the Spartan hockey chariot. The rest of the 27-man roster hadn’t even been born yet. While the current players were growing up, losing their teeth, playing floor hockey in gym class and passing notes to childhood crushes, Mason was building the framework for a college hockey dynamo. Under his watchful eye and signature mustache (which has whitened a bit through the years), the Spartan program flourished into one of the elite programs in the country. He arrived from Bowling Green in 1979 and suffered through a pair of losing seasons right off the bat.

ICE HOCKEY

U wants Mason for A.D.

Justin A. Rice

January 28, 2002

MSU hockey head coach Ron Mason will announce today that he’ll become the university’s 16th athletics director, ending a 23-year tenure at the helm of the hockey program.

ICE HOCKEY

BREAKING NEWS: Mason to be athletics director

James Jahnke

January 26, 2002

MSU President M. Peter McPherson will recommend Spartan hockey head coach Ron Mason to become the university’s next athletics director at a Monday morning press conference. University officials made the announcement Saturday night while Mason’s team was playing Ohio State at Munn Ice Arena.

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

James Jahnke

January 25, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 23, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 22, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 18, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 18, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 17, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 16, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 15, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 14, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 11, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 10, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 9, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 8, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 7, 2002

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

James Jahnke

January 7, 2002

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.