The first time Dave McAuliffe talked to Ron Mason about staging an outdoor hockey game in Spartan Stadium, the longtime MSU head coach just laughed.That was about five years ago, and McAuliffe, an MSU assistant coach, said he chuckled along with Mason.
A persistent drizzle Friday night forced Michigan to cancel its only scheduled outdoor practice before “The Cold War” and take shelter inside Munn Ice Arena.But the host Spartans braved the elements and skated on the portable rink inside Spartan Stadium for about 30 minutes Friday.
Perhaps nobody is looking forward to the expected drop in Lansing area temperatures more than Al Osterloh. Osterloh owns Los Tres Papagayos, the company contracted to ready Spartan Stadium for “The Cold War” hockey game Saturday night - and Wednesday’s sunny, warm weather was giving him cold feet. The rink had some solid ice Wednesday afternoon, but it was submerged in a fair amount of standing water.
The spectacle surrounding “The Cold War” worries MSU head coach Ron Mason more than anything the Michigan Wolverines are going to throw at his team Saturday. Mason has to make his players look past the daylong tailgate that could take over campus, ignore the scheduled laser light shows and mini-country concerts accompanying the game and somehow forget about the world-record crowd of more than 72,000 expected to jam Spartan Stadium for the 7:05 p.m.
Crews have been working through the night transforming Spartan Stadium from a gridiron showroom to a hockey shrine for “The Cold War,” and Associate Athletics Director Mark Hollis said the conversion is ahead of schedule. “Everything is going very smooth, just as planned,” Hollis said.
Let the countdown to “The Cold War” officially begin.The Spartans breezed through two exhibition games this weekend - a 1-0 Green and White intrasquad scrimmage Friday and a 14-1 rout of Queen’s University (Ontario) on Saturday - in their only tune-ups leading up to the season-opening contest against Michigan at 7:05 p.m.
MSU’s exhibition game against Queen’s University (Ontario) was a dominating display of offense as the Spartans skated circles around the Golden Gaels in a 14-1 win Saturday in front of 6,462 fans at Munn Ice Arena.The Spartans led 7-1 after the first period and never looked back in their final tune-up before “The Cold War” outdoor game against Michigan next Saturday in Spartan Stadium.MSU is 12-0-1 against Canadian universities since 1983.Senior left wing Joe Goodenow led the way for MSU with two goals and three assists and freshman center Lee Falardeau added a pair of goals and an assist for the Spartans.Senior defenseman Jon Insana, junior left wing Brian Maloney, freshman center Ash Goldie, senior right wing Adam Hall, junior right wing Kris Koski, junior defenseman Brad Fast, freshman defenseman Duncan Keith, junior center Troy Ferguson, freshman right wing Brock Radunske and freshman right wing Mike Lalonde also scored for MSU.Junior defenseman John-Michael Liles, sophomore defenseman Joe Markusen and Insana each added three assists.The only Spartan skater held pointless was freshman left wing Kevin Estrada.“We executed and played as a team,” Insana said.
MSU’s exhibition game against Queen’s University (Ontario) was a dominating display of offense as the Spartans skated circles around the Golden Gaels in a 14-1 win Saturday in front of 6,462 fans at Munn Ice Arena.The Spartans led 7-1 after the first period and never looked back in their final tune-up before “The Cold War” outdoor game against Michigan next Saturday in Spartan Stadium.MSU is 12-0-1 against Canadian universities since 1983.Senior left wing Joe Goodenow led the way for MSU with two goals and three assists and freshman center Lee Falardeau added a pair of goals and an assist for the Spartans.Senior defenseman Jon Insana, junior left wing Brian Maloney, freshman center Ash Goldie, senior right wing Adam Hall, junior right wing Kris Koski, junior defenseman Brad Fast, freshman defenseman Duncan Keith, junior center Troy Ferguson, freshman right wing Brock Radunske and freshman right wing Mike Lalonde also scored for MSU.Junior defenseman John-Michael Liles, sophomore defenseman Joe Markusen and Insana each added three assists.The only Spartan skater held pointless was freshman left wing Kevin Estrada.“We executed and played as a team,” Insana said.
Defense is supposed to be MSU’s strength this season and Friday’s Green and White intrasquad scrimmage didn’t do anything to shoot down that theory. Sophomore center Tim Hearon scored the game’s only goal with 6:05 remaining as the Green beat the White 1-0 in a tight-checking game at Munn Ice Arena. Hearon tipped a shot from sophomore defenseman Joe Markusen over junior goaltender Ryan Miller’s shoulder for the game-winner.
The MSU coaching staff’s agenda for this weekend is fairly simple - provide the freshmen with their first competitive collegiate atmosphere, get the returning players back up to game speed and at all costs, avoid injuries. But it’s easier said than done. Just five days after their first practice, the Spartans are being thrust into back-to-back exhibition games, starting with the annual Green and White intrasquad game at 7:05 p.m.
Detroit - The CCHA unveiled its preseason media poll at the league’s annual Media Day in Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday, and the Spartans were in familiar territory - atop the league. The media overwhelmingly endorsed MSU to repeat as CCHA regular season champions, giving the Spartans 22 out of 26 possible first-place votes.
Most of the talk at MSU’s hockey media day Monday in Munn Ice Arena centered around two things - “The Cold War” outdoor hockey game on Oct.
Darkness is creeping in earlier every day, the daily highs are sinking lower and lower, and Ron Mason is back in the MSU Hockey Office after a summer vacation spent mostly away from East Lansing.By all indications, hockey season is imminent.
A rude awakening greeted several Spartan hockey fans Monday morning when their student season tickets weren’t available as scheduled in the Athletic Ticket Office in Jenison Field House. The tickets were supposed to be available at 8 a.m.
Despite selling all individual student tickets for “The Cold War” hockey game between the MSU and Michigan, students still aren’t being frozen out from attending the game. An additional 2,200 tickets in the student section for the Oct.
Former MSU goaltender Joe Blackburn, who came to MSU in 1997 and played through last season, will serve as a volunteer assistant coach and color commentator for Spartan radio broadcasts in the upcoming season. MSU head coach Ron Mason announced Blackburn’s hiring Tuesday.
MSU Student Season Hockey tickets are now on sale. Tickets prices for single students will be $69 and $135 for married students.