The Spartans fell to No. 3 in this week’s USCHO.com national poll and No. 4 in the USA Today/American Hockey Magazine rankings after being swept in their weekend series with Nebraska-Omaha.MSU (3-2-1 overall, 3-2-1 CCHA) entered the series at No.
MSU traveled to its first road series of the season undefeated and ranked No. 1 in the nation. But any sense of Spartan invincibility was shattered by No.
Sophomore center Tim Hearon knows exactly what MSU is heading into this weekend. For two years, Hearon played junior hockey in Omaha, Neb.
It’s not an uncommon hockey strategy, but it seems to have penetrated the top-ranked Spartans’ consciousness more than usual in the early stages of this season. “Just get the puck to the net and see what happens,” junior left wing Brian Maloney repeated again and again after practice Monday. The Spartans won’t call it their season motto, but it’s close.
The CCHA named freshman defenseman Duncan Keith the league’s Rookie of the Week for his two-assist effort against Ferris State on Saturday. Keith, from Penticton, British Columbia, is tied for the team lead with six points this season.
A dose of déjà vu nearly befell Munn Ice Arena on Saturday night, as a Zamboni mishap delayed the start of the second period by about 15 minutes. During the first intermission, a Munn employee sitting on the Zamboni attempted to throw a giveaway T-shirt into the crowd, but his toss failed to clear the glass in the northeast corner of the rink.
The top-ranked Spartans took care of business on the final date of their four-game season-opening homestand with a 2-0 win over Ferris State on Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena.Goals from senior right wing Adam Hall and freshman center Ash Goldie provided plenty of support for junior goaltender Ryan Miller, who made 23 saves Saturday and recorded his second shutout of the season.“We were up against a high-speed team that was getting a lot of chances,” said Miller, who earned his 20th career shutout.
Ron Mason was in familiar territory Saturday night. MSU’s legendary head coach took his spot behind the Spartans’ bench at Munn Ice Arena and surveyed the action on the rink as he has done so many times before.
MSU head coach Ron Mason earned his 900th career win the way he has earned so many others Saturday night at Munn Ice Arena. The top-ranked Spartans (3-0-1 overall, 3-0-1 CCHA) relied on a tested defense and solid goaltending to beat Ferris State 2-0 in front of 6,732 fans. Junior goaltender Ryan Miller made 23 saves and recorded his second shutout of the year to help Mason, already college hockey’s all-time winningest coach, push his career record to 900-371-79.
MSU head coach Ron Mason has achieved milestones before. Just last February, he won his 600th game as a Spartan. About eight and a half years ago, he surpassed Len Ceglarski as college hockey’s all-time winningest coach with his 674th overall victory. He was also the first college coach to reach both the 700th- and 800th-win plateaus.
MSU kept its top spot in both of this week’s national polls after sweeping a two-game series with Lake Superior State by a combined score of 11-1 last weekend.The Spartans (2-0-1 overall, 2-0-1 CCHA) garnered 31 first-place votes and 587 points in the USCHO.com poll, keeping them well ahead of No.
The Spartan hockey team will receive even more national exposure this week, stemming from its record-setting outdoor hockey game on Oct.
Reporters weren’t asking Joe Goodenow the questions he expected to hear in his first three seasons at MSU.Instead of queries about hat tricks, tape-to-tape passes or bone-rattling body checks, Goodenow has had to explain separated shoulders and groin pulls.Those are certainly not the topics the 5-foot-10, 196-pound Toronto native wants to be synonymous with his collegiate career.“The last four years have really been a struggle to be healthy,” said Goodenow, a senior left wing and center.
Top-ranked MSU’s two-game series against Lake Superior State wasn’t much more than target practice for the Spartans, who outshot the Lakers 85-33 Thursday and Friday at Munn Ice Arena.MSU’s re-emphasis on offensive production was plainly evident in the sweep, as the Spartans (2-0-1 overall, 2-0-1 CCHA) torched the Lakers (0-2-0, 0-2-0) for 11 total goals - a number the Spartans only eclipsed in one CCHA series last season.Ron Mason, MSU’s head coach of 23 seasons, has encouraged this year’s team to utilize its raw offensive talents, even at the expense of the Spartans’ time-tested defensive tradition.At one point in the second period of Friday’s 6-1 win, all five Spartan skaters darted below the circles in the Laker zone - a move that would have been sacrilegious for a Mason-coached team in recent years.“Our system that we’re playing gives us an opportunity to pursue a little bit more,” said Mason, who earned his 899th career win Friday.
As dominant as MSU was in its 5-0 shutout of Lake Superior State on Thursday night, the top-ranked Spartans looked even better in Friday‘s series finale.The Spartans (2-0-1 overall, 2-0-1 CCHA) peppered the Lake Superior net with 46 shots and rarely allowed the Lakers to mount an offensive attack in a 6-1 win at Munn Ice Arena.Senior left wing Joe Goodenow led the Spartans with two goals and an assist as the Spartans outshot Lake Superior (0-2-0, 0-2-0) 46-19 for the game.Freshman center Lee Falardeau added a goal and two assists and junior defenseman Brad Fast and junior right wing Steve Jackson tacked on a goal and an assist each.Falardeau put MSU up 1-0 at 3:46 of the first period with his first goal of the season.
The winningest coach in college hockey history is now the best paid.The MSU Board of Trustees approved a 13 percent increase and extended head hockey coach Ron Mason’s contract through 2005.
The unknowns of christening a new hockey venue are now in MSU’s rearview mirror, but the Spartans still don’t know exactly what to expect in their next series.After tying Michigan 3-3 in “The Cold War” at Spartan Stadium on Saturday, top-ranked MSU (0-0-1 overall, 0-0-1 CCHA) returns to Munn Ice Arena for a two-game set with Lake Superior State today and Friday.
MSU hockey head coach Ron Mason is scheduled to receive a roughly $20,000 raise to his annual base salary at the MSU Board of Trustees meeting Friday.The Board will vote to increase his salary from $153,215 to $173,215.
MSU junior left wing Steve Clark said Saturday was “maybe the biggest disappointment” of his career.It seems like an odd statement considering Saturday was the day the top-ranked Spartans hosted “The Cold War,” broke the world hockey attendance record and tied archrival Michigan 3-3 in Spartan Stadium.Many of Clark’s teammates actually called Saturday one of the best, most memorable days of their lives.
MSU head coach Ron Mason and Michigan head coach Red Berenson didn’t just leave the door open for the possibility of another massive outdoor hockey game occurring - they all but took it off the hinges. After “The Cold War” set the world record for hockey attendance (74,554) and basically went off without a hitch Saturday night, the long-time coaches said a follow-up was inevitable. But where will it happen next? “The world of professional hockey and the world of college hockey will both look at it,” Berenson said.