While most of East Lansing is dressed up and asking for free candy, the MSU hockey team is focused on winning, and that’s what they did Friday night against American International. The Spartans (2-3-0 overall) beat the Yellow Jackets (1-2-0 overall, 1-0-0 Atlantic Hockey) 5-4 in the first game of a two game set.
As focus turns to the biggest rivalry at MSU, Tom Anastos is focused on a team he’s never seen before.
There are few challenges harder in sports than comeback from an injury, but two members of the MSU hockey team worked together to get back on the ice. Senior forward Dean Chelios and redshirt freshman defender Rhett Holland both sat out all or most of last year after suffering shoulder injuries. Holland saw action in just three games last season.
One win against a top-15 opponent, and two players scoring their first collegiate goal. Overall, it was a good weekend for the MSU hockey team (1-3 overall). MSU lost to preseason No. 1, and currently No. 18-ranked UMass-Lowell Friday night before scoring three goals in the third period to upset No. 13 Boston University on Saturday.
Three goals in the third period lifted the MSU hockey team to a 3-1 upset of No. 14 Boston University Saturday night. Goals from junior forward Bent Darnell and freshman forward Joe Cox were the difference as the Spartans (1-3 overall) won their first game of the season.
After a disappointing opening weekend that saw the MSU hockey team lose a pair of games against UMass, they hope to bounce back as they hit the ice at home for the first time this season. The Spartans (0-2 overall) take on No. 18 UMass-Lowell on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m. and No. 13 Boston University on Oct. 26 at 7:05 p.m. at Munn Ice Arena.
The real games have finally arrived. The puck will drop on the new season for the MSU hockey team when they travel to Amherst, Mass., to take on UMass Friday and Saturday night.
Thomas Ebbing and Mackenzie MacEachern have been friends for years. Both hail from Troy, Mich., and played hockey at Brother Rice High School in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. as well as the?Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League.
In the Spartans’ 4-1 exhibition win against Western Ontario, it wasn’t the seniors who had the biggest impact, but the underclassmen. All three stars were from the freshman and sophomore classes.
For Tom Anastos, it was nice to see the puck go in the net. In the hockey team’s first game of the 2013-14 campaign, a 4-1 exhibition win against Western Ontario, the Spartans put up 47 shots, when a season ago they averaged slightly more than 25 a game.
Welp, I’m 0-1 as a coach. At the MSU hockey Green and White game, head coach Tom Anastos asked yours truly and other members of the Lansing media to put down their notebooks and pick up a whistle.
A hot goaltender can make or break a team. Tim Thomas carried the Boston Bruins to a Stanley Cup in 2011, and Jonathan Quick did the same for the Los Angeles Kings the following year.
Tom Anastos is a man who likes experience, and fortunately for him, this year’s MSU hockey team is gaining in that area. “This year, for the most part, we have guys that know what the expectations are,” Anastos said. “We have guys that have college experience now, where last year we didn’t have that.”
The last time the hockey team had more losses than last year’s 25-loss squad was the 1977-78 team, with 27. The 2012-13 team was coming off of its first playoff berth since the Spartans won the National Championship in 2007. However, with the graduation of nine seniors and Torey Krug’s departure to the NHL, MSU found itself with with a sizable incoming class with 10 true freshmen and two transfers.
Ryan Miller was born a Spartan, and now he’s being enshrined as one as well. Miller, along with four other former Spartan athletes, will join the ranks of MSU’s Athletics Hall of Fame as the 2013 class.
Kip Miller can remember just about every time he’s put on a jersey at Munn Ice Arena. The third generation MSU hockey player, who played from 1986-1990, will join four other former Spartan greats, including his cousin Ryan Miller, as the 2013 inductees for the Spartan Hall of Fame.
Former Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame today, along with fellow Red Wings forward Brendan Shanahan and Anehiem Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer. Both of Chris’ sons, Jake and Dean, play hockey for MSU.
The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks are set to compete for the Stanley Cup starting on Wednesday, and two former Spartans — one from each team — are entering the fray.
Former MSU hockey player Torey Krug has so far had a storybook start to his NHL career. After being called up from the AHL’s Providence Bruins into the thick of Stanley Cup playoff hockey on May 16, the 22-year-old rookie has outplayed many of the veterans.
Former MSU hockey player Torey Krug has made an immediate impact for the Boston Bruins amidst the ongoing battle for Lord Stanley.