As the MSU hockey program prepares for its first-ever meeting with Penn State this weekend, Jake Hildebrand has more personal matters on his mind. The freshman goaltender for the Spartans (6-15-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA) will take the crease opposite Matthew Skoff, a Penn State (9-12-0) goaltender and close friend of Hildebrand’s.
With losses aplenty for the MSU hockey team, Tom Anastos holds to the belief that his team doesn’t lose because of a lack of effort. The head coach believes the Spartans (6-15-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA ) are failing to convert games into wins because of a lack of execution.
Following a 3-0 loss to the U.S. U-18 National Team Development Program, the MSU hockey locker room was filled with tension. Despite being an exhibition loss, the Spartans (6-15-3 overall, 5-12-1-0 CCHA) loss to the U.S. was as frustrating as any, and it was apparent the players felt that way after the game.
In a midseason exhibition game, the MSU hockey team took on the U.S. U-18 National Team Development Program, in which MSU lost 3-0. U.S.
It was the same old song and dance for the MSU hockey team this weekend when they were swept two games in a row by Ferris State.
Friday night was the third time in just more than a month MSU and Ferris State hockey have taken the ice against each other, and the Bulldogs gave the Spartans exactly what they were expecting. This game, for the second time a row, Ferris State (11-9-3 overall, 9-7-1-0 CCHA) was victorious over MSU (6-14-3 overall, 5-11-1-0 CCHA), coming out on top with a score of 2-1. “They’ve played pretty consistently all three games they’ve played us,” captain and junior forward Greg Wolfe said.
In the third meeting between the two this season, Ferris State beat MSU hockey, 2-1. Ferris State’s Cory Kane got the game rolling with a shot that made its way through MSU freshman goaltender Jake Hildebrand’s five-hole about midway through the first period.
Nov. 3, 2011, began as an average day for Branden Carney. He climbed out of bed, headed to Munn Ice Arena, chatted with teammates and took the ice for hockey practice.
The MSU hockey team got a taste of sweet victory last weekend, and as Travis Walsh put it, when you get a taste of something good, you’re going to want more.
Record be what it might, this season’s MSU hockey fans are a group that just won’t quit. The crowd has supported MSU (6-13-3 overall, 5-10-1-0 CCHA) through its four wins at home as excitedly as it did for its four home losses.
In a season filled with ups and downs, one thing has remained consistent for the MSU hockey team: Jake Hildebrand’s goaltending. For the first time in his MSU hockey career, the freshman goaltender received acknowledgement for his performance by the CCHA — earning CCHA’s Warrior Goaltender of the Week.
Saturday night, the MSU hockey team took a collective sigh of relief. After winning only one of the past 10 games — two of which were ties — the Spartans (6-13-3 overall, 5-10-1-0 CCHA) headed into this weekend against No.
Last Friday, the Council of Graduate Students, or COGS, announced an upcoming trip to watch MSU’s annual hockey game against rival University of Michigan on Feb. 2 at Joe Louis Arena, in Detroit. COGS will be providing 200 tickets to graduate students for $7 each. The ticket also will include free transportation to Detroit and back, if the student chooses.
After eight periods of hockey without a single goal, the MSU hockey team (6-13-3-5 overall, 5-10-0 CCHA) kept reiterating the goals eventually would come.
Hockey, like many sports, is a game that can be considered a “game of inches.” As MSU hockey (5-13-3 overall, 4-10-1-0 CCHA) senior forward Chris Forfar put it, an inch in one direction can make the game work in your favor, but it could just as easily work that way for the other team.
In the first half of the series between the two, Notre Dame beat MSU, 1-0. A series of penalties in the first period resulted in MSU sophomore forward Brent Darnell being sent off the ice for the game with a 5-game major and a game misconduct.
As the losses continue to pile up for the MSU hockey team, the Spartans are looking at this weekend’s home series against one of the country’s top teams as an opportunity to turn the season around.
Despite what the record might say, Chris Forfar said the MSU hockey team is better than the numbers show. About halfway through the 2012-13 season, there might not be much interpretation to take out of the team’s 5-12-3 overall record, with a showing of 4-9-1-0 in the CCHA.
Following another weekend and another heavy loss for the MSU hockey team, Tom Anastos said they had to do some major soul-searching — and for the head coach that meant watching the game “over and over and over again.”
Twenty games into the season, the MSU 2012-13 hockey season has been encapsulated by the word “frustrating.” With a 5-12-3 overall record, 4-9-1-0 in the CCHA, the Spartans have experienced a speedy, downward slip following their 7-2 win against Michigan on Nov. 10.