Anastos announced six new hockey committments
MSU head hockey coach Tom Anastos announced the addition of six commitments to the program on Thursday.
MSU head hockey coach Tom Anastos announced the addition of six commitments to the program on Thursday.
In his first season returning to a program where he once played and was an assistant coach under former head coach Ron Mason, Anastos led the Spartans to a four-win improvement from the 2010-11 season and coached MSU to its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2008. But greater challenges might be ahead for the former CCHA commissioner.
In the realm of the MSU hockey program, Tom Anastos is making moves. Despite completing just his first season as head coach of the program in March following a 3-1 loss to Union in the NCAA Tournament, Anastos is generating buzz around one of college hockey’s most sacred programs.
Two weeks ago, Torey Krug led the MSU hockey team on the ice in the NCAA Tournament in the bright lights of college hockey’s biggest stage. On Tuesday, the stage might have been a little bit bigger. After forgoing his senior season in favor of signing a professional contract with the NHL’s Boston Bruins in March, the defenseman was called upon to play in his first official game Tuesday night at TD Garden in Boston.
When most people wake up in the morning, they’ll rub their eyes, begrudge the sound of their alarm clock and snag a cup of coffee before getting ready for the day.
With his teammates looking on and head coach Tom Anastos by his side at the podium Sunday at Munn Ice Arena, junior defenseman Torey Krug announced he is forgoing his senior year and signed a professional contract with the Boston Bruins. “To have the opportunity I’ve been presented with by the Boston Bruins organization is tremendous, and I never thought this day would come,” Krug said.
Junior defenseman Torey Krug has announced he will forgo his senior season and sign with the NHL’s Boston Bruins. The 2012 CCHA Player of the Year and two-time CCHA Best Offensive Defenseman, Krug leaves the Spartans just two days after the MSU hockey team was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by Union.
Bridgeport, Conn. – This wasn’t the way it was supposed to happen. When Tom Anastos was hired a year ago in front of a skeptical group of fans and media, nobody expected this.
Bridgeport, Conn. – The No. 1-seed Union hockey team has the second highest ranked scoring defense in the country and they more than lived up to that ranking Friday, beating the No. 4-seed MSU, 3-1, at Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn. When MSU found out it was going to be playing against Union in the East Regional NCAA Tournament game, it understood it had a defensive game waiting for them, head coach Tom Anastos said.
Bridgeport, Conn. – Exactly a year ago Friday, Tom Anastos stood behind a podium following his introduction as the next head coach of MSU hockey – a program he knew well from his days as a player and assistant coach. Fast forward a year, and Anastos is still behind a podium.
Bridgeport, Conn. – The No. 1-seed Union hockey team proved to be too much for No. 4-seed MSU to handle.
Bridgeport, Conn. — Torey Krug has been through a lot of changes in three years. From bursting on the scene as a talented All-CCHA player as a freshman to being elected a team captain as a sophomore to seeing a coaching change and a shift in the direction of the MSU hockey program, Krug quickly embraced his role as a leader and has found success as the CCHA’s most offensive defenseman in more than two decades.
Brett Perlini and Tanner Sorenson are at the opposite ends of their career at MSU. Both forwards for the Spartan hockey program, one’s a senior, one’s a freshman. One is headed to the NHL after this season, the other more than likely back to his dorm room. One represents the wave of the past, one is a major part of the arc of the future.
The future of the MSU hockey team’s season was in the hands of Union last weekend. The team was on the bubble for a bid to the NCAA Tournament, but thanks to No. 1-seed Union’s 3-1 win Saturday against Harvard, MSU will travel to Bridgeport, Conn., this weekend to compete against the same team they were rooting for just a few days ago.
Ah yes, an underdog story. Players own the distinction of it. Fans thrive on it. Members of the media write and rewrite their stories to determine if it’s too cheesy — it almost always is. With the NCAA Tournament just days away, the MSU hockey team is about to embark on an underdog story of its own, and the narrative is its for the taking.
The NCAA unveiled its 2012 tournament field on Sunday, and the MSU hockey team has a new lease on life. The Spartans (19-15-4 overall, 14-11-3-2 CCHA) earned a bid as the No. seed in the East Region in the 2012 NCAA Tournament and will open against Eastern College Athletic Conference champion and No. 1-seed Union on Friday in Bridgeport, Conn. With the bid, the Spartans rank fourth in all-time tournament appearances with 27 and are in the tournament for the first time since 2008.
As the four CCHA Tournament semifinalists gear up for a chance at the title and an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament this weekend in Detroit, the No. 16 MSU hockey team is forced to wait to know its fate.
For much of the season, the No. 15 MSU hockey team has been waiting patiently to procure its first playoff win in more than four years. After dropping two games and being eliminated from the CCHA Tournament this weekend, that wait might be a little longer.
Oxford, Ohio – His scowl was louder than his voice. It was evident in the gritting of his teeth between polite but bitter words about coming up short in the CCHA Tournament.
Oxford, Ohio – Even with the stakes raised for the playoffs, the No. 15 MSU hockey team still had plenty to play for on Saturday night. The Spartans needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive in the best-of-three series with Miami (Ohio) in the quarterfinals of the CCHA Tournament.