Coming off one of its most disappointing performances of the season last weekend, the MSU hockey team responded by having one of its best practices early this week in preparation for Alaska.
Following one of the worst weekends of the season, the MSU hockey team can’t be blamed if it’s trying to seek the answers to its inconsistencies. The Spartans dropped back-to-back games against Northern Michigan, the first of which prevented a 52-shot game from being a winning effort, and the second of which erased a 4-1 lead. Now the Spartans (12-16-4 overall, 8-14-2 CCHA) remain in 10th place in the CCHA standings and likely will need to sweep this weekend’s series at Alaska in order to have a chance at home-ice advantage in the first round of the CCHA Tournament. MSU is five points out of ninth place in the CCHA standings making it necessary to win at least three and possibly all four of its remaining games to just to have a chance at home ice. The Spartans’ offense broke its six-game streak of producing two goals or fewer in each game Saturday but suffered uncharacteristic defensive breakdowns that helped sixth-place Northern Michigan erase a 4-1 deficit and win, 6-5.
Uncharacteristic mistakes and late miscues marred the MSU hockey team’s improved offensive performance and allowed Northern Michigan to earn a sweep this weekend at Munn Ice Arena.
Leading 4-1 in the second period, the MSU hockey team looked as though it had solved its offensive troubles and would earn a much-needed victory against Northern Michigan Saturday.
The MSU hockey team did everything it needed to Friday night to break out of a scoring slump: it put a season-high number of shots to the net, created quality scoring chances and fed off each other offensively, but the result was the same.
If recent late-season games between MSU and Northern Michigan serve as any indication, the Spartans should be in for a thrilling series when Northern Michigan visits Munn Ice Arena tonight and Saturday. The Wildcats toppled the Spartans in a three-game CCHA playoff series in March 2008, and did the same the following year to take a 6-1 lead against MSU in games played in February or later in the past three seasons, but plenty will be on the line when the teams meet this weekend. The Spartans (12-14-4 overall, 8-12-2 CCHA) are one place behind the Wildcats (11-15-4, 9-11-2) in the conference standings and could climb as high as seventh if they’re able to earn their first series sweep of the season.
Call it Saturday Night Fever, but the MSU hockey team lately has struggled to follow up good Friday night performances with the same effort on Saturday nights.
The MSU hockey team continued to match its opponents’ intensity level but didn’t register its first sweep of the season in a weekend split with Ohio State. On Friday freshman goalie Will Yanakeff led the Spartans with 32 saves in his second shutout in his past four starts, and junior defenseman Tim Buttery scored his first goal of the season, while sophomore forward Derek Grant tallied an empty netter to lift the Spartans to a 2-0 win.
The MSU hockey team failed to earn its first series sweep of the season Saturday, as it fell, 4-2, at Ohio State.
Freshman goalie Will Yanakeff’s fifth consecutive win led the MSU hockey team to a 2-0 victory against Ohio State on Friday.
Moving up the CCHA standings has been about as difficult as walking through a snowdrift as several quality teams occupy the middle of the conference. Moving up will be the MSU hockey team’s objective, however, when they visit Ohio State for a series this weekend to try to climb out of 10th place in the CCHA and continue a 5-3-1 run in its past nine games.
Head coach Rick Comley believes the key to fixing the MSU hockey team’s inconsistencies this season revolves around one thing: scoring early goals. The Spartans (11-13-4 overall, 7-11-2 CCHA) lately have tallied four or more goals in games where they’ve generated an early goal and scored fewer than two in games they haven’t tallied one in the first period. Last weekend, MSU managed to go 1-1 against No.
The MSU hockey team proved once again this weekend it can hang with the best of the CCHA but still are trying to find consistency. In a packed Joe Louis Arena, the Spartans (11-13-4 overall, 7-11-2 CCHA) dropped No.
Detroit — If Saturday’s game was any indication of how MSU hockey head coach Rick Comley will finish his final regular season with MSU, the near future looks satisfying. Senior forward Joey Shean scored on a rebound with 7:34 remaining to put the Spartans ahead 2-1, and MSU weathered a 4-on-4, penalty shot and some good Wolverine chances to defeat No.
With head coach Rick Comley announcing his plans to retire at the end of the season Tuesday, the MSU hockey team now must turn its focus on finishing the season strong, beginning with this weekend’s games against Ferris State and No.
Upon first glance, MSU hockey head coach Rick Comley’s decision to announce his plans for an end-of-the-season retirement on Tuesday, rather than waiting until later in the season, seems surprising. The Spartans, who have struggled all season and stand in 10th place in the CCHA, are about to square off with Ferris State and No.
MSU hockey head coach Rick Comley announced Tuesday he will retire at the end of the season, after spending 38 seasons as a college hockey head coach. Comley, currently in his ninth season as the head coach of MSU, won a National Championship with the Spartans in 2007, and is one of five college hockey coaches to win more than 700 games.
After nine seasons as MSU hockey head coach, Rick Comley will retire at the conclusion of the 2010-11 season.
The MSU hockey team witnessed firsthand what a top-notch power play can do to the opposition in its 1-1 showing last weekend against No.
The MSU hockey team’s seven-goal turnaround from Friday to Saturday demonstrates the importance of early goals. On Friday, the Spartans scored two first-period goals and created all the scoring chances it needed to score a season-high seven goals, but struggled early in Saturday’s game and earned very few good scoring chances in a 4-0 loss in a series split against No.