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Sports | Ice Hockey

ICE HOCKEY

U.P. trip a homecoming for Comley

The city of Marquette still holds a special place in the heart of MSU hockey head coach Rick Comley. Not only did he coach at Northern Michigan from 1976 to 2002, but he was the first head coach in Wildcats history and was pivotally involved in the construction of their hockey rink. Comley's grandest coaching achievement with the Wildcats came in the 1990-91 season, when he guided the team to a 38-5-4 overall record and a national championship. This weekend, Comley will take his No.

ICE HOCKEY

Abdelkader picked for U.S. squad

Sophomore forward Justin Abdelkader will be temporarily trading in his green and white sweater for a red, white and blue one later this month. Abdelkader was selected Tuesday to represent Team USA at the 2007 International Ice Hockey Federation's World Junior Championships from Dec.

ICE HOCKEY

Up-and-down Spartans search for continuity

The MSU hockey team is almost at the halfway point of the season, and there have been 15 games of mixed emotions for head coach Rick Comley. The positive: The Spartans have defeated top national teams Michigan and Notre Dame. The negative: MSU's spotty offense and shallow lineup have prevented it from consistently carrying over quality play from game to game and have left the Spartans with a .500 overall record. "We don't need excuses — we just have to get better," Comley said Monday at his weekly press conference.

ICE HOCKEY

Special teams struggles limit Spartans to split

The story of the season so far for the No. 12 Spartans has been inconsistency of play and inability to carry momentum from game to game. After splitting a home weekend series with Ohio State, the Spartans aren't any closer to solving those problems. Following a 4-1 win against Ohio State in the series opener Friday night, MSU gave up two shorthanded goals and two power-play goals in a 4-1 loss Saturday — the Spartans' first regular-season loss at Munn Ice Arena this season. "I was hoping we would take a step (Saturday) and take the game to them," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "I didn't see that." Friday's contest could have been called The Tim Kennedy and Chris Mueller Show.

ICE HOCKEY

WEB EXTRA: Goebel returns to East Lansing as Buckeye

It will be somewhat of a homecoming for Ohio State junior forward Tommy Goebel when the Buckeyes invade Munn Ice Arena on Friday and Saturday for a two-game series. Goebel donned the green and white at MSU for two seasons, from 2003 to 2005, before transferring to Ohio State following his sophomore year. In his freshman season at MSU, Goebel earned a spot on the CCHA All-Rookie Team after scoring 15 goals and tallying 32 points.

ICE HOCKEY

Blue streak

Ann Arbor — The Spartans had not lost a single matchup against the Wolverines in the past nine games they played against them leading up to Nov.

ICE HOCKEY

Pass on the turkey: MSU will be busy during holiday break

The No. 6 MSU hockey team can forget about heading home for the Thanksgiving holiday to enjoy a home-cooked meal with the family. Instead, the Spartans will be playing three road games in six days and will be spending the holiday weekend with their relatives on the ice. "We consider this our family, too," senior captain Chris Lawrence said.

ICE HOCKEY

Among recruits: Son of former Tiger

MSU head coach Rick Comley announced last week the signing of National Letters of Intent by three players to accompany the two already signed and to complement the returnees for the 2007-08 hockey season. The five members who make up the class of 2011 will join the Spartans next September. Dustin Gazley Position: Forward Height: 5-foot-8 Weight: 150 pounds Hometown: Novi His numbers: Three goals and four points in 11 games with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL. Comley: "Dustin is a very hard worker with a great intensity, and he also possesses some speed to his game.

ICE HOCKEY

Saturday shutout salvages MSU split

Junior forward Bryan Lerg summed up the No. 4 Spartans' 4-1 loss at No. 5 Notre Dame on Friday night with just a few words. "They out-hustled us, out-muscled us and they played with more energy," Lerg said. Notre Dame had just won its ninth straight game and limited MSU's scoring chances with stingy defensive play and quality goaltending. So how could the Spartans beat a Fighting Irish team that only had given up an average of 1.10 goals per game coming into the series? By giving them a taste of their own medicine. In Saturday night's series-closer at Munn Ice Arena, it was the Spartans (6-3-1 overall, 4-3-1 CCHA) who laid out all the hits, played near-perfect defense and controlled the play en route to a 2-0 win. The victory secured the weekend split and gave Notre Dame (9-2-1, 4-1-1) its first conference loss of the season. "Before the game, we identified that you can't be afraid to name a game 'a big game,'" MSU head coach Rick Comley said.

ICE HOCKEY

MSU preps for surprising Irish

Forget about the Notre Dame hockey team who was a CCHA bottom-feeder in recent years. Having started the season with an impressive 8-1-1 record and road wins against quality opponents such as Providence and Boston College, the Fighting Irish have upped their national ranking to No.

ICE HOCKEY

Goalie hopes to end talk of slump

Sophomore slump? Or comeback of the year? If last week's performances were any indication of how the rest of the season will pan out for sophomore goaltender Jeff Lerg, then forget about a second-year slump. In two games against Ferris State last week, Lerg stopped 64 of 66 total shots, including all 35 pucks fired his way in a 6-0 shutout of the Bulldogs in Big Rapids in the series closer. For his performances, Lerg was awarded CCHA Goaltender of the Week honors for the first time this season. "Everyone talks about the CCHA and the goalies and how well they can perform," Lerg said.

ICE HOCKEY

Spartans regain legs, pound Ferris State, 6-0

Big Rapids — It's amazing what a few days of rest can do. Only three days after a fatigued Spartans team squandered a two-goal third-period lead to settle for a tie against Ferris State, a rejuvenated MSU squad skated into Ewigleben Ice Arena on Friday and dominated the Bulldogs, 6-0. "Tuesday, I think you could see how much fatigue was a factor," MSU head coach Rick Comley said.

ICE HOCKEY

On the offensive

Ann Arbor — It took the Wolverines 10 contests against the Spartans to finally beat their intrastate rival Saturday night, 6-2 — the first time in nearly two years.

ICE HOCKEY

U-M rivalry has been dead heat

Just how even have MSU and Michigan matched up on the ice lately? For starters, seven of the last eight games between the intrastate rivals have been decided by two goals or less, including five ties. The MSU media guide lists 14 former Spartans playing in the NHL.

ICE HOCKEY

On heels of NHL, college game evolves

When the NHL reopened its doors on Oct. 5, 2005 after a one-year lockout, it set a single-date attendance record, selling out 11 of the 15 possible arenas and filling rinks to a 98 percent capacity league-wide.