Junior forward Chad Hontvet picked the perfect time to score the first two goals of his college career and lead the MSU hockey team to a 2-1 decision over Miami (Ohio) on Friday in game one of the first-round CCHA playoffs.
Lansing - Senior captain Jim Slater scored a hat trick of awards Monday at the MSU Hockey Banquet when he was awarded the Outstanding Senior, Amo Bessone, and Most Valuable Player awards.
South Bend, Ind. - Power play goals from senior captain Jim Slater and freshman forward Jim McKenzie were enough for the MSU hockey team to edge Notre Dame, 2-1, on Saturday completing its first series sweep since early November, and solidifying home ice for the first-round CCHA playoffs.
When Troy Ferguson skated in green and white from 1999 to 2003, Munn Ice Arena was in the midst of a record sell-out streak, packing people into the arena to create one of the best atmospheres in college hockey. "When I played, the crowd was good," Ferguson said.
On a night where seven seniors were formally honored, senior captain Jim Slater who stole the show, posting three points, including the game-winning goal in the 3-2 come-from-behind win over Notre Dame.
Senior captain Jim Slater joked that if not for his teammates, he wouldn't have any friends. Slater, along with six others who have dedicated significant time and effort to MSU hockey, will formally say goodbye Friday at Senior Night. Slater, Kevin Estrada, Ash Goldie, Mike Lalonde, Matt Migliaccio, Adam Nightingale and Rod Tocco will take the traditional lap around Munn Ice Arena before the Spartans play host to Notre Dame at 7:05 p.m. The seniors will be honored for their dedication to MSU hockey and also will take time to briefly reflect on their hockey careers and the friendships they made along the way. "These guys in my class are my best friends here now, and I hope for the most part we at least stay in touch," Lalonde said. Lalonde and Estrada even have plans of starting their own hunting and fishing business sometime down the road in Canada. "We've talked about getting together a fishing-hunting type, lodge-type system where we take people out and guide them around the province in (British Columbia), maybe even in Alberta to go hunting and fishing," Lalonde said. The seniors all agree the past four years have gone by quickly. "I knew I was coming to one of the better programs in the country for hockey as well as educational purposes," Goldie said of his expectations for the MSU hockey system. "It's a great experience.
Sophomore forward Drew Miller said he was so frustrated after Friday's loss at Bowling Green, he spoke to his brother, former MSU goaltender and Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Miller. "I felt like I was out there working hard but nothing was getting accomplished," Drew Miller said about Friday's game.
This weekend marks an important series for the MSU hockey team in the quest for home ice when the Spartans meet Bowling Green in a home-and-home series. The Falcons are on a two-game winning streak, after sweeping Western Michigan last weekend, and have a 5-4-1 record in their past 10 games, all while evolving into a CCHA contender. MSU, currently in eighth place in the CCHA, will be looking to move up in the standings against the fifth place Falcons as the season winds down. Just as it was last weekend against Ohio State, special teams are stressed to be another critical factor this weekend. "Special teams wins games for you," sophomore forward Tyler Howells said.
Now that the National Hockey League has officially driven itself six feet under, it is time to look at what exactly drove it to this point and what was driving fans away long before the lockout. First, the league got a little too large for the talent pool that is around.
The MSU hockey team will get a better feel for where it will wind up in the final CCHA standings after this weekend. Miami (Ohio) and Alaska-Fairbanks, which are currently ahead of the Spartans in the conference and the race for home ice in the playoffs, will be finished with CCHA play after Saturday night.
The following is a hypothetical conversation between NHL Players' Association Executive Director Bob Goodenow and President Trevor Linden that could have taken place the night before the NHL officially canceled its season. Linden: Uh, Boss, I think we should accept a salary cap.
A chant heard in many college hockey arenas adequately describes the NHL lockout. "It's all your fault!
In a season plagued by inconsistencies and the inabilities to string together wins, the MSU hockey team walked away with another split in a home series against No.
During the past few days, I've developed a severe case of sailor mouth. Sailor mouth, for those of you unfamiliar with the term, is when you start cursing like a sailor. I can't even begin to speak of NHL "commissioner" Gary Bettman or NHL Players Association Executive Director Bob Goodenow without letting loose "f-bombs" strung together in an incoherent sentence with names intertwined.
A tie for eighth place isn't where the Spartans want to be in the CCHA standings with six games left.
It was a difficult weekend of play for the MSU hockey team as the Spartans were unable to pick up any points on their trip to Alaska-Fairbanks and were swept courtesy of the Nanooks for the first time in history. After a heartbreaking 6-5 overtime loss Friday, and a 1-0 loss the next night, the Spartans are left in a tough spot in the CCHA standings, where they are tied for eighth place, and would have to go on the road for the playoffs if the postseason were to start today. "We play hard, we work hard and the positive is that we're not going to quit playing," MSU head coach Rick Comley said after Saturday's game. "The one thing we've done all year is play hard.
After two ties against CCHA-leading Michigan last weekend, the MSU hockey team will again play a challenging series this weekend when the Spartans travel to Alaska-Fairbanks to take on the Nanooks for a two-game set. Aside from the competition, the Spartans (13-11-4 overall, 8-9-3 CCHA) will also be battling the flu that has spread through the team, as well as adjusting to the four-hour time difference and the Olympic-size ice surface the Nanooks play on. If there is a bright side to making the long road trip, it's that Alaska-Fairbanks (9-12-3, 8-11-3) was on the road against Northern Michigan last weekend and will also have to make the haul back. "That's a lot better than them being home a month waiting for us," MSU head coach Rick Comley said of the Nanooks' travel back from Northern.
The sophomore from Clinton Township, Mich. was named the defensive player of the week for both the CCHA and USCHO/ITECH following his performances against Michigan, while he also fought the flu.
The competition that the MSU hockey team has faced in the remaining games of the season hasn't been the only force the team has had to combat. Starting with junior forward David Booth, the Spartans have been hampered by the flu.
Detroit - Time was running out for the MSU hockey team when the Spartans found themselves behind late in both games against No.