MSU head coach Rick Comley knows that it's always a possibility to lose players early. This offseason, the question marks surround junior captain Drew Miller. Miller was drafted by the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in the sixth round (186th overall) in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft.
Albany, N.Y. — The hockey team's 5-4 loss to Maine in the NCAA East Regional Finals was a complete turn of emotions from what the Spartans felt nearly one week prior after clinching the CCHA playoff championship. Instead of smiles and hugs, there was an abundance of long faces for anyone wearing green and white after the game. After they watched Maine celebrate on the Pepsi Arena ice they skated over to the MSU fan section that made the trip from East Lansing and saluted the fans with their sticks the same way they salute fans after every home game — win or lose. And as the players' sticks hit the ice for one last time this season, the careers of the four regularly dressed seniors — David Booth, Corey Potter, Colton Fretter and Jared Nightingale — came to an end. "It's pretty sad right now," Fretter said, at a loss for words following the game. The only thing that could have prevented the sadness was a national championship and even then there would still be tears, although they would've been associated with another emotion. But in a few days when the seniors have had time to reflect on their college careers, each will realize they were part of something special. Before this season, the seniors had to field questions from the media on why they weren't in the national tournament, why they couldn't win the CCHA or why they couldn't get two weekend wins. This year, they accomplished all of that and converted critics of MSU hockey into fans.
Albany, N.Y. — The NCAA Tournament is a bad time to stop having bounces go your way. That's exactly what happened to MSU on Sunday evening at Pepsi Arena in the regional final game. On the defensive end, it was tipped shots from Maine that found their way into the back of the net. On the offensive end, the Spartans rarely found themselves on the positive end of any scrums in front of Maine goaltender Ben Bishop. By the time the bounces starting slowing down for Maine, the Spartans found themselves down 3-0 late in the first period. "The goals they got were good goals, but they were tip goals — the tough ones for a goaltender to see and react to with a lot of guys in front of them," junior captain Drew Miller said. The Black Bears' first three goals came off tip-ins in front of MSU freshman goaltender Jeff Lerg.
The celebration of a CCHA playoff championship stopped last Sunday when the Spartans huddled inside of Reno's East Side Sportsbar & Grill, 1310 Abbott Road, to watch as they were awarded a No.
It doesn't matter if it's a freshman, sophomore, junior or senior getting the job done for the Spartans because each of the classes for the MSU hockey team have stepped up at various times in the season. "The strength of this team is the balance and the depth," MSU head coach Rick Comley said.
After an MSU hockey win in January, a team of youth hockey players, no older than 13, huddled together outside of the Munn Ice Arena locker room area in hopes of getting autographs from some of their favorite Spartans players. As a player passed through the team, one of the kids politely asked which player he was before signing his name across some souvenir memorabilia. The player smiled and answered, "Bryan Lerg." He was met with the excited reply, "Oh, the goalie's cousin." Here was Bryan Lerg, who's been with MSU for a year and a half — currently second on the team in scoring — being overshadowed by his cousin, freshman goaltender Jeff Lerg.
A bad omen was cast upon Rick Comley before he even coached his first game behind the MSU bench. One day before classes began in fall 2002, Comley found out that his star player, Ryan Miller, was leaving school to sign a professional contract with the NHL's Buffalo Sabres.
With the score 2-1 and less than six minutes left to play in Saturday's CCHA playoff-clinching victory, MSU head coach Rick Comley sent out the fourth line to kill some time off the clock and recharge his other lines. Not only did the trio of sophomore Zak McClellan, junior Chris Lawrence and freshman Nick Sucharski eat the clock and protect the lead, but they outplayed the opposing Miami line while generating a scoring chance. "Every time he can put us out there, it doesn't really matter what time of the game it is, it gives us a lot of confidence — just being able to go out there and know that he has faith in us," McClellan said. "We go out there, and we know in our heads that we can make things happen." Mixed in with redshirt freshman Dan Sturges for much of the season, the fourth line has been trusted to go out and play in critical situations when most other college coaches could have them riding the bench. "I trust them to go out there and be responsible and play how we want to play and that's not unusual.
They say the playoffs are no place for a nervous person. Maybe that's the reason for the latest pregame ritual in the Spartans locker room, which involves a garbage can and plenty of hockey sticks. Aside from growing out the facial hair — as many players do in the postseason — the Spartans have begun to place their sticks in the locker room garbage can prior to games to signify the importance of the hard-working and far from glamorous "garbage goals." "I didn't know anything about it until I walked in the locker room one day, and I saw a stick in the garbage," MSU head coach Rick Comley said.
The MSU hockey team takes on New Hampshire in the first round of the 16-team NCAA Tournament 12 p.m.
Corey Potter has been a quiet force on the Spartans' blue line for the past four years and has emerged as one of the best defenders in the nation. His gritty style of mucking it up in the corners throughout his career has been far from quiet, however.
Detroit— The final seconds of the clock ticked down and an adrenalized team of Spartans emptied off the bench.
There's a saying that goes "You're only as good as your seniors." Well this weekend, the four regularly dressed MSU seniors were about as good as you can be on and off the ice. Defensemen Corey Potter and Jared Nightingale and forwards Colton Fretter and David Booth have been through the downs of the program and have helped return the Spartans to a status of national superiority. It took them four years, but finally each of these well-deserving seniors will leave with a sense of satisfaction.
Four of the last five meetings between the No. 11 Wolverines and No. 5 Spartans have gone into overtime and resulted in ties. If today's CCHA semifinal matchup at Joe Louis Arena is anything reminiscent of the recent past, the two rivals could play into the early hours of Saturday morning to decide who advances to the conference championship game to play for the Mason Cup. "They're a really quality team," MSU head coach Rick Comley said.
How would you describe the No. 5 MSU hockey team? In previous years, you might have called the Spartans underachievers and wanted to pull your hair out while watching games. But that was in previous years. If there's one thing the MSU hockey team has proven this season, it's that the Spartans are no fluke. The Spartans are the definition of the word "team." Multiple players have stepped up this season with game-changing goals, hits and saves.
The State News recently caught up with MSU hockey senior forward David Booth. MSU faces Michigan Friday in Detroit. • His favorite teammate to pick on… "(Zak) McClellan.
Drew Miller was visibly angry during Friday's postgame interviews following a 2-1 loss to Alaska Fairbanks. The junior captain of the No.
Averaging only three goals per game, the No. 4 Spartans are far from flashy. But clutch goaltending, a solidified defense and the ability to put enough goals on the scoreboard have the Spartans riding a nine-game unbeaten streak headed into the postseason. After an up-and-down first half of the season, MSU is 12-2-3 since Jan.
With a first-round CCHA playoff bye, the No. 4 Spartans are playing the wait-and-see game for who will invade Munn Ice Arena for a best-of-three series the weekend of March 10. But while the Spartans (20-10-8 overall, 14-7-7 CCHA) have the luxury of an off-week to get healthy and stay sharp, MSU head coach Rick Comley will be the first to tell you that he has no idea who his team could face in the second round. "The real nice thing is that there's nobody you really want to play and there's nobody that you don't want to play," Comley said.
Detroit — If it weren't for tying Lake Superior, 2-2, in the CCHA regular-season finale Saturday at Joe Louis Arena, the No.