Thursday, March 28, 2024

Sports | Ice Hockey

ICE HOCKEY

U held scoreless in 5-0 pounding by Bulldogs

Grand Rapids - The MSU hockey team played a strong first period against Minnesota-Duluth, down by only one goal in the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Van Andel Arena. All the Spartans needed was to carry their play over to the next period.

ICE HOCKEY

Slater places team success over his own

MSU junior captain Jim Slater says this season hasn't been a good year for him. It's not enough that he leads the MSU hockey team in points, with 48, and ranks as one of the top 10 in the nation. It's not enough the Lapeer native has registered 15 points in the past 11 games. And it just might not be enough that a 2004 All-CCHA First Team member was recently named one of 10 finalists for college hockey's most prestigious individual award - the Hobey Baker. Slater still isn't satisfied with what he's done. "I went through a drought from November to January," Slater said.

ICE HOCKEY

Athletics director named Hobey Baker 'legend'

MSU athletics director and former Spartans ice hockey coach Ron Mason will be honored as the Hobey Baker Award Foundation's 2004 "Legend of Hockey" at the Frozen Four on April 10 in Boston. The award is given to the person who has committed a significant amount of time and energy in promoting college hockey.

ICE HOCKEY

Icers content in underdog role

Maybe it's the extra motivation that drives the MSU hockey team to win games its critics say the Spartans should lose. They took the season series away from CCHA regular-season champs Michigan by tying and winning the final two regular-season contests against the then-No.

ICE HOCKEY

Spartans earn No. 3 tournament seed

For any regular bystander, it looked like a normal Sunday afternoon at a local bar - small tables of people watching the basketball games and a few shooting pool or throwing darts. But in the back area of Reno's East Side Sportsbar & Grill, 1310 Abbott Road, members of the MSU hockey team and their families waited anxiously to hear the Spartans' NCAA Tournament fate. Toward the end of the half-hour selection show, MSU finally was announced, prompting the fight song to break out - with "ball" replaced by "hockey." No.

ICE HOCKEY

Icers tourney run ended in Super Six loss

Detroit - The Spartans knew they couldn't keep digging themselves into a hole early in games because sooner or later they wouldn't be able to crawl out of it. Thursday was the night they fell behind and stayed behind. Just 6:05 into the CCHA Super Six quarterfinal game, the MSU hockey team was down, 2-0, to Northern Michigan.

ICE HOCKEY

Icers find rhythm in shutouts

With a satisfied look on his face, head coach Rick Comley stood on the ice, clapping as his players acknowledged the crowd following their 5-0 shutout over Nebraska-Omaha on Saturday night. After struggling since the beginning of the season to string together back-to-back wins, the MSU hockey team finally completed its first home sweep of the season.

ICE HOCKEY

Munn a roadblock for Icers

For the MSU hockey team (18-5-1 overall, 14-9-1 CCHA), wins at Munn Ice Arena this season have been tough to come by. Three games remain on the Spartans' home schedule, starting with today's matchup against Nebraska-Omaha at 7 p.m., and the icers are close to finishing below .500 at home. Currently, MSU has lost three straight games at home to carry an 8-10-1 record.

ICE HOCKEY

Lalonde comes in a quiet 2nd

Junior forward Mike Lalonde says his game of hockey is simple. He doesn't have to be the fastest skater, nothing about his game is flashy - it's the little things he does that make him the Spartans' leading goal-scorer with 18, tying him for the lead in the CCHA with Miami (Ohio) freshman Matt Christie. Overall, his 31 points rank second behind junior captain Jim Slater, who is the Spartans' candidate for the Hobey Baker Award, given to Division I hockey's top college player. Even with a handful of underclassmen searching for their role on the team, Lalonde, an assistant captain, doesn't feel the pressure from others to perform a notch higher - he puts plenty on himself. "I don't feel as much pressure as much as I put on myself to have a solid, clean game," Lalonde said.

ICE HOCKEY

Icers salvage split with Goldie's game-winner

The MSU hockey team spent the weekend trying to rally back after falling behind in both of its games against Alaska-Fairbanks. The Spartans were partly successful in doing so, settling for the split at Alaska - losing, 5-4, in overtime on Friday while winning, 3-2, on Saturday. MSU (18-15-1, 14-9-1 CCHA) found itself in a 4-2 hole at one point in the second period of the first game of the conference matchup.

ICE HOCKEY

Spartans shine when forced to play down

The MSU hockey team has been close to perfect in holding its opponents off the score sheet when the Spartans play with one man down. MSU is killing off penalties at a rate of 94.6 percent (35 out of 37) since the UMass-Lowell series on Jan.

ICE HOCKEY

Former Spartan returns home for all-star classic

On this day three years ago, the MSU hockey team was No. 1 in the nation, Ron Mason was head coach and then-sophomore goaltender Ryan Miller was having his Hobey Baker Memorial Award-winning season. The team is now 16-13-1 as of yesterday afternoon, Mason is MSU athletics director, and Miller is in his second year with the Rochester (N.Y.) Americans, the minor-league affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. But this weekend, the former Spartans standout returns to his home state to represent the American Hockey League in its 2004 AHL All-Star Classic in Grand Rapids.