The Spartans missed the tournament cut for the second time in three years and have only been to the dance once since Rick Comley took over the reign of head coach from former head coach and current MSU Athletics Director Ron Mason.
It wasn't the way the senior class wanted to go out. After annihilating Nebraska-Omaha in the CCHA Super Six quarterfinals Thursday to extend a season-high win streak to six, the MSU hockey team closed the season with two straight losses.
Detroit - With the game tied at one, the MSU hockey team surrendered three unanswered goals to Ohio State and lost 4-1 in the CCHA Super Six semifinals.
Detroit - On a holiday where the color green was showcased in respect to St. Patrick, it seemed only fitting for the hockey team in green and white to upend Nebraska-Omaha, 5-0, in the CCHA Super Six quarterfinals. The Spartans (20-15-4), on a six-game winning streak, play Ohio State next in the semifinals at 8:05 p.m.
The MSU hockey team heads into the CCHA Super Six quarterfinals game today at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit against a Nebraska-Omaha team it has much in common with. The Spartans and Mavericks have identical overall records of 19-15-4 and split their only regular-season series in late October with respective 5-2 decisions. The Spartans were all over Nebraska-Omaha the first game of the series, only to come out flat in the second game. "Probably the game I think we played our worst in was that second game way back in October," MSU head coach Rick Comley said of the Oct.
Riding the bear. That's been the superstitious motto of the MSU hockey team's recent five-game winning streak after a goofball bear hat purchased by senior captain Jim Slater at an airport in Alaska has proven to be an unlikely good luck charm. "I was going to get a wolf one," Slater said.
A.J. Thelen was dismissed from the MSU hockey team for failing to meet student-athlete expectations, head coach Rick Comley announced March 6. Comley said scratching Thelen in the Spartans' victory over Notre Dame on March 4 wasn't his first choice, but that he couldn't address the situation more thoroughly at that point in time. Two days later, Comley announced Thelen had been dismissed.
The inconsistency with the MSU hockey team has been the inability to pick up series sweeps, with the exception of the sweep over Ferris State, which came in early November. Currently, the Spartans (19-15-4 overall) are riding a five-game winning streak after sweeping Notre Dame on March 4 and 5 to clinch home ice in the first-round CCHA playoffs.
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!