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Team

ICE HOCKEY

Icers look to gain CCHA ground in key series against Lake Superior

Zack Colman
January 19, 2007

The No. 11 Spartans achieved sole possession of third place in the CCHA standings with last weekend's home sweep over Alaska. Now, Lake Superior comes to Munn Ice Arena, where the Spartans boast a stellar 8-1-1 home record, for a weekend series beginning tonight. The Lakers (13-8-3 overall, 7-6-3 CCHA) come into East Lansing with a chance to tie the Spartans (14-8-1, 10-6-1) in conference standings if they get a weekend sweep, prompting a competitive weekend of play. "(The Lakers) had a pretty good start to the year," MSU head coach Rick Comley said.

SPORTS

Freshman gymnast scores weekly honors

Zack Colman
January 18, 2007

Freshman gymnast Nicole Curler was named Big Ten Gymnast of the Week on Wednesday. The award is the first of her career, and she is the first Spartan to receive the honor since 2005. "I am thrilled that Nicole won the Big Ten Gymnast of the Week award," MSU head coach Kathie Klages said in a statement.

SPORTS

Better communication results in success for No. 23 Spartans

Matt Bishop
January 17, 2007

One of the more troubling aspects of the MSU women's basketball team's 70-60 loss to Purdue last Thursday was the lack of communication between the players on defense. The communication breakdown allowed Purdue guard Jodi Howell to score a career-high 25 points, many coming on open 3-point looks. It was another story Sunday at Iowa. MSU looked like a completely different team, buckling down on the inside and not allowing much breathing room on the perimeter. The result also was completely different, as MSU overwhelmed Iowa, 83-63. "It was nice to see our team play together a little bit," MSU head coach Joanne P.

ICE HOCKEY

No. 11 MSU finds balance, depth in new lines

Zack Colman
January 16, 2007

MSU head coach Rick Comley was caught in an unfamiliar situation during the weekend — he actually got to toy with a healthy lineup. Comley moved sophomore forward Nick Sucharski to left wing on a line with junior center Bryan Lerg and junior right wing Jim McKenzie in Saturday night's 4-3 win against Alaska.

BASKETBALL

Spartans look to forget slow Big Ten start

Ethan Conley
January 9, 2007

Tom Izzo knew this year's team would struggle at times, but that doesn't mean he has to accept those struggles. Road losses to Iowa and Indiana put the Spartans in an 0-2 hole in the Big Ten, and Izzo is wondering what happened to the squad that played so well in the early portion of the season, when the Spartans topped Texas and hung tight with Maryland. "The last five games have not been played nearly as well as the first seven," Izzo said Monday in his weekly press conference.

SPORTS

Comley earns 700th victory in win over Miami

Zack Colman
January 8, 2007

Building a Northern Michigan hockey program from scratch. Two-time CCHA coach of the year. Two-time WCHA coach of the year. Two-time national coach of the year. One national championship. There aren't many more things for MSU head coach Rick Comley to accomplish, but he found one that wasn't on his list Saturday. Comley earned his 700th career victory with Saturday's 4-1 win at Miami (Ohio). He is the fifth NCAA Division I coach to accomplish this feat, joining former MSU coach Ron Mason, Jerry York, Bob Peters and Jack Parker. "It feels great, a number of that power," Comley said.

BASKETBALL

More road woes

Bloomington, Ind. — Not counting walk-ons, nine Spartans saw the floor in Sunday's game against Indiana.