Michigan State University Athletics
Hockey Prepares To Host College Hockey Showcase
11/22/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 22, 1999
Fri., Nov. 26 vs. Wisconsin, Munn Ice Arena, 7:05 p.m.
Sat., Nov. 27 vs. Minnesota, Munn Ice Arena, 7:05 p.m.
The Week ? The Michigan State hockey team, which had 10-game its winning streak snapped last weekend by a pair of losses to Miami (3-2 and 3-0), returns home this Friday and Saturday to face Wisconsin and Minnesota in the College Hockey Showcase. The Spartans (10-3-0 overall, 10-2-0 CCHA), ranked third in the nation last week, face No. 5 Wisconsin (10-2-0, 8-2-0 WCHA) Friday and Minnesota (4-7-1, 3-4-1 WCHA) Saturday. Both games are at 7:05 p.m. EST at Munn Ice Arena (6,170). Tickets ($14) are available for both games at the MSU Athletic Ticket Office or by calling 800-GO-STATE or 517-355-1610. The College Hockey Showcase also features the same two teams visiting No. 4 Michigan (10-3-0 overall, 7-3-0 CCHA) on opposite nights. Both Spartan games are on WVFN-AM 730 and at www.broadcast.com/sports/ncaa/MichiganState, with Scott Moore calling the play-by-play and volunteer assistant coach Jim Mullin providing color commentary.
The Coaches ? Head coach Ron Mason (St. Lawrence ?64) builds upon his legendary status with each victory. Mason, in his 21st year at Michigan State and 34th as a college head coach, is the all-time winningest college hockey coach with 847 career victories, boasting an 847-358-70 (.692) overall record as he nears the unprecedented 850-win plateau. He has a 558-248-56 (.680) mark at MSU.
Wisconsin head coach Jeff Sauer (Colorado College ?65) is the winning coach in WCHA history at 596-492-47 (29 years). He has a 430-266-37 record in 18 years with the Badgers.
Minnesota head coach Don Lucia (Notre Dame ?81) is in his first year with the Gophers (4-7-1) after leading Colorado College for six years. He is 283-162-29 in 13 years as a college coach.
Quoting Coach Mason ?
On the Miami series: ?I have to give a lot of credit to Miami and the job Enrico Blasi has done there. They had a lot of emotion and played their systems well. We really didn?t get any bounces to go our way all weekend, which was frustrating. It was a tough experience for us and one we will have to learn from right away.?
On the College Hockey Showcase: ?It is always special to renew our rivalries with Wisconsin and Minnesota, and even more so when we can bring these programs into Munn Arena. The College Hockey Showcase has always featured great hockey games, and I expect this weekend to be no different.?
The Series vs. the Badgers ? Michigan State leads Wisconsin in the all-time series, 41-35-2, including a 22-10-0 mark in East Lansing. MSU won last year?s games, 3-1, and has won each of the last five meetings. MSU has won all six games in the College Hockey Showcase and is 7-1 against UW since a 4-3 loss in the 1987 Great Lakes Invitational (the only loss since then was a 5-3 decision in the 1995 NCAA tournament). MSU has only hosted Wisconsin at Munn once since 1979 (a 2-0 win in the 1997 CHS).
The Series vs. the Gophers ? Michigan State trails Minnesota in the all-time series, 38-97-7, including a 24-40-2 mark in East Lansing. MSU is 1-5 against the Gophers in the College Hockey Showcase. MSU is 1-8-0 vs. Minnesota since a 5-3 win in the 1987 NCAA tournament (the only win in that time was a 3-2 decision at Munn in the 1997 College Hockey Showcase). That game was UM?s only visit to Munn since 1980.
About the Badgers ? Wisconsin is 10-3-0 (8-2-0 and in first place in the WCHA), coming off a split with St. Cloud. Dustin Kuk (5-12-17) is the leading scorer, with Steve Reinprecht (8-8-16) and Dany Heatley (8-8-16) leading the team in goals and standing second in points. Graham Melanson (10-2-0, 2.64, .903) has played every minute in net.
About the Gophers ? Minnesota is 4-7-1 (3-4-1 and in seventh place in the WCHA), coming off a sweep of Minnesota-Duluth. Justin Pohl (4-10-14), Erik Westrum (9-4-13) and Shawn Roed (3-6-9) are the offensive leaders. Adam Hauser (4-6-1, 2.95, .912) has been the No. 1 goaltender.
If you use just one MSU note this week, perhaps this should be it
Showcasing college hockey ? Michigan State hosts Wisconsin and Minnesota this weekend in the seventh-annual College Hockey Showcase, an event which also features the same two teams playing on opposite days at Michigan. Consider these facts about the four Big Ten schools which compete in the College Hockey Showcase:
? the four teams all rank among the top eight in NCAA tournament appearances (81 appearances combined)
? the four teams have combined to win 19 of the 52 NCAA championships
? three of the four teams were ranked in the nation?s top five last week (No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Michigan and No. 5 Wisconsin)
? three of the coaches are among the top 16 winningest college hockey coaches of all-time
We encourage you to use more notes ... perhaps these
Swept away ? Miami ended Michigan State?s 10-game winning streak this weekend, as the Spartans lost back-to-back games for the first time since the end of the 1996-97 season (March 15 vs. Michigan, March 22 vs. Minnesota). It marked the first time the Spartans lost both games in a weekend since Oct. 25-27, 1996 (vs. Boston College and Northeastern) and the first time they were swept by one opponent in a weekend since Feb. 10-11, 1995 (Miami).
In good company ? Six of the nation?s top seven teams in last week?s U.S. College Hockey Online poll suffered at least one loss over the weekend, and four were swept. No. 2 Maine and No. 10 Colorado College were the only top-10 teams to win two games.
About the streak ? Michigan State?s recent 10-game winning streak matched its longest since a 19-game run from Oct. 15 to Dec. 16, 1988. Other notes on the streak:
? SR C Shawn Horcoff had a point in every game and averaged over two points per game in that time (5-16-21)
? SO RW Adam Hall had 11 goals in the 10 games
? MSU did not allow more than two goals in a game (with four shuouts in the 10 games)
? MSU scored first in nine of the 10 games and trailed only once, for a total of 7:36 in the last game in the streak (vs. Bowling Green)
? MSU?s penalty killers (five SHGs) outscored opponents? power plays (four PPGs)
Isn?t that zero in the wrong spot? ? Michigan State was shut out Saturday for the first time since a scoreless tie at Miami, Feb. 7, 1998, and the first time in a loss since a 1-0 loss to Bowling Green, Dec. 7, 1997. MSU had shut out nine opponents since the 0-0 tie at Miami.
Miami Recap
Miami got three goals from its top line Friday night to lead the RedHawks to a 3-2 win in Oxford, Ohio, and snap MSU?s 10-game winning streak. The Spartans fell behind, 2-0, midway through the second period, before storming back with two power-play goals from freshman defenseman John-Michael Liles. Miami answered, however, just 54 seconds into the third period with the game-winner. MSU threatened but officially did not have a shot on goal in the third period.
The RedHawks scored three special-teams goals Saturday night to win 3-0 and become the first team to sweep MSU since they did it in Munn in 1995. The Spartans outshot Miami, 24-11, but never got any breaks in its first back-to-back losses since the end of the 1996-97 season. Miami scored once on the power play and once short-handed in the first period and added a power-play goal in the second.
Others receiving votes
Great goalies ? Michigan State?s goaltending tandem of junior Joe Blackburn and freshman Ryan Miller rank among the top four in the CCHA in conference and overall goals-against average and save percentage. In all games, Miller is first in both categories (1.23, .941), while Blackburn is fourth in both (1.69, .919). Blackburn and Miller were the 1996-97 and ?97-98 USA Hockey Goaltenders of the Year, respectively.
Shooting stars ? Michigan State?s unbelievable 1.46 goals-against average (1.25 in conference games) cannot be explained simply by a defensive style or excellent goaltending. Another factor: opponents can?t score when they don?t have the puck, and the Spartans are averaging 30.0 shots on goal per game. They have outshot opponents in 10 of 13 games.
A special team ? Michigan State stands second in the CCHA in overall games with a 20 percent power play and second in penalty killing (89.2 percent). The Spartans led the league in penalty killing last year, but were seventh in power play (15.0 percent).
Horcoff is on ? Senior center Shawn Horcoff had a career-best 11-game point-scoring streak snapped Saturday night, but still leads the team with 23 points (five goals and 18 assists), 62 percent of his point total from all of last year (37).
Hall of fame ? Sophomore right wing Adam Hall leads MSU in goals with 11, all coming in the Spartans? 10-game winning streak. He has already surpassed last year?s regular-season goal total (10), although he led the CCHA with six postseason goals last year. He has 17 goals in his last 18 games, dating back to last year.
Balancing act ? Michigan State?s scoring by period reads: 14-16-15.
Balancing act II ? Seven different players have three or more goals for MSU, and seven have at least seven points.
Dynamic rookie d-men ? Freshmen Brad Fast and John-Michael Liles share the lead among MSU defensemen and are tied with left wing Brian Maloney for the MSU rookie lead with seven points each. They have brought an offensive dimension to the Spartan blue line and each has a multiple-point game in the last three games (Fast Nov. 13 vs. Bowling Green, Liles Nov. 19 vs. Miami).
Gentlemen, please remove your hats ? Michigan State players have combined for 28 career two-goal games, but no current Spartan has a collegiate hat trick to his credit.
History lesson ? Fourteen of the 24 College Hockey Showcase games have been tied or decided by one goal, including three of four last year. Michigan owns the best CHS record at 8-3-1, with Michigan State and Minnesota at 7-5. Wisconsin is 1-10-1.
Coaching matchup ? Michigan State head coach Ron Mason (847 wins) and Wisconsin?s Jeff Sauer (596 wins) are the winningest coaches in their respective conferences and two of the top five coaches in all-time victories. Head-to-head, Mason holds a 10-4-0 edge.
Coaching matchup II ? The last time MSU saw Minnesota head coach Don Lucia, he was guiding Colorado College in last year?s NCAA quarterfinals. The Spartans scored two goals in the final 1:40 to win, 4-3, in Lucia?s last game as coach of the Tigers.
A family affair ? Minnesota freshman Dan Welch?s father, Russ, played for MSU from 1976-80. Russ was the last Spartan prior to Mike York (1997-99) to lead the team in scoring three times (1977-79).
INJURY REPORT ? Fr. F Pat Brush (left knee injury, out indefinitely), So. F Joe Goodenow (left hip injury, out indefinitely).
MSU CAREER LEADERS vs. WISCONSINPlayer (Yr., Pos.) StatisticsShawn Horcoff (Sr., C) 4 GP, 2-0-2four players 0-1-1Joe Blackburn (Jr., G) 1-0-0, 1.00, .958
MSU CAREER LEADERS vs. MINNESOTAPlayer (Yr., Pos.) StatisticsJohn Nail (Jr., RW) 2 GP, 1-0-1Shawn Horcoff (Sr., C) 3 GP, 0-1-1Damon Whitten (Jr., LW) 2 GP, 0-1-1Joe Blackburn (Jr., G) 2-0-0, 0.50, .970
SPARTANS IN THE CCHA1999-2000 StandingsTeam (Overall) CCHA Pts1. MICHIGAN STATE (10-3-0) 10-2-0 202. Michigan (10-3-0) 7-3-0 143. Northern Michigan (10-3-1) 6-1-1 134. Ferris State (8-6-0) 6-6-0 12 Western Michigan (5-5-2) 5-5-2 126. Lake Superior (5-5-0) 5-3-0 107. Miami (7-4-2) 4-3-2 108. Notre Dame (4-6-2) 3-5-2 8 Nebraska-Omaha (2-4-4) 2-4-4 810. Bowling Green (3-8-0) 3-6-0 611. Ohio State (3-11-1) 2-9-1 512. Alaska Fairbanks (3-9-0) 2-8-0 4
MULTIPLE-GOAL GAMESMR: most recentPlayer Thisyr. Career MRAdam Hall 2 6 11/6/99Brian Maloney 2 2 11/13/99Rustyn Dolyny 1 8 10/23/99Shawn Horcoff 1 7 10/29/99J-M Liles 1 1 11/19/99Damon Whitten 1 1 10/16/99Andrew Bogle 0 1 3/20/98Brad Hodgins 0 1 3/19/99Mike Weaver 0 1 12/28/98
MULTIPLE-POINT GAMESMR: most recentPlayer Thisyr. Career MRShawn Horcoff 7 29 11/19/99Adam Hall 4 8 11/19/99Rustyn Dolyny 3 22 10/29/99J-M Liles 3 3 11/19/99Brad Hodgins 2 8 10/23/99Damon Whitten 2 6 11/5/99Brad Fast 2 2 11/13/99Troy Ferguson 1 1 10/16/99Brian Maloney 1 1 10/15/99Mike Weaver 0 5 3/13/98Andrew Bogle 0 4 3/20/98Joe Goodenow 0 1 1/1/99A. Hutchinson 0 1 1/9/99John Nail 0 1 10/31/97Sean Patchell 0 1 1/2/99
SPARTANS IN THE POLLS: WEEK-BY-WEEK USCHO USA Today10/5 3 -10/18 5 610/25 4 311/1 4 411/8 4 411/15 3 3
