Michigan State University Athletics
Hockey Aims For Third Straight GLI Title
12/17/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 17, 1999
The Basics
Dates Dec. 29-30, 1999
Site Joe Louis Arena, Detroit
Times MSU plays at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, game times for both days are 4/7:30 p.m.
Storyline Michigan State aims for its third straight Great Lakes Invitational championship and its eighth overall as it plays in the 35th annual event.
Last Time Out Adam Hall scored twice in the first 6:05 to spark MSU to a 5-0 win over Alabama-Huntsville Dec. 11. Ryan Miller posted his fourth shutout of the year, while Shawn Horcoff, Rustyn Dolyny and Brad Hodgins also scored goals. MSU outshot UAH, 36-10.
The Records
MSU: 13-5-0 (11-3-0 CCHA)
MTU: 2-16-0 (1-11-0 WCHA)
UM: 14-5-0 (10-4-0 CCHA)
LSSU: 8-8-0 (7-5-0 CCHA)
The Coaches
MSU: Ron Mason -- Overall: 850-360-70 (34th), MSU: 561-250-56 (21st)
MTU: Tim Watters -- Overall: 36-91-8 (fourth), MTU: same
On the air At least 20 Michigan State games will be televised this year. FOX Sports Net is carrying both games this weekend, with Josh Lewin, Billy Jaffe and Shireen Saski bringing you the action.
All Spartan games can be heard on WVFN-AM 730, with Scott Moore calling the play-by-play. Volunteer assistant coach Jim Mullin provides analysis. That broadcast is also available free of charge on the web at http://www.broadcast.com/sports/ncaa/MichiganState
The MSU-MTU game and the GLI championship game will be broadcast on WJR-AM 760.
Note of the Night
They call it a streak ? Michigan State enters the 1999 Great Lakes Invitational, which marks the 35th anniversary of the event, looking for its third straight title and eighth overall. The Spartans won four GLIs in a row from 1982-85.
Only four schools have won the GLI in the last 17 years: Michigan State (1982-85, ?97-98), Michigan (1988-96), Western Michigan (1986) and Wisconsin (1987).
Four More Notes No Media Person Should Be Without
1. Who will it be? ? Each of the last two years, Michigan State has had unlikely heroes lead it to the Great Lakes Invitational title and earn MVP honors in the process. These players have helped overcome the loss of key players to the World Junior Championship, such as Mike York in 1997 and Joe Blackburn and Adam Hall in ?98.
In ?97 defenseman Mike Weaver had five points in the GLI ? including 2-2-4 in the title game ? to lead the Spartans. Weaver, who has 5-37-42 totals in 143 career games played, had 12 percent of his career points and 40 percent of his career goals in those two games. Also contributing in the ?97 GLI were Jon Gaskins and Curtis Gemmel, two seldom-scoring forwards who each scored breakaway goals.
Last year goaltender Mike Gresl was the story, making his third and fourth career starts and posting two wins en route to MVP honors. Gresl made 24 saves in the 3-1 win in the championship game.
2. Who will they be replacing? ? Two Spartans ? sophomore right wing Adam Hall and freshman defenseman John-Michael Liles ? will miss the GLI while playing for Team USA in the World Junior Championship. Hall is the Spartans? leading goal scorer (14) and stands second in points (21). He is serving as the U.S. team captain in Sweden. Liles is MSU?s leading point-scorer among defensemen (14) and has been the quarterback of the power play.
3. Horcoff is on ? Senior center Shawn Horcoff leads the nation in assists (23) and is second in points (30), two behind Michigan?s Mike Comrie. Horcoff has had more than one point in half of the games this year (nine of 18). He already has over 81 percent of his point total from all of last year (37) and has a hand in 49.2 percent of Michigan State?s 61 goals this season.
4. A special team ? Michigan State leads the CCHA in overall power play (20.4 percent) and is second in penalty killing (88.6 percent). The Spartans are first in both categories in conference games (19.7 percent, 93.0 percent). MSU has scored seven short-handed goals and only allowed 13 power-play goals all season.
Post-it Notes
Shades of Essensa and Foster ? Michigan State has two of the best goaltenders in the nation in junior Joe Blackburn and freshman Ryan Miller. The pair, which won back-to-back USA Hockey Goaltender of the Year awards in 1996-97 and ?97-98, respectively, has split MSU?s minutes almost equally. Miller (1.20 goals-against average, .941 save percentage) and Blackburn (1.92, .913) both have numbers which would rank among the top five single-seasons in Michigan State history.
Miller, the cousin of former Spartans and NHL players Kelly, Kevin and Kip Miller, has four shutouts already, good for second in the MSU single-season record book (trailing only Chad Alban?s six in 1997-98). Blackburn also has a shutout, giving MSU five as a team, second in the school record book to the six recorded in ?97-98.
GLI notes ? Michigan State is 29-21-0 all-time in the Great Lakes Invitational and has won five games in a row in the GLI. Two current Spartans have won the GLI MVP award in the past (Mike Weaver and Mike Gresl), while four have earned all-tournament honors (Weaver, Gresl, Rustyn Dolyny and Shawn Horcoff).
Motor City magic ? Michigan State has won nine of its last 10 games at Joe Louis Arena and 12 of its last 14. Current seniors on the MSU roster are 13-4 at the Joe (the juniors are 9-1, sophomores are 4-1). The Spartans enter the GLI with a one-game losing streak at the Joe, however, a 5-3 loss in the CCHA semifinals last March 19. MSU is 54-34-1 all-time at Joe Louis Arena.
Ways to a win ? Michigan State has had success when certain players find the back of the net. Highlights include: a 13-1-0 record when Shawn Horcoff has a point ? an 8-0-0 record when Rustyn Dolyny has a point ? a 10-0-0 record when Damon Whitten has a point ? a 6-0-0 record when Brad Hodgins has a point.
Not just a hockey school ? For the first time in school history, Michigan State?s hockey (No. 5), men?s basketball (No. 5) and football (No. 9) teams have all been ranked in the nation?s top 10 for the last month. (Rankings as of Dec. 17).
First one to one wins ? Michigan State is 12-0-0 when it scores first and just 1-5-0 when its opponent scores first.
First one to two wins ? Michigan State has been shutout or scored one goal in four of its five losses this year.
Some special players ? Junior center Rustyn Dolyny has had 11 of his 14 points and four of his five goals on special teams (seven points and three goals on the power play, four points and one goal short-handed).
Senior center Shawn Horcoff has had a hand in 13 of Michigan State?s 21 power-play goals (two goals, 11 assists, 62 percent).
Power surge ? Eight different players have combined for MSU?s 21 PPGs this year.
Gentlemen, please remove your hats ? Michigan State players have combined for 30 career two-goal games, but no current Spartan has a collegiate hat trick to his credit.
Oh captain, my captain ? Adam Hall is the captain of the 2000 U.S. National Junior Team, the second Spartan in three years to wear the ?C? for Team USA (Mike York).
INJURY REPORT ? Fr. F Pat Brush (left knee injury, out indefinitely), So. F Joe Goodenow (left hip injury, out indefinitely).
The fries at the bottom of the bag ? The only other time Michigan State opened the season against Colorado College was 1965-66 (a 4-0 loss), the year MSU won its first national championship ... MSU has gone 26 games without playing an overtime, the most since a 46-game stretch from Nov. 13, 1981, to Nov. 13, 1982. Oddly, that stretch included a 4-4 tie with Michigan in the GLI, when no overtime was played ... Adam Hall took MSU?s first penalty shot in over five years Nov. 13 vs. Bowling Green and was stopped by BG goaltender Tyler Masters ... Michigan State?s last national championship came when the Frozen Four was in Providence, R.I., as it is this season.
Say This About Our Players...
1 ? Mike Gresl (Sr., G) ? missed the start of the season with a fractured glove hand ? last year?s GLI MVP
2 ? Jon Insana (So., D) ? MSU?s Most Improved Player a year ago ? scored his first career goal against Minnesota and added a second two games later
4 ? John-Michael Liles (Fr., D) ? will miss the GLI while playing for the U.S. National Junior Team ? leads MSU rookies and MSU defensemen with 4-10-14 ? second among CCHA defensemen in scoring behind only UM?s Jeff Jillson ? had his first career two-goal game at Miami Nov. 19, both PPGs ? twice this year has had three points in a period
5 ? Mike Weaver (Sr., D) ? MSU?s top defensive player and penalty killer ? first-team All-CCHA, second-team All-America and CCHA Best Defensive Defenseman last year ? the 1997 GLI MVP
7 ? Brad Hodgins (Sr., D) ? leader among MSU defensemen in career points with 13-50-63 ? has goals in three of the last four games ? eight of his 13 career goals are PPGs
9 ? Sean Patchell (Jr., W) ? has surpassed last year?s point total (3-2-5) with 3-4-7 through 18 games
10 ? Shawn Horcoff (Sr., C) ? MSU?s top active scorer (43-74-117) and the 55th Spartan to record 100 points ? MSU?s leading scorer with a hand in 49.2% of MSU?s goals (30 of 61) ? has had more than one point in nine of 18 games this season ? 17 of his 43 career goals have come in the third period or OT ? Hockey News rates him the Edmonton Oilers? No. 4 prospect and a sure-fire NHLer
14 ? Damon Whitten (Jr., LW) ? has 6-7-13 in 17 GP despite starting the season with a fractured right pinky toe ? had his career-best six-game point-scoring streak snapped Nov. 13 vs. BGSU
17 ? Troy Ferguson (Fr., F) ? had two assists Oct. 16 vs. UNO ? co-captain of U.S. Under-18 Team last year
18 ? Adam Hall (So., RW) ? named the captain of the U.S. National Junior Team ? had 11 goals in MSU?s 10-game winning streak ? has scored MSU?s first goal five times and the GWG five times ? has at least a goal in 11 of his last 17 games and 20 goals in last 23 games
19 ? Rustyn Dolyny (Jr., C/RW) ? a RW for his first two seasons, has moved to C to help MSU?s depth at that position ? has had 11 of his 14 points and four of his five goals on special teams ? has had a hand in four of MSU?s six SHGs this season ? scored MSU?s first goal 7 times last year
20 ? Brian Maloney (Fr., LW) ? leads MSU rookies with five goals ? has two two-goal games (Oct. 15 at UNO, Nov. 13 vs. BGSU)
22 ? Andrew Bogle (So., C) ? had 1-1-2 Dec. 5 vs. ND, his first multiple-point game since March 20, 1998
24 ? Andrew Hutchinson (So., D) ? was picked by Nashville in the second round of last summer?s NHL Draft ? had 13 of his 15 points and 48 of his 67 shots on goal last year after Christmas
26 ? Joe Goodenow (So., C/LW) ? out indefinitely with an injury suffered at U.S. Junior National Team tryouts in August
27 ? Brad Fast (Fr., D) ? 3rd among MSU defensemen with 3-6-9 ? 1-2-3 (including GWG) vs. BGSU Nov. 13
30 ? Joe Blackburn (Jr., G) ? returning first-team All-American who has split time with rookie Ryan Miller ? set CCHA and MSU single-season records in GAA and save percentage last year ? owns the best career GAA (1.68) and save percentage (.922) in MSU history ? has four career shutouts (one this year) ? an outstanding student who plans to become a teacher after hockey
39 ? Ryan Miller (Fr., G) ? has shared time in net with Blackburn, with a CCHA-leading 1.20 GAA and .941 save percentage ? first MSU goalie ever to post three straight shutouts, he has four on the year ? broke Ron Scott?s school-record shutout streak (Miller?s record: 191:54) ? an East Lansing native and cousin of Kip, Kevin and Kelly Miller
SERIES INFORMATION vs. MICHIGAN TECH:
? 147th meeting: MSU trails, 67-77-2
? In the GLI: MSU leads, 14-4-0
? In Detroit: MSU leads, 15-4-0
? First meeting: MTU 5, MSU 0 (2/15/28)
? Last meeting: MSU 3, MTU 1 (12/27/97)
? Last MTU win: MTU 6, MSU 5 (12/27/91, MSU is 5-0-0 since then)
? Last 10 meetings: MSU leads, 8-2-0
? MSU is 14-2-0 in the last 16 meetings
? MSU is 23-7-0 in the last 30 meetings
MSU CAREER LEADERS vs. MTUPlayer (Yr., Pos.) GP, G-A-PShawn Horcoff (Sr., C) 2 GP, 1-2-3Rustyn Dolyny (Jr., C) 1 GP, 1-1-2Brad Hodgins (Sr., D) 2 GP, 0-2-2Sean Patchell (Jr., W) 1 GP, 0-1-1Mike Weaver (Sr., D) 2 GP, 0-1-1
