Michigan State University Athletics
#5 Spartan Hockey vs. #7 Michigan
12/30/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Dec. 30, 1999
Date December 30, 1999
Site Joe Louis Arena (19,983)
Time 7:30 p.m.
Tickets are available at Joe Louis Arena or by calling Ticketmaster.
See the game live on FOX Sports Net. Hear it live on WVFN-AM 730 or WJR-AM 760
The Basics
Storyline Michigan State bids for its third straight Great Lakes Invitational championship and its eighth overall in the 35th annual GLI title game.
Last Night Four players ? Troy Ferguson, Shawn Horcoff, Sean Patchell and Damon Whitten ? each had a goal and an assist to lead the Spartans to a 6-3 win over Michigan Tech in the semifinals.
The Records
MSU: 14-5-0 (11-3-0 CCHA)
UM: 15-5-0 (10-4-0 CCHA)
The Coaches
MSU: Ron Mason -- Overall: 851-360-70 (34th), MSU: 562-250-56 (21st)
UM: Red Berenson -- Overall: 409-202-36 (16th), UM: same
Note of the Night
Summit meeting ? Tonight?s championship game features the two top teams in the CCHA, both ranked in the nation?s top seven (No. 5 MSU, No. 7 Michigan). The two teams have combined to win 15 of the last 17 Great Lakes Invitationals (MSU 1982-85, ?97-98, Michigan 1988-96).
Tonight?s game also features the nation?s scoring leaders, Michigan State?s Shawn Horcoff and Michigan?s Mike Comrie (tied with 32 points apiece). The two are both Edmonton Oiler draft picks.
Five More Notes No Media Person Should Be Without
1. Looking for three ? Michigan State enters the GLI title game looking for its third straight title and eighth overall. The Spartans won four GLIs in a row from 1982-85.
2. We need another hero ? 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.
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.
3. And the nominees are ? The three players on MSU?s newly-formed Troy Ferguson-Sean Patchell-Damon Whitten line all had a goal and an assist last night. Ferguson had his first career goal in just his second game on one of MSU?s top three lines (Nov. 20 at Miami). He has been used primarily as a special teams player to this point.
4. Super Shawn ? Senior center Shawn Horcoff shares the national lead in points (32 on eight goals and 24 assists) with Michigan?s Mike Comrie. Horcoff has had more than one point in more than half of the games this year (10 of 19). He already has over 86 percent of his point total from all of last year (37) and has a hand in 47.8 percent of Michigan State?s 67 goals this season.
5. History lesson ? MSU is 30-21-1 all-time in the Great Lakes Invitational, including a 7-9-0 mark in title games. MSU is 2-6-0 against Michigan in the GLI finals (winning each of the last two years).
Post-it Notes
GLI sparks Hutch ? Sophomore defenseman Andrew Hutchinson had an assist in each game of the GLI last year, sparking a stretch which saw him score 13 of his 15 points on the year from the GLI on. Last night he had two assists, snapping a 16-game point-less streak (since Oct. 15 at Nebraska-Omaha).
Is seven next? ? Michigan State has had four, five and six goals in each of its last three games. In the Spartans? last five wins they are averaging 5.2 goals per game.
A family affair ? MSU?s Mike Swistak?s brother, J.J., is a freshman for Michigan. Mike is a former club team player who has been with the Spartans all year, but has yet to see action in a game.
Junior defenseman Brody Brandstatter?s uncle, Jim, is the radio voice of Michigan football.
More Michigan material ? Michigan State and Michigan have drawn sellout crowds of 19,983 to Joe Louis Arena each of the last two Februarys, the largest crowds in college hockey in that time period and the most people ever to see an MSU-UM hockey game ? Ron Mason played against Red Berenson in Berenson?s final gme as a collegian, the 1962 NCAA consolation game (Berenson?s Wolverines beat Mason and St. Lawrence) ? MSU is 6-1-1 against Michigan in the last two years ? eight of the last 10 meetings have been tied or decided by one or two goals.
Wrapping up last night ? MSU?s four second-period goals marked its biggest scoring period of the season ? MSU?s 44 shots on goal were a season-high ? six different players scored for the Spartans, which never happened all of last year ? Damon Whitten ended an eight-game goal-less stretch ? Brody Brandstatter had his first career multiple-point game.
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 (1.34 goals-against average, .934 save percentage) and Blackburn (1.92, .913) both have numbers which would rank among the top five single-seasons in Michigan State history.
Motor City magic ? Michigan State has won 10 of its last 11 games at Joe Louis Arena and 13 of its last 15. Current seniors on the MSU roster are 14-4 at the Joe (the juniors are 10-1, sophomores are 5-1). MSU is 55-34-1 all-time at Joe Louis Arena (for a complete list of all-time JLA scores, see pages 105-106 of the MSU hockey media guide).
Ways to a win ? Michigan State has had success when certain players find the back of the net. Highlights include: a 14-1-0 record when Shawn Horcoff has a point ? an 8-0-0 record when Rustyn Dolyny has a point ? an 11-0-0 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. 8/6) and football (No. 9) teams have all been ranked in the nation?s top 10 for the last month.
First one to one wins ? Michigan State is 13-0-0 when it scores first and just 1-5-0 when its opponent scores first.
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).
Let?s do it again ? Could their be a better way to start 2000 than Michigan and Michigan State meeting in the debut of the newly renovated Munn Ice Arena on FOX Sports Net? These two teams go back at it in their next game, Jan. 7 at Munn.
INJURY REPORT ? Fr. D John-Michael Liles (left shoulder, out this weekend, probable for Jan. 7), 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 27 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) ? selected for the U.S. National Junior Team, he injured his shoulder Dec. 22 and is with the team but out until Jan. 7 ? 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 five games
9 ? Sean Patchell (Jr., W) ? has nearly doubled last year?s point total (3-2-5) with 4-5-9 through 19 games
10 ? Shawn Horcoff (Sr., C) ? MSU?s top active scorer (44-75-119) and the 55th Spartan to record 100 points ? MSU?s leading scorer with a hand in 47.8% of MSU?s goals (32 of 67) ? has had more than one point in 10 of 19 games this season ? 17 of his 44 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 7-8-15 in 18 GP despite starting the season with a fractured right pinky toe ? had 1-1-2 last night, including the first goal of the game ? had his career-best six-game point-scoring streak snapped Nov. 13 vs. BGSU
17 ? Troy Ferguson (Fr., C) ? had his first career goal last night ? 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) ? playing his natural position of RW in the GLI to fill Adam Hall?s spot on the top line ? 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 six 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) ? 2nd among MSU defensemen with 3-7-10 ? 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:
? 129th meeting: MSU trails, 102-119-7
? In the GLI: MSU trails, 4-7-1 (2-6-0 in GLI finals, although MSU has won the last two)
? In Joe Louis Arena: MSU trails, 9-14-1 (MSU has won five in a row since a 6-2 loss 3/15/96)
? Neutral site: MSU trails, 10-16-1
? First meeting: UM 5, MSU 1 (1/11/22)
? Last meeting: MSU 3, UM 1 (2/20/99)
? Last UM win: UM 2, MSU 1 (11/20/98, MSU is 2-0-1 since then)
? Last 10 meetings: MSU leads, 7-2-1
? MSU is 8-3-1 in the last 12 meetings since a 6-2 loss 3/15/96
MSU CAREER LEADERS vs. UMPlayer (Yr., Pos.) GP, G-A-PRustyn Dolyny (Jr., C/RW) 8 GP, 3-6-9Damon Whitten (Jr., LW) 8 GP, 3-2-5Shawn Horcoff (Sr., C) 10 GP, 3-1-4Mike Weaver (Sr., D) 12 GP, 2-2-4Adam Hall (So., RW) 3 GP, 3-0-3
