Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Hockey Welcomes Northern Michigan To Munn
11/6/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 6, 2000
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THIS WEEK: Michigan State opens a four-game home stand - its longest of the season - as the Spartans welcome Northern Michigan to East Lansing for a two-game set at Munn Ice Arena. The contests pits two of the teams currently locked in a three-way tie atop the Central Collegiate Hockey Association standings. Due to a home football game vs. Purdue on Saturday, the series will be played at Munn on Thursday and Friday. Faceoff is set for 7:05 p.m. EST both nights.
TELEVISION: Both games of the Michigan State-Northern Michigan series will be televised in the greater Lansing area on AT&T Cable channel 17. The broadcasts will begin at 7 p.m. both Thursday and Friday. Eric Peasley will provide the play-by-play and will be joined by color commentator Joey Campbell.
RADIO: This week's games, and all MSU home and road games, can be heard live on WVFN-AM 730 "The Fan." Play-by-play man Scott Moore, in his fourth season as the radio voice of MSU hockey, will call the action. Spartan volunteer assistant coach Jim Mullin provides color commentary for the second straight season.
Spartan fans can also hear live play-by-play action of MSU hockey via the Internet. Broadcasts can be accessed by logging on to www.msuspartans.com, the official website of Spartan athletics, or www.espn.com.
MSU HEAD COACH RON MASON: MSU head coach Ron Mason (St. Lawrence '64) is in his 22nd season with the Spartans and 35th year as a college hockey mentor. The winningest coach in college hockey history, Mason has piloted the Spartans to a 580-257-61 (.680) mark since taking over for the legendary Amo Bessone in 1979. His overall record currently stands at 869-367-75 (.691).
Mason guided MSU to its second NCAA hockey championship in 1986 and his 20 NCAA Tournament appearances are an all-time record. The seven-time Central Collegiate Hockey Association Coach of the Year led the Spartans to league regular-season titles in 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990, 1998 and 1999 and CCHA playoff crowns in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1998 and 2000.
Mason, who won the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year in 1992, has coached 19 Spartans to All-American honors and seen 42 of his former MSU skaters move on to the NHL.
NORTHERN MICHIGAN AT A GLANCE (5-1-3 overall, 3-1-2 CCHA)
THE COACH: Northern Michigan coach Rick Comley (Lake Superior State '72) is in his 25th season with the Wildcats and 28th as a head coach. The only head coach in Northern Michigan hockey history, Comley enters the week with a 558-451-65 (.550) overall record and a 499-405-62 (.549) with the Wildcats.
Comley, who played under Ron Mason at Lake Superior State and was an assistant at LSSU in 1972-73, took over as the Lakers' bench boss after Mason departed for Bowling Green in 1973. Comley currently ranks seventh on college hockey's all-time wins list, having past Michigan Tech's legendary John MacInnes (555 wins) earlier this season. He guided NMU to a national title in 1991 and earned the Spencer Penrose Award as the nation's top college hockey coach in 1980 and 1991. He also led Lake Superior State to an NAIA national championship.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS: Northern Michigan enters the MSU series riding a seven-game unbeaten streak - the Wildcats have reeled off a 5-0-2 record after dropping their CCHA opener to Ohio State on Oct. 13. Since falling to the Buckeyes, NMU came back to earn a series split with OSU the following night, took three points in league series against Ferris State and Bowling Green and earned a sweep at Minnesota-Duluth.
The Wildcats, who boast the league's second-ranking scoring offense at 4.11 goals per game, feature a balanced scoring attack with nine players with six or more points through nine games. Junior forward Chad Theuer leads NMU with three goals and a team-high nine assists for 12 points. Sophomore forward Terry Harrison is second among Wildcat skaters in scoring with 11 points, including a team-best seven goals. NMU's top returning scorer from last season, sophomore forward Chris Gobert, has 5-5--10 while senior forward Fred Mattersdorfer has 4-5--9. Senior defenseman Mike Sandbeck leads all NMU blueliners in scoring with 0-8--8.
Coach Rick Comley has gone with the goaltender-by-committee formula through the early part of the season as Dan Ragusett and Craig Kowalski have split time between the pipes for NMU. Kowalski, a highly-touted freshman from Clinton Township, Mich., owns a 4-0-1 record in addition to a 1.96 goals against average and a .928 saves percentage. He ranks second only to MSU's Ryan Miller goals against average and saves percentage. Last year's workhorse, senior Dan Ragusett, has a 1-1-2 record to go along with a 3.12 goals against average and an .885 saves percentage. Ragusett is NMU's career leader in saves percentage and goals against average.
THE SERIES VS. THE WILDCATS
Overall: MSU leads the all-time series against Northern Michigan by a 14-10-2 (.577) margin. The Spartans' record against the Wildcats since NMU rejoined the CCHA in 1997 is 7-2-2 (.727)
At Munn Ice Arena: The Spartans are 8-4-1 (.654) all-time vs. the Wildcats in East Lansing.
Current Streak: MSU enters the series with a two-game win streak against NMU.
Last Season: MSU was 2-0-0 against Northern Michigan in 1999-2000. At Munn Ice Arena: Feb. 11-MSU 3, NMU 2, Feb. 12-MSU 2, NMU 0
SERIES NOTES
MSU enters this week's series against NMU with a five-game win streak and a six-game unbeaten streak against the Wildcats at Munn. Since they rejoined the CCHA in 1998, MSU has not lost to NMU at home.
The MSU-NMU series marks the start of a four-game home stand for the Spartans, the team's longest of the 2000-01 season.
The series also marks the start of a six-game stretch that pits the Spartans against teams with a combined 30-9-5 record entering the week (NMU, WMU, LSSU, Minnesota and Wisconsin)
In each of the past four seasons, MSU has gone on a tear immediately following the Michigan game at Yost. Last season, the Spartans were 5-0-2 after travelling to Ann Arbor. In 1998-99, the Spartans went on a 20-1-5 stretch after losing to UM at Yost. In 1997-98, MSU won 10 of 11 after playing the Wolverines in Ann Arbor and in 1996-97, State won seven of nine after its contest at Yost.
Forward Rustyn Dolyny is averaging nearly a point a game against Northern Michigan during his career. The senior captain from Fort Frances, Ont., has 4-5--9 in 10 games against the Wildcats.
INJURY REPORT: Senior center Andrew Bogle, who sustained a right shoulder injury against Nebraska-Omaha on Oct. 20 and missed both games of the Notre Dame series Oct. 26-27, returned to the lineup against Michigan.
Junior center Joe Goodenow is listed as day-to-day after sustaining a left shoulder injury against Alaska Anchorage. Goodenow has missed MSU's last six games dating back to the Spartans' Oct. 14 game vs. Merrimack at the Johnson Nissan Classic in Anchorage, Alaska.
