Michigan State University Athletics
Day Four of John-Michael Liles' Diary
10/4/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Michigan State junior defenseman John-Michael Liles recounts his days heading into the Michigan State-Michigan match-up Saturday. Liles and the Spartan hockey team have two days before they open the regular season against Michigan at Spartan Stadium.
October 4, 2001
Troy Ferguson and I had class at the stadium again this morning. We were checking the rink out and hoping that we would have been able to skate on it tonight. I know a lot of the guys wanted to get out there to see the atmosphere. We'll be skating on it tomorrow. The rink looks good. They're making progress. They started painting the lines today. The weather is the only thing we can't control right now.
Practice is great. I think everybody knows that the day is near. The guys are picking it up more and more everyday to prepare for the battle we're going to have on Saturday. We went over more systems and penalty kill today. I think coach is trying to prepare the freshmen for what we are going to face on Saturday night. I think most of the returning guys know what we are going to expect from Michigan.
Tomorrow' practice we'll get used to the ice and go over systems. Tomorrow night we'll have a chance to get used to the lights for the goaltenders.
I have parents, friends, a brother, a sister, my grandfather, and old teammates and coaches that are coming up for the game. I am definitely excited. I have a big crowd coming. Obviously there are going to be a lot of fans here. I'm just going to try and play my game - I think that is what everyone else is going to try and do - and hopefully we'll click.
