Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Hockey Welcomes Lake Superior State To Munn
10/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Oct. 8, 2001
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THIS WEEK
The Michigan State hockey team returns to the cozy confines of Munn Ice Arena for the second and third games of a four-game, season-opening homestand as the Spartans (0-0-1 overall, 0-0-1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association) welcome coach Frank Anzalone and the Lake Superior State Lakers (0-0-0, 0-0-0 CCHA) to East Lansing for a two-game league set. Faceoff in the Thursday-Friday series is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. EDT both nights.
RADIO
This week's games vs. Lake Superior State, 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 fifth season as the radio voice of MSU hockey, will call the action. Former Spartan All-American goaltender Joe Blackburn provides color commentary.
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.
TELEVISION
Both games of the MSU-LSSU will be broadcast live in the greater Lansing area on AT&T Broadband. The local cable outlet is scheduled to carry 11 Spartan hockey games this season.
MSU INJURY UPDATE (AS OF OCT. 8)
Troy Ferguson -- day-to-day--quadriceps (injured Oct. 6 vs. Michigan)
THE SPARTANS...
* Enter the Lake Superior State series with a four-game winning streak vs. the Lakers.
* Are 14-1-2 in their last 17 games against LSSU dating back to Jan. 10, 1997.
* Have not lost to the Lakers at Munn Ice Arena since Dec. 9, 1995 and are 8-0-0 during that span.
* Bring a 17-game home unbeaten streak into the LSSU series. MSU is 15-0-2 in East Lansing since Oct. 20, 2000.
* Shut out the Lakers three times in four games last season and have held LSSU scoreless five times in the last seven meetings between the two teams.
* Are one win shy of 50 against Lake Superior State in the series between the two teams, which started in 1980.
* Are 22-2-6 in October since 1997.
THE LAKERS...
* Come into the MSU series after playing a pair of exhibition contests last weekend. The Lakers defeated Lakehead University 5-2 in Sault Ste. Marie on Friday and skated to a 3-3 overtime tie with the U.S. Under-18 Team at Taffy Abel Arena the following night.
* Are seeking their first collegiate victory in more than 11 years for coach Frank Anzalone. Anzalone, who piloted the Lakers from 1982-1990, posted his last win in the college ranks on March 17, 1990 vs. Alaska Anchorage in the NCAA Tournament first round.
* Have scored two or fewer goals against the Spartans 12 times in the last 13 meetings between the two teams.
* Are goaltender Ryan Miller's favorite shutout victim. The 2001 Hobey Baker Award winner has blanked LSSU four times in his career.
* Will not face the Spartans for the remainder of the regular season following Friday's game.
THE MSU HEAD COACH
Ron Mason (St. Lawrence '64) is in his 23rd season with the Spartans and 36th year as a college coach. The winningest mentor in college hockey history, Mason has piloted the Spartans to a 608-261-65 (.686) mark since taking over for the legendary Amo Bessone in 1979. His overall record currently stands at 897-371-79 (.695). He guided MSU to its second NCAA hockey championship in 1986 and his 21 NCAA Tournament appearances are an all-time record. Mason also has taken eight teams to the NCAA Frozen Four, including seven Spartan squads.
Mason has more victories at one school than all but two coaches in NCAA hockey history. He's surpassed by only Bob Peters of Bemidji State (703 wins), who retired at the end of the 2000-01 season, and Jack Parker of Boston University (616). His number of wins with the Green and White are more than all but five coaches have during their collegiate careers.
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, 1999 and 2001. He's also guided MSU to CCHA playoff crowns in 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1998, 2000 and 2001. The league honored Mason by renaming the CCHA playoff trophy in his honor last year.
Mason, who won the Spencer Penrose Award as national coach of the year in 1992, has coached 20 Spartans to All-American honors and seen 44 of his former MSU skaters move on to the NHL.
THE 4-1-1 ON 900
Mason needs just three wins to post his 900th career victory. Mason, who won his 600th game behind the MSU bench against Michigan at Joe Louis Arena last February, owns a 897-371-79 record in 35-plus seasons at Lake Superior State, Bowling Green and Michigan State.
