Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Face Ferris State In CCHA Regular-Season Finale.
2/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Feb. 26, 2002
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THIS WEEK
Michigan State closes the 2001-02 regular season and continues its quest for a fourth Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season championship in five years as the Spartans (23-6-5 overall, 17-5-4 CCHA) play a home-and-home series with Ferris State (14-17-1 overall, 11-14-1 CCHA).
Friday's game at Ewigleben Ice Arena in Big Rapids is scheduled for a 7:35 p.m. EST faceoff, with Saturday's rematch at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing set for 7:05 p.m.
RADIO
This weekend's games, and all MSU home and road contests, 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. He's joined by former Spartan All-American goaltender Joe Blackburn as game analyst.
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
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Net Detroit beginning at 7 p.m. Ken Daniels will handle play-by-play duties and is joined by analyst Fred Pletsch and rinkside reporter Shireen Saski.
PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY SATURDAY
The MSU men's basketball and hockey teams close out their respective regular-season schedules at home Saturday. The Spartan cagers host Iowa at 4:30 p.m. at the Breslin Center with the icers celebrating Senior Night at Munn Ice Arena at 7 p.m.
In anticipation of the hockey-hoops doubleheader, the MSU Athletics Department provides fans the following information:
All parking areas open at 3 p.m. Event parking is $5. Shuttle service will be provided from Ramp 5, located south of the Communication Arts and Sciences Building on Red Cedar Road. Round-trip shuttle bus service is $2. Shuttle service will be provided through the conclusion of the hockey game. Parking for persons with disablilities is also available in Ramp 5. Hockey season-ticket holders with Lot 63-East (Breslin Center) passes will be directed to Munn Field for parking (weather permitting). Hockey fans arriving without parking passes are encouraged to park in Lot 79, located at the south end of Spartan Stadium. If Lot 79 is sold out, additional parking will be available in lot 56, located east of the football practice fields.
TICKET UPDATE
Standing-room tickets, priced at $9, are available for Saturday's game vs. Ferris State. Reserved seating is also available for the Spartans' first-round, best-of-three CCHA playoff series at Munn Ice Arena March 8-10 (Sunday's game will be played if necessary). Tickets are $18 for the general public and $8 for MSU students with a valid ID. For more information on Spartan hockey tickets, contact the MSU ticket office at (517) 355-1610 or 1-800-GO STATE.
MSU INJURY UPDATE (as of Feb. 25)
The Spartans report no injuries heading into the weekend series vs. Ferris State.
THE SPARTANS... Can guarantee at least a share of the CCHA regular-season championship with a pair of victories against Ferris State this weekend. MSU has finished first in the conference three times in the last four seasons. Are assured of a finish no worse than second in the conference regular-season standings and a CCHA first-round playoff series at Munn Ice Arena. It's the 11th straight season MSU has been at home for the opening round of the league postseason tournament. Come into Friday's game at Ferris State with a two-game road winning streak and a six-game road unbeaten streak. The 3-0-3 stretch away from Munn Ice Arena is the team's best this season. Haven't lost in their last 15 trips to Ewigleben Ice Arena dating back to Nov. 20, 1990, when the Bulldogs pulled out a 4-2 win. MSU is 10-0-5 in Big Rapids since that date. Are 19-2-4 (.840) against the Bulldogs since the start of the 1994-95 season. Will honor five seniors - forwards Joe Goodenow and Adam Hall, defensemen Andrew Hutchinson and Jon Insana and goaltender Nathan Shopbell - prior to Saturday's contest at Munn Ice Arena. The senior quintet comes into the weekend with a 111-28-20 (.761) record, two CCHA regular-season championships, two league playoff titles, three Great Lakes Invitational championships, three NCAA Tournament appearances and trips to the NCAA Frozen Four in 1999 and 2001.
THE BULLDOGS... Enter the weekend series with the Spartans with a four-game losing streak in tow. The skid is Ferris State's longest losing stretch of the season. Have scored two or fewer goals against the Spartans 13 times in the last 14 meetings between the two teams. Are paced offensively by forwards Rob Collins and Chris Kunitz. Collins, a senior from Kitchener, Ont., leads the CCHA in scoring and assists with 15 goals and 33 assists for 48 points in 32 games while Kunitz, a junior from Regina, Sask., is tied for fifth in the league in points and paces the conference in goals with 28-10--38. Are the last road team to win on Senior Night at Munn Ice Arena. Ferris State downed MSU by a 2-1 score March 6, 1999. The Spartans are 16-4-1 (.786) on Senior Night during the Ron Mason era. Are coached by 1982 Michigan State graduate Bob Daniels. Daniels, in his 10th season behind the Ferris State bench, comes into the weekend with a 148-194-32 (.439) career record.
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 631-267-69 (.688) mark since taking over for the legendary Amo Bessone in 1979. His overall record currently stands at 920-377-83 (.697), with win no. 900 coming Oct. 20 vs. Ferris State at Munn Ice Arena.
Mason guided MSU to its second NCAA hockey championship in 1986 and his 21 NCAA Tournament appearances are an all-time record. He 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 (653). 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 45 of his former MSU skaters move on to the National Hockey League.
