Quick Turn Around For Spartan Hockey
11/14/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
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Nov. 14, 2005
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State men's hockey team (5-3-2, 2-2-2) continues its torrid eight-game, 15-day stretch with a mid-week game at Ohio State. The Buckeyes enter Tuesday with a disappointing overall record of 2-5-1 and a paltry 1-4-1 mark in league action. The Spartans will look to get back on track after a disappointing week in which they garnered just one of six possible CCHA points. Tuesday's game is slated for 7:05 pm at OSU's Value City Arena, and the two teams will meet again on Tuesday, Feb. 9 to complete the two-game CCHA series.
RECENT RESULTS
The Spartans were swept in a weekend series with Nebraska-Omaha at Munn Ice Arena on Nov. 11-12. The Mavericks scored three times on five shots in a span of 2:04 early in the third, to capture a 7-4 win on Friday. Bill Thomas was key in the UNO sweep with his overtime goal on Saturday, to hand the Spartans their first and second CCHA losses of the season, dropping MSU to 5-3-2 overall and 2-2-1 in CCHA play. MSU managed just one point out of a possible six on the week when it skated to a 2-2 tie at Ferris State on Tuesday, Nov. 8. After starting the season 5-1-1, Michigan State is now just 2-2-1 in its last five games.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
The Spartans were 1-2-0 against the Buckeyes last season, posting a 6-3 win at Munn Arena on Feb. 18, before dropping the rematch 5-1. The two teams met again in the CCHA Super Six semifinals where Ohio State took a 4-1 victory to advance to the conference championship game. Sophomore forward Jim McKenzie netted his first career hat trick in the Feb. 18, 6-3 victory, while junior defenseman Ethan Graham and senior forward Colton Fretter each potted 1-1-2 in the same game. Junior goaltender Dominic Vicari totaled 100 saves in three games against the Buckeyes last season. Michigan State leads the all-time series between the two schools with a 73-18-7 mark, including a 31-11-5 advantage in Columbus. The last 15 meetings have been much closer, with the Spartans holding a slight 7-6-2 lead over the Buckeyes.
SCOUTING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Current Spartan forwards (junior) Drew Miller and (senior) Colton Fretter paced the Spartan offense last season in a series split with Western Michigan. Miller notched his lone career hat trick in a 5-4 loss on Saturday Jan. 15, while Fretter netted three assists in that game and added a helper in game two of the series to total four points vs. the Broncos in 2004-05. The Spartans are 55-23-6 in 84 games vs. the Broncos. The Green and White hold a 30-4-5 advantage at Munn Ice Arena, site of Friday night's contest, and a 22-17-1 edge in games played at Western's Lawson Arena. The two teams split a pair of games last season, pushing the Spartan edge in the last 15 games to 8-4-3.
EIGHT IN FIFTEEN
Michigan State is now just 2-2-1 on its current stretch of eight games in 15 days. After sweeping NMU and posting a 2-2 tie at Ferris State, the Spartans dropped a pair of games at home vs. Nebraska-Omaha. The Green and White still must travel to Ohio State on Tuesday, Nov. 15 and play a home-and-home series vs. Western Michigan to close out the grueling schedule.
THE SPARTANS RETURNING TO FULL STRENGTH
Freshman forward Nick Sucharski and freshman defenseman Brandon Gentile played their first games as Spartans vs. UNO. The pair of freshmen had missed MSU's first six games due to injury. Sophomore forward Chris Mueller also returned to action against Nebraska-Omaha after missing three games with an injury of his own. Junior defenseman Chris Snavely returned to the ice for the series against Northern Michigan at Munn Arena on Nov. 4-5.
CHECK YOUR PROGRAM
Spartan fans are getting to know some new faces this season. Sucharski's and Gentile's first collegiate appearances marked the ninth and 10th career debuts for MSU this year. Sophomore forwards Daniel Sturges and Zak McClellan appeared in their first games as Spartans this season after sitting out the entire 2004-05 campaign. Freshmen Justin Abdelkader, Tim Crowder, Tim Kennedy, Kurt Kivisto, Jeff Lerg and Matt Shouneyia have also appeared in Green and White for the first time this year.
LERG SETTLES IN AS SPARTAN PLAYMAKER
Known more as a goal-scorer during his days with the U.S. NTDP and throughout his freshman season, sophomore Bryan Lerg has found his niche as a playmaker on the Spartan second line. Lerg netted three more assists last weekend vs. Nebraska-Omaha, raising his season point totals to 2-13-15. His 13 helpers are already a career high, while his 15 points matches his total from last season, when the Livonia, Mich., native managed 10 goals and five assists for 15 points.
STREAKING SPARTANS
Junior forward Tyler Howells had his eight-game point streak snapped on Friday night, when he failed to register a point for the first time this season. Howell's linemate, sophomore forward Bryan Lerg netted a pair of assists on Friday and another on Saturday to extend his personal-best point streak to six games. Lerg has picked up 2-13-15 on the season to lead the team in assists and total points.
ANYONE HOTTER THAN POTTER?
Senior defenseman Corey Potter matched a career-high for points in a game on Friday night with 1-1-2. It marked the third time Potter has netted two points in a single contest. Most recently he accomplished the feat on March 17, 2005, with a pair of assists vs. UNO. The Mason, Mich. native also potted his first goal since his freshman campaign, snapping a 78-game drought. He has now posted 1-5-6 on the young season and is just two points away from matching his single-season high of eight.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
Sophomore forward Daniel Sturges pulled the Spartans within three goals, 7-4, Friday night with his first career goal. Sturges collected a pass from linemate sophomore forward Zak McClellan, spun and slid the puck past Maverick goaltender Jerad Kauffman. Sturges' father Jon, a Spartan letterman from 1973-1976, tallied 77-132-209 in his career at MSU. The line of Stuges, junior forward Chris Lawrence and McClellan has now combined for four points in the last five games. In that stretch, a member of the fourth line has picked up at least one point in every game.
COMLEY'S ANGELS
Following a Tuesday night 2-2 tie at Ferris State, in which they were whistled for 11 minor penalties, the Spartans were called for just three infractions on Friday night. MSU was clean until the 17:04 mark of the second period when sophomore forward Bryan Lerg was sent to the box for hooking. The Spartans' season low from a season ago was two penalties in a Jan. 15 game vs. WMU (a 3-1 win) and Jan. 21 contest against LSSU ( an 8-0 win). In the series vs. the Broncos on Jan. 14-15, the Green and White were whistled for just five penalties total en route to a split in the home-and-home series.
SPARTAN SHOOTERS
Michigan State has outshot its opponents in all but two games this season. The Spartans have topped the 30-shot plateau on six occasions this season, while limiting opponents to less than 30 shots in every game but two; Ferris State fired 34, a season high shots on freshman goaltender Jeff Lerg, while Nebraska-Omaha tested Lerg with 32 shots on goal.
LERG'S STRONG START CONTINUES
Spartan freshman goaltender Jeff Lerg completed the week at 0-1-1 but made 58 saves in the two games. Lerg is now 1-1-1 but leads the Spartans with a 2.53 GAA and a .909 save percentage in three games. Last season in the shadow of the Qwest Center, Lerg posted a 36-11-0 record while sporting a 2.16 GAA and a .916 save percentage with the Omaha Lancers. Those 36 wins set a new USHL record.
SPARTANS SWEPT AFTER OVERTIME LOSS
Michigan State dropped its first overtime contest of the 2005-06 season with a 3-2 loss to UNO. Maverick forward Bill Thomas' overtime goal was the first allowed by MSU since last February, when the Spartans dropped a 6-5 decision at Alaska Fairbanks. The loss also marked the first time Michigan State was swept at home since the Miami RedHawks took two games from the Spartans on Jan. 30 and 31, 2004. Miami took the first game 2-1 and followed that up with a 3-1 win on Saturday. The last time the Green and White were swept in any series was last season at UAF. The Spartans dropped the first game in overtime, 6-5, and the second 1-0 on Feb. 11 and 12.
MSU AND RANKED OPPONENTS
Of the Spartans first six games, five have been against opponents ranked in the top 15. Michigan State is 4-1-1 in those games beating then #14 Northern Michigan twice, shuting out current #5 North Dakota, splitting at then #2 Cornell and skating to a draw in its first CCHA contest with then #1 Michigan. The upcoming schedule features games against 13th-ranked Ohio State on Nov. 15, College Hockey Showcase action against #7 Minnesota and #9 Wisconsin, a trip to Alaska to take on the 17th-ranked Nanooks, and a GLI matchup with either Colorado College (#1) or Michigan (#3).
CENTURY CLUB
With fellow senior David Booth out of the lineup, forward Colton Fretter is making the lone charge at the 100-point plateau. Fretter, a native of Harrow, Ont., has posted 3-4-7 this season to raise his career totals to 36-54-90 and is now just 10 points shy of the milestone. Booth, who was off to a quick start posting 1-2-3 in three games prior to his injury, currently boasts 33-40-73 in his Spartan career.
ClIMBING THE LADDER
Michigan State head coach Rick Comley enters the season, his fourth at MSU and the 33rd of his legendary career, in sole possession of sixth place on the all-time coaching wins list in Division I hockey with 668. Now in his 33rd season, Comley is 668-526-80, good for a .560 winning percentage. He needs just five victories to pass former Clarkson and Boston College head coach Len Ceglarski for fifth place all-time, but still has a ways to go to catch the NCAA's all-time winningest bench boss. Former Spartan head coach and current athletic director Ron Mason earned 924 victories in his illustrious career.
LEFTY McFADDEN CHAMPIONS
Michigan State opened the 2005-06 regular season with a win over Wayne State, 5-1, and a 3-0 win over North Dakota to capture the fourth annual Lefty McFadden Invitational tournament title. Forwards Bryan Lerg and David Booth and defenseman Tyler Howells earned all-tournament team honors for their performances. Lerg paced the Spartan offense with a goal and three assists, Booth chipped in a shorthanded goal and a pair of assists, and Howells added two assists from the blueline. MSU junior goaltender Dominic Vicari earned both victories by allowing just one goal on 41 shots for the tournament.
CAPTAIN MILLER
Junior forward Drew Miller has been selected to captain the 2005-06 Michigan State hockey team. Miller, an assistant captain last season, is the 10th member of the Miller family to don the Green and White. The East Lansing, Mich., native has posted a career-line of 21-22-43. Joining Miller for his third season as an assistant captain is senior defenseman Jared Nightingale, along with senior defenseman Corey Potter and senior forward Colton Fretter.
THE 2005-06 SPARTANS
The Spartans return seven of their top 10 scorers from the 2004-05 season, including double-digit goal scorers Colton Fretter (20-24-44), Drew Miller (17-16-33), Jim McKenzie (11-7-18) and Bryan Lerg (10-5-15). On defense, the talented tandem of Ethan Graham and Corey Potter return and are expected to once again log a lot of minutes on the Spartan blueline. Junior goaltender Dominic Vicari played in 38 games last season for the Green and White, posting a 2.30 GAA and a .923 Spct., while making 1,027 saves. The Spartans finished the 2004-05 season with a record of 20-17-4 (12-13-3 CCHA) and just missed qualifying for the program's 24th NCAA Tournament appearance.
FRESH FACES
The Spartan hockey program welcomes nine newcomers, (five forwards, two defensemen and two goaltenders) into the fold for the 2005-06 season. Forwards Justin Abdelkader (Muskegon, Mich.), Tim Crowder (Victoria, B.C.), Tim Kennedy (Buffalo, N.Y.), Kurt Kivisto (Milford, Mich.) and Nick Sucharski (Toronto, ONT.), defensemen Nick Gentile (Clarkston, Mich.) and Matt Shoyneyia (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) and goaltenders Jeff Lerg (Livonia, Mich.) and Steve Mnich (Northville, Mich.) should all compete for playing time this season, while adding immediate depth to the MSU lineup.
LIKE CLOCKWORK
The 2005-06 season marks the 40th anniversary of the Spartans first national championship in 1966 and the 20th anniversary of the program's 1986 national title. The 1966 team rebounded from a rocky 4-9-0 start to win 12 of its final 16 games to qualify for the national tournament. MSU would defeat Clarkson University, 6-1, behind the goaltending of Gaye Cooley. In 1986, the Green and White rode the goal scoring of senior forward Mike Donnelly; Donnelly scored his 59th goal of the season to lock up the Spartans' second national title, 6-5, over the Harvard Crimson.
DRAFTED SPARTANS
Three Spartans were selected in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft; incoming freshmen Justin Abdelkader, selected in the second round (42 overall) by the Detroit Red Wings, Tim Crowder, chosen in the fifth round (126) by Pittsburgh and Tim Kennedy, picked 181st overall by the Washington Capitals, raises the number of drafted Spartans to eight. NHL teams also own the rights of Michigan State forwards Colton Fretter (ATL - 8th round, 2002), Drew Miller (ANA - 6th round, 2003), Jim McKenzie (OTT - 5th round, 2004) and David Booth (FLA - 2nd round, 2004) as well as defenseman Corey Potter (NYR - 4th round, 2003).
