MSU Prepares for Top 10 Showdowns With Irish

11/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

Nov. 15, 2006

MSU All-Access (Live Game Audio, Live Video Webstream (Saturday)

in brief
The Spartans prepare for a weekend set with Notre Dame, a battle of Top 10 teams. Notre Dame is fifth and sixth in the two national hockey polls (USCHO and USA Hockey Magazine, respectively), and comes into the weekend series unbeaten in their last eight games and sport an 8-1-1 overall mark and 3-0-1 ledger in CCHA games. The Spartans are 5-2-1, 3-2-1 in conference play, and are the consensus No. 4 pick in both national polls.

series records
The teams will play Friday in South Bend, where Michigan State owns a 21-18-6 record. The teams face off on Saturday in East Lansing, where the Spartans own a decided 33-13-2 edge. Michigan State has won five straight in the series and are 7-1-2 in the last 10 meetings, and own a 56-31-8 mark against Notre Dame overall.

turning back the clock
The two teams played a weekend home-and-home set last February, with the Spartans taking victory in both contests. Michigan State got a goal from each member of the Tim Kennedy-Justin Abdelkader-Tim Crowder line and held off a late Irish surge to take a 3-2 win in the Joyce Center, and needed a Drew Miller goal with just under six minutes remaining in the game to claim a 2-1 victory at home. Jeff Lerg had 26 saves at Munn in the victory, while Dominic Vicari picked up a 21-save win in his only second-half appearance.

what to watch for
The weekend series will feature a clash of the potent Michigan State offense - ranked fourth nationally (4.38 goals per game) and the stingy Notre Dame defense, which ranks first nationally (1.10 gpg) - the Irish have allowed just 11 goals in 10 games. The Notre Dame offense has been impressive in its own right, averaging 4.0 goals per game, good for ninth in the country.

among the giants
Head coach Rick Comley brings a 693-538-88 record into this week's games, during his 34th season as a collegiate head coach. He is third among active head coaches in career victories and sits fifth on the all-time NCAA list, which is headed by former Spartan mentor Ron Mason (924 victories). With eight wins, he will become the fifth collegiate coach to record 700 hockey coaching victories. In addition, Comley needs just four wins to reach the 100-victory plateau for his Michigan State tenure.

he'll do it close to home ...
There is a good chance that Rick Comley will be around friends and family when he reaches his 700-victory milestone. He's projected to reach it sometime in December; the Spartans host Ohio State on Dec. 1-2, then MSU is at Northern Michigan on Dec. 8-9, where Comley won two national championships and spent 26 seasons as the hockey coach (and several years as the athletic direcor). After that, the Spartans will be just down the road at Joe Louis Arena for the Great Lakes Invitational.

scouting the irish
Notre Dame is under the tutelage of Michigan State graduate Jeff Jackson, who won two National Championships as the head coach at Lake Superior State, started the USA Hockey National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor, and coached at the professional level as well. Jackson has his charges on a steady, upward climb in the CCHA standings, as the Irish currently sit in a four-way tie for fourth place (seven points).
The Irish have built their impressive 8-1-1 record with a split with Minnesota State -Mankato to open the season, followed by a sweep of then-No. 1 Boston College (7-1) and Providence (6-1) on an eastern swing, and winning their tournament in Tampa with victories over Army (3-0) and Air Force (2-0). Notre Dame has then opened its CCHA slate by taking three points at Ohio State and most recently sweeping Bowling Green (5-2, 4-0) at home.
Jackson has a representative of every class in his top four scorers, as junior Mark VanGuilder (8-6-14) sits atop the scoring chart, followed by sophomore Erik Condra (4-9-13), freshman Kevin Deeth (5-6-11) and senior Josh Sciba (3-7-10). Senior netminder David Brown leads the country in both goals against average (1.20) and save percentage (.953), and ranks sixth in winning percentage with a 7-1-1 mark (.833).

quite the cluster
Michigan State is now 3-2-1 in conference play, in a tie for fourth place. All of its first six games have been played against its clustermates (Ferris State, Western Michigan, and Michigan). Ferris is 1-2-1 in cluster games, Western is 2-2-0, and Michigan is 1-1-0.

ccha implications
This series continues a run of seven consecutive CCHA games for Michigan State. The Spartans split the home-and-home with Michigan, and took three points in a home-and-home with Ferris. After this weekend's showdown with Notre Dame, the Spartans will head back to Ann Arbor for a Tuesday night tilt before both teams head for the College Hockey Showcase against Minnesota and Wisconsin the weekend after Thanksgiving.

in the polls
Michigan State's position in both national polls has improved this week after a three-point effort against Ferris State last week - the Spartans are fourth in this week's USCHO.com poll and also in the USA Today/USAHockeyMagazine survey.

preseason accolades
The Spartans have been recognized as one of the most promising teams in the CCHA for the upcoming season. MSU earned the first-place nod in the CCHA coaches' poll, earning seven first-place votes. Thirty-eight members of the CCHA media had MSU first on their ballots, but the Spartans were one point behind Michigan in the media poll and were second.
Sophomore goaltender Jeff Lerg (first team) and senior defenseman Tyler Howells (second team) were recognized as Preseason All-CCHA selections. Lerg is the league's reigning Rookie of the Year, as well as the CCHA Tournament MVP from 2006. non-conference success
Since the 2000-01 season, Michigan State has posted a 32-16-4 mark against non-CCHA opponents during the regular season. In the four-plus seasons under Rick Comley, MSU is 20-14-3 against non-CCHA opposition, including a 6-3-1 mark last season.

feeling left out
The Spartans have played the fewest games (eight) of any team in the CCHA. While Western Michigan has only played nine, most have played 10 - and Miami and Northern Michigan each have a dozen games under their belts.

call it after after two?
Michigan State is 5-0-1 this season when leading after two periods. The Spartans were 21-2-1 with a second-intermission lead a year ago and are 95-6-6 over the last five years.

they've got the power
The MSU power play went 3-for-8 against Ferris in the Friday victory (and 4-for-17 in the two games) to improve to 21.1 percent on the season, which ranks 12th nationally. The penalty kill is 33 of 38 this season, (.868), good for fourth in the CCHA.

separation anxiety
The Spartans won their first road game of the season on Friday evening, posting their first shutout of the year with a 6-0 whitewash of Ferris State in Big Rapids. The Spartans were 6-5-3 in road venues a year ago.

when they shoot more, they score more
Michigan State has outshot its opponents by a 240-195 margin over its first eight games, and five times the opponent has taken 23 or fewer in a game. The season high came in the last outing, as Jeff Lerg stopped all 35 shots against in a 6-0 victory over Ferris State.
In a period-by-period breakdown, the Spartans have come out firing in the first two frames, holding a 22-shot edge in the first period (84-62) and an advantage of 21 in the middle frame (87-66). However, MSU has just a five-shot edge (69-65) in the final frame, and have outscored opponents just 9-8 in that period. The Spartans own a four-goal scoring edge in the first (11-7) and a six-goal margin (15-9) in the second.

line analysis
The Spartans brought two lines into the season which saw significant action together during the 2005-06 campaign. Comley refers to them as his "1A" and "1B" lines. The first is a trio of juniors - Bryan Lerg, Jim McKenzie and Chris Mueller, and the other all sophomores - Justin Abdelkader, Tim Crowder, and Tim Kennedy. The all-sophomore "09 Line" were honorable mention selections to the 2005-06 CCHA All-Rookie Team.
Which trio has the upper hand? Hard to say - the sophomores are the only MSU line to skate together in all eight games, and have scored a combined 13 goals and 16 assists, with one game-winning goal. The juniors had two games where they didn't skate together due to an injury to McKenzie, but are not far off the scoring pace, with a combined 11 goals and 12 assists. However, the trio is responsible for three of the Spartans' five game-winning tallies.

open tryouts
While his top two lines have been settled since the beginning of training camp, Rick Comley has tried several combinations for the third and fourth units in recent games. Against St. Lawrence, his fourth line of Brandon Warner and Dan Sturges centered by Kurt Kivisto generated the eventual game-winner. It was Kivisto with the tally - and he was appearing in just his third career game. Kivisto has appeared in five of the last six games, and has seemingly earned a spot on the fourth line.
All but two skaters (22 total) have appeared in at least two games this season, and 19 of those to appear in at least two games have at least one point.

the law of averages
Five Spartan skaters are averaging at least a point per game: Tim Kennedy, Nick Sucharski, Justin Abdelkader, Jim McKenzie, and Tim Crowder.

is this what we were missing last fall?
Tim Kennedy posted a four-point weekend (3-1-4) against Michigan, is riding a five-game scoring streak, and has already surpassed his goal total from his freshman season (four). Through eight games, he has more than half the points (11) that he did in his entire injury-shortened freshman season (19).

start out strong
Freshman Jay Sprague opened his freshman campaign with a five game point-scoring streak, which also featured back-to-back multiple-point games (two assists). He was the only Spartan skater to score in each of the team's first five games, but he was held off the board in the loss to Michigan at Yost.

ccha honors
Jeff Lerg has been named the CCHA Goaltender of the Week for his performance against Ferris State, stopping 64 of 66 shots in a three-point week. The sophomore had 29 saves in a 2-2 midweek tie, then came back with a season-best 35 saves in a 6-0 victory on the road in Big Rapids Friday night, his (and the team's) first shutout of the season. hot hand
Mueller had an impressive week in his own right, with a four-point effort in the two games against Ferris State. He had the primary assist on Tim Crowder's goal in a 2-2 stalemate on Tuesday at Munn, then came back with a goal - the game-winner - and a pair of assists in a 6-0 victory in Big Rapids on Friday night. Mueller, who was a +3 on the week, won 29 of 39 faceoffs. He is the team's top faceoff man, winning 90 of 154 (.584) on the year.

three gone streakin' ...
Jim McKenzie, Tim Crowder, and Tim Kennedy now share the longest active point-scoring streak on the team, with a goal or assist in their last five games. Five games ties the longest streak this season for any Spartan player, set earlier by Jay Sprague.

... and streakin' in a big way
Kennedy boasts six goals and three assists in his five-game scoring streak, while Crowder has two goals and six assists and McKenzie has contributed three goals and five assists.

finding the touch
Sophomore Nick Sucharski, who missed significant time due to illness as a freshman, has four goals on the season through eight games after netting only two in his first year.

playmakers
Nine of Tim Kennedy's 11 points have been either goals or primary assists. Six of Jim McKenzie's eight have been on goals or PA's, while all six of Nick Sucharski's are of that variety as well.

extra advantage
Tim Kennedy (4g, 1a) and Jim McKenzie (2g, 3a) have been prolific on the power play, each with five points while MSU is skating on the man advantage.

stuff we're not sure means much yet, but is worth mentioning
• Justin Abdelkader posted the first goal of the 2006-07 campaign, just 1:44 into the opener against Western Michigan. Abdelkader also scored the first goal of the 2005-06 season, at the 2:03 mark of the first period against Wayne State in the Lefty McFadden Invitational in Dayton, Ohio.

• The all-junior line (B. Lerg, Mueller, McKenzie), and defensemen Mike Ratchuk and Ethan Graham have each been on the ice for three of MSU's game-winning goals. Lerg has scored two of them, and McKenzie has assisted on two.

• Ten of MSU's 12 power play goals this season have been come either in the first (5) or second (5) period.

• The earliest goal MSU has scored in a game this season is 1:44 into the first period. The latest the Spartans have scored (excluding an empty-net tally) is 18:33 of the third frame.

• MSU's fastest two goals this season came 40 seconds apart in the first period (4:13; 4:43) at Ferris State.

who's got next?
Rick Comley has seen the bulk of the scoring come from his sophomore class this year. While the number of sophomore skaters is nearly double to triple the size of the other classes, one can't underestimate the impact the class has had on the team's offensive fortunes. A breakdown, by class - followed by last year's breakdown.

2006-07Class (No.) GP  Goals (pct.)    Points (pct.)Freshman (3)    22  3 (8.5%)    12 (13.0%)Sophomore (9)   56  20 (57.1%)  42 (45.7%)Junior (6)  39  11 (31.4%)  28 (30.4%)Senior (4)  19  1 (2.9%)    8 (10.9%)
2005-06Class (No.) GP  Goals (pct.)    Points (pct.)Freshman (8)    164 35 (25.4%)  78 (20.6%)Sophomore (6)   219 40 (29.0%)  102 (26.9%)Junior (6)  201 35 (25.4%)  102 (26.9%)Senior (5)  175 28 (20.2%)  96 (25.3%)

keep `em healthy, ace
Tim Kennedy led the 2006 freshmen in assists (13), and had 17 of his 19 points after returning from a hand injury on Dec. 29 (he missed 16 games). Kennedy had seven points in his last six games a year ago. This year, he's picked up right where he left off - he owns the team lead in scoring with 11 points (6g, 5a).

it all starts on the goal line
Jeff Lerg made a name for himself on the national scene as a freshman. He was the CCHA Tournament MVP, the CCHA Rookie of the Year, the CCHA/RBC Player of the Month for both January and March, and was named to InsideCollegeHockey.com's national All-Rookie Team. Lerg finished his season with a 1.96 GAA (third nationally) and seventh in save percentage (.928). His single-season GAA ranks seventh in the MSU record book, as he is only the fifth Spartan in school history to post a sub-two goals against average in a season (Ryan Miller posted three). Lerg sits fourth in school history in single-season save percentage, and qualifies for second place on MSU's career list in that category; his 1.96 places him third on the current career list.

schedule capsule
Six NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago are the highlight of the 2006-07 Spartan schedule, which includes 15 home games, three at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, and non-conference opponents from the WCHA, ECAC, and Atlantic Hockey will be featured on the Spartans' docket for the upcoming season. The traditional four games against Michigan, the College Hockey Showcase against Minnesota and Wisconsin, and annual appearance in the Great Lakes Invitational are once again the marquee games on the schedule. The Spartans will play one of their games against the Wolverines at Joe Louis Arena, and will face off against ECAC champion Harvard in the semifinals of the Great Lakes Invitational. In all, Michigan State will play 11 games against teams which earned spots in last year's NCAA Tournament, including the defending National Champion Badgers.

media darlings
Twenty-one Michigan State regular-season hockey games will be aired live in the upcoming hockey season, in addition to one exhibition game. The array of MSU games will be aired on FSN Detroit, College Sports Television (CSTV), ESPNU, and Comcast.
In addition, the Michigan State Department of Athletics has announced that 14 of its 17 regular-season home games will be available via live webstream on its official website, www.msuspartans.com. Part of the All-Access package, subscribers will be able to get live video synched with the radio call by Scott Moore and Rob Woodward. Michigan State cannot webcast games which will air live on FSN Detroit.

faces of the future
Rick Comley announced the signing of National Letters of Intent by three more recruits for the fall of 2007, bringing the total number of incoming freshmen for the 2007-08 school year to five.
The three who signed in this most recent period are Corey Tropp (Grosse Pointe, Mich./Sioux Falls Stampede), a 5-10, 180-pound forward; Dustin Gazely (Novi Mich./Sioux City Musketeers), a 5-8, 150-pound forward; and defenseman AJ Sturges (Madison, Wis.), who is a 6-4, 190-pound standout for the US National Team Development Program in Ann Arbor. Sturges' brother, Dan, is a current Spartan, and their father, John, was an MSU standout from 1972-76 and ranks eighth all-time in career assists (132).
Tropp, Gazely, and Sturges join previous signees Jeff Petry (Farmington Hills, Mich), a 6-3, 200-pound defenseman who is currently playing for the Des Moines Buccaneers (USHL) and 6-1, 180 pound winger Andrew Rowe (Muskegon, Mich.), who is a teammate of Gazely in Sioux City.

catching up with ...
Five members of the 2005-06 team are now playing professional hockey. Three - David Booth, Drew Miller, and Jared Nightingale - were on American Hockey League (AHL) rosters, the top developmental league for the NHL. Booth has a 2-4-6 scoring line (+5) in 12 games with the Rochester Amerks, the farm club for the Florida Panthers. Miller has three goals and seven assists in 15 games played for the Portland Pirates, the top affiliate for the Anaheim Ducks. Nightingale, who signed a free agent contract in late March and appeared in 10 games with the Springfield Falcons last spring, was called up in late October by the Iowa Stars. He had a goal in his first AHL game this season, a win over Omaha on Oct. 27. He currently has a pair of goals in five games played in Iowa.
Two other members of last year's team are playing in the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) - Colton Fretter was named the League's Rookie of the Month on Nov 1, and recently tied the Gwinnett Gladiators team record with four goals in a game. Meanwhile, Corey Potter has a goal and six assists in nine games (+2) with the Charlotte Checkers.

one (or 12) for the show
A total of 12 former Spartans are currently on NHL rosters: Rod Brind'Amour (Carolina), Anson Carter (Columbus), Adam Hall (NY Rangers), Shawn Horcoff (Edmonton), Andrew Hutchinson (Carolina), Duncan Keith (Chicago), John-Michael Liles (Colorado), Ryan Miller (Buffalo), Jim Slater (Atlanta), Bryan Smolinski (Chicago), Mike Weaver (Los Angeles) and Mike York (NY Islanders).

spartan-on-spartan crime
Last year, Rod Brind'Amour and Andrew Hutchinson won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes, defeating Shawn Horcoff and the Oilers in seven games. The Hurricanes advanced to the finals after defeating Ryan Miller and the Sabres in the Eastern Conference Finals in seven games as well.

up next
The Spartans ready for a busy holiday week, as they will face off against archrival Michigan on Tuesday in Ann Arbor before both teams then travel for the College Hockey Showcase. Michigan State opens the Showcase at Minnesota on Friday, then will play defending National Champion Wisconsin on Saturday in Madison.