Showcase Showdowns

Nov. 24, 2006

THE MINNESOTA GAME * Fri. Nov. 24, 8:07 EST
Location: Minneapolis, Minn.; Mariucci Arena (10,000)
Live Statistics Available at www.gophersports.com
Audio: WJIM 1240 AM/ msuspartans.com
Scott Moore (PBP) and Rob Woodward '00 (Analysis) Television: FSN; Frank Mazzocco (pbp) and Doug Woog (analysis)

THE WISCONSIN GAME * Sat. Nov. 24, 8:07 EST
Location: Madison, Wis.; Kohl Center (15,237)
Live Statistics Available at www.uwbadgers.com
Audio: WJIM 1240 AM/ msuspartans.com
Scott Moore (PBP) and Rob Woodward '00 (Analysis) Television: Wisconsin Public Television; Robb Vogel (pbp) and Ron Vincent (analysis)

Download MSU Game Notes

in brief
The Spartans continue their three-game road trip with the annual College Hockey Showcase games. Michigan State will tangle with Minnesota in the first game on Friday night at Mariucci Arena, then continue on to Madison, Wis. to take on defending National Champion Wisconsin on Saturday evening at the Kohl Center.

big sheets, big buildings
These are the two largest on-campus venues in which the Spartans will play this season, as Mariucci seats 10,000 spectators and the Kohl Center more than 15,000 fans.
These rinks are also two of the three olympic-size ice surfaces on the regular-season schedule for the Spartans. Two CCHA venues boast an Olympic sheet - the Carlson Center at Alaska, and Northern Michigan's Berry Events Center. The Spartans play at NMU the second weekend in December, but do not travel to Alaska this season.

series records
Minnesota holds a commanding advantage in the all-time series (101-40-10), and the Gophers hold a 52-13-6 edge on their home ice (2-1-1 in showcase games). Last year, the two teams skated to a 2-2 tie in East Lansing.
The defending national champion Badgers are on tap for Saturday, and the Spartans hold a slim 46-38-2 mark in the all-time meetings. The Badgers are 21-17-2 against MSU on their home ice, but the Spartans have never lost to Wisconsin on the road in a Showcase game (4-0-0). Last year in East Lansing, the Spartans fell to the eventual NCAA titlists, 3-1.

about the college hockey showcase
Bringing together four of the nation's hockey powerhouses - MSU and Michigan from the CCHA and Minnesota and Wisconsin from the WCHA - the College Hockey Showcase celebrates its 13th season.
This year's games will be played at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis, and at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis.
The four teams participating in the College Hockey Showcase have won a total of 22 NCAA championships, (including last year's Wisconsin squad which captured the NCAA title in Milwaukee) and made more than 100 postseason appearances. All four are among the top 15 winningest programs in college hockey history and have combined for nearly 5,000 wins.
Complete year-by-year CHS results, as well as all-time records, can be found on p. 9-10 of these notes.

among the giants
Head coach Rick Comley brings a 694-540-88 record into this weekend'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 three wins to reach the 100-victory plateau for his Michigan State tenure (97-64-17).

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 could reach it sometime in mid-to-late December; the Spartans are 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 director). After that, the Spartans will be just down the road at Joe Louis Arena for the Great Lakes Invitational.

scouting the gophers
Minnesota owns the longest unbeaten streak in the country (10-0-2), and ranks in the top ten nationally in offense (4.23 gpg, third), defense (1.92 gpg, fourth), power play (18/76, 23.7%, fifth) and penalty kill (63/71, 88.7, sixth).
Tyler Hirsch returned from a redshirt year and is atop the team's scoring chart with 17 points on three goals and a team-best 14 assists. Freshmen Jay Bariball and Kyle Okposo share the team lead in goals with nine and each have also contributed seven assists for 16 points. Jeff Frazee and Kellen Briggs have split time in net - Frazee has played in eight games, and boasts a 1.73 GAA and .910 save percentage, while Briggs' numbers are as impressive (.921 Sv%, 1.97 GAA).

a look at the badgers
Wisconsin is struggling through a five game losing streak and stands at 4-8-2 overall. Many of the Badgers' woes can be traced to a scoring drought, as UW has been ourscored 32-26 overall in its 14 games. The defense has been solid, spearheaded by preseason Hobey hopeful Brian Elliott, who backstopped Wisconsin to the National Championship a year ago. He owns a 2.04 GAA and .926 save percentage on the year, and has allowed more than one goal just once during the five-game skid. Jake Dowell has scored eight of the Badgers' goals on the season, and is second on the team with nine points; Andrew Joudrey is the squad's leading setup man with nine helpers and ten points.

quite the cluster
Michigan State is now 4-4-1 in conference play, in a tie for fourth place. Seven of its first nine games were been played against its clustermates (Ferris State, Western Michigan, and Michigan), where the Spartans own a 3-3-1 mark. Ferris is 2-4-1 in cluster games, Western is 2-3-0, and Michigan is 4-1-0.

ccha implications
MSU recently completed 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, and most recently split a series against Notre Dame. The Spartans fell, 2-1, in a midweek tilt at Michigan before boarding a plane for the showcase.

in the polls
Michigan State's position in both national polls fell this week after a split with Notre Dame last weekend - the Spartans are sixth in both this week's USCHO.com poll and 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.

the munn advantage
Michigan State is 5-0-1 at home this season, and just 1-4-1 on the road. The Spartans have outscored their opponents 27-15 and outshot them by an average of 29-22 at home, while being outscored (12-15) and are outshot (30-27) in road venues. Six of Michigan State's 12 goals scored on the road were in a 6-0 victory at Ferris State.

misfiring
MSU has been outshot in five straight games by a total margin of 150-117 - a 30-23 average per game.

call it after after two?
Michigan State is 6-0-1 this season when leading after two periods. The Spartans were 21-2-1 with a second-intermission lead a year ago and are 96-6-6 over the last five years.

we'd prefer three or more
Saturday's 2-0 victory over Notre Dame was the first time since the 1-0 victory over New Hampshire in last year's NCAA Tournament that MSU has scored less than three goals and won.

man up, man down
MSU's penalty kill allowed just one goal in ten chances on the weekend against Notre Dame, but watched Michigan's power play convert on two of seven chances on Tuesday.

separation anxiety
While the Spartans boast an unbeaten 5-0-1 mark at home this season, the squad is just 1-4-0 away from the friendly confines of Munn Arena. The Spartans have arguably their toughest road week on the schedule with this stretch at Michigan (now 8-2-0 at home), Minnesota (6-0-1), and Wisconsin (2-5-1).

shutout notes
MSU is the only team with two shutouts in conference games this season. Since Rick Comley took over in the 2002-03 season, Michigan State has recorded 28 shutouts - of those, 15 have come after the team has loss or tied its previous game.

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 11 games, and have scored a combined 15 goals and 18 assists, with one game-winning goal. The juniors had three games where they didn't skate together (two due to an injury to McKenzie, one to a DQ served by Lerg) but are not far off the scoring pace, with a combined 13 goals and 13 assists. However, the trio is responsible for four of the Spartans' six game-winning tallies.

two-way guys
Jim McKenzie, Chris Mueller and Bryan Lerg have not only contributed mightily on the scoresheet, but have also been more than effective in their own end. Mueller, the team's top defensive forward, has been on the ice for only three even strength goals against (of 21). Lerg's numbers are the same, while McKenzie has been on the ice for just four even strength goals against.
Meanwhile, Mueller has been on the ice for 16 of MSU's 39 goals scored this season (41%), Lerg for 15 (38.5%) and McKenzie 11 (29%).
MSU owns a 6-2-0 record when that line skates together this season.

injured reserve
Senior blueliner Ethan Graham will miss the Showcase with a leg injury sustained in Saturday's win over Notre Dame.

at the dot
Chris Mueller leads all Spartans in faceoff winning percentage, with 118 wins and 77 losses (.605). In Tuesday's game at Michigan, the Spartans edged UM 34-32 in faceoffs, but Mueller (8-2) and Kurt Kivisto (4-2) were the only centermen to be better than 50%

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 13 points (7g, 6a).

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.

is this what we were missing last fall?
Tim Kennedy posted a four-point weekend (3-1-4) in the earlier series against Michigan, has points in six of his last seven games, and has already surpassed his goal total from his freshman season (four). Through 11 games, he has more than half the points (13) 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 has not scored a point since MSU's home game against Michigan.

ccha honors
Jeff Lerg was named the CCHA Goaltender of the Week on Nov. 13 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, his (and the team's) first shutout of the season.

zeroes
Jeff Lerg's 25-save shutout of Notre Dame on Saturday at Munn was the fewest saves he has had to make in his five career shutouts; the other four totals were 31 (Alaska 1/13/06 and Michigan 1/17/06), 36 (New Hampshire 3/25/06) and 35 (Ferris State 11/10/06). It was the second time in the sophomore's career he has had two shutouts in a three-game span.

gone streakin' ...
Jim McKenzie, Tim Kennedy and Tim Crowder all saw their five-game point scoring streaks come to an end on Friday in the Spartans' loss at Notre Dame, but got back on the scoresheet on Saturday when Kennedy had an assist on Crowder's third-period tally and McKenzie assisted on Bryan Lerg's game-winner. The five-game point scoring streaks tied the longest of the season, set initially by freshman Jay Sprague.
Kennedy owns the current longest streak at two games, as Bryan Lerg's four-game streak was snapped Tuesday evening at Michigan.

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

playmakers
Ten of Tim Kennedy's 13 points have been either goals or primary assists. Six of Jim McKenzie's nine have been on goals or PA's, while all six of Nick Sucharski's are of that variety as well.

extra advantage
Jim McKenzie (2g, 4a) and Tim Kennedy (4g, 1a) have been prolific on the power play, each with six and five points, respectively while MSU is skating on the man advantage. Four skaters have four points on the power play: Mike Ratchuk (2g, 2a), Tyler Howells (4a), and Tim Crowder (4a).

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.

• Eleven of MSU's 13 power play goals this season have been come either in the first (5) or second (6) 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. Their fastest two goals allowed were just 14 seconds apart at Notre Dame (10:35, 10:49).

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 a third larger 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)    30  3 (7.6%)    13 (12.8%)Sophomore (9)   76  22 (56.4%)  46 (45.1%)Junior (6)  52  13 (33.3%)  31 (30.3%)Senior (4)  40  1 (2.6%)    11 (10.8%)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%)

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.

harley to the hall
Calgary Flames owner Harley Hotchkiss - a 1951 graduate of Michigan State University - was inducted into the National Hockey League's Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday, November 13 in Toronto.
The class was announced on Wednesday, June 28 by Jim Gregory, Chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee, and also includes Patrick Roy and Terrance `Dick' Duff in the Player Category. Hotchkiss and former coach Herb Brooks were elected in the Builder Category.
Hotchkiss was part of the ownership group which brought the Flames to Calgary from Atlanta in 1980, where the Flames have prospered (they appeared in the Stanley Cup finals as recently as 2004) and won the coveted chalice in 1989. He was also instrumental in helping bring the Olympic Winter Games to the city in 1988, and has served as the Chairman of the NHL's Board of Governors for the past 10 years.
Hotchkiss was a member of the Michigan State hockey team in 1950, playing for former coach Harold Paulson. It was the first season of reinstatement for the program after a 19-year hiatus. Hotchkiss had a goal and three assists in an abbreviated 14-game schedule.
Hotchkiss is an Officer of the Order of Canada and holds an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Calgary and an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from Michigan State. He was awarded the Alberta Order of Excellence in 1998.

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 Gazley (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, Gazley, 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 Gazley in Sioux City.

catching up with ...
Five members of the 2005-06 team are now playing professional hockey. David Booth was called up by Florida on Monday, Nov. 20 after a highly successful stint with the Rochester Amerks, the farm club for the Panthers. In Rochester, Booth had a 2-6-8 scoring line (+7) in 14 games. Two others - Drew Miller and Jared Nightingale - were on American Hockey League (AHL) rosters, the top developmental league for the NHL. Miller has three goals and eight assists (+3) in 18 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 six 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. He currently has a team-best 10 goals and three assists for 13 points. Meanwhile, Corey Potter has a goal and seven assists in 12 games with the Charlotte Checkers.

baker's dozen
A total of 13 former Spartans are currently on NHL rosters: David Booth (Florida), 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.