Spartans Entertain Lake Superior State in Weekend CCHA Set

Spartans Entertain Lake Superior State in Weekend CCHA Set

1/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

Jan. 17, 2007

in brief
Michigan State has its second straight home weekend on tap when it hosts Lake Superior on Friday and Saturday. The two teams entered last weekend tied in the standings, but MSU got a big sweep of Alaska and the Lakers suffered two losses on their home sheet to league-leading Notre Dame.

Date/Time: Fri. Jan. 19 7:05 ET; Sat. Jan. 20, 6:05 p.m.
Tickets: A limited number of tickets remain. Purchase Tickets
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Audio/Video Webstream: WJIM 1240 AM/ msuspartans.com
Scott Moore (PBP) and Rob Woodward '00 (Analysis)
Television: Friday: Comcast East Lansing; Eric Peasley (pbp) and Joe Campbell (analysis)
Saturday: FSN Detroit; Matt Shepard (pbp), Fred Pletsch (analysis); Shireen Saski (rinkside)
Download MSU Hockey Notes (PDF)

series history
MSU is 59-29-10 in the all-time series, including a 31-11-3 edge in games played in East Lansing. MSU is unbeaten in its last 14 meetings with LSSU at Munn Arena, but the Lakers did emerge with a 2-2 tie in the last game at Munn to snap MSU's 13-victory streak.
Rick Comley, a 1972 graduate of Lake Superior and the school's head coach from 1973-76, owns a career 44-21-8 mark against the Lakers, which includes a 7-1-2 record as the Spartan mentor.

last time out
In a hard-fought, emotional series, the Spartans swept CCHA foe Alaska, 3-2 (OT) and 4-2.
Tim Kennedy played the role of hero on Friday, potting the overtime game-winner at the 2:04 mark. The Spartans trailed 2-1 entering the third period, but a big goal by Justin Abdelkader midway through the final frame tied the score. Chris Mueller had opened the scoring for Michigan State at the 3:45 mark of the game, but Alaska rallied for an equalizer in the first period and posted a goal at 3:47 of the middle frame to take a lead. Jeff Lerg made 26 saves, while Wylie Rogers made 22 for Alaska.
Rogers was the story on Saturday, as he was simply outstanding and kept the Nanooks in the game. Rogers was challenged by a 48-shot Spartan barrage. The two teams were tied 1-1 at the end of the first period despite an 18-4 edge in shots for Michigan State, and the Nanooks again took a second-period lead early in the frame. The Spartans, who have made a habit of rallying from behind in recent contests, got a tying goal from Nick Sucharski at 18:45 of the second period and posted Jim McKenzie and Tyler Howells scores to claim a 4-2 lead. The Nanooks would not go quietly, however, fighting for a goal at 18:27 to cut the MSU lead to a goal. Alaska would get no closer, however, settling for their seventh straight loss. Michigan State got its third consecutive victory, paced by a goal and an assist from Howells and 25 saves from Jeff Lerg.

where we're at
Michigan State owns sole possession of third place in the CCHA standings with 21 points. Notre Dame extended its lead with a sweep of the Lakers in Sault Ste Marie last weekend, and have 27 points, with Miami in pursuit with 25. After Michigan State, Michigan owns the final bye spot with 20 points.

in the polls
Despite sweeping Alaska last week, Michigan State fell one spot in both the USCHO.com and USA Today/USAHockeyMagazine polls. The Spartans sit in 11th in each survey.

scouting lake superior
Lake Superior, under the tutelage of former Laker skater and second-year bench boss Jim Roque, owns a 13-8-4 overall mark and stands at 7-6-3 in CCHA action. The Lakers have won just once in their last five games (1-3-1), but earned three points in a series at Nebraska-Omaha before being swept by league-leading Notre Dame last weekend at home. The top player for the squad patrols the crease - netminder Jeff Jakaitis boasts a nation's-best .943 save percentage, and ranks seventh nationally with a 1.99 goals against average on the season.
Leading the offensive charge is senior Trent Campbell, who shares the team lead in points (18) with blueliner Derek Smith. Campbell has seven goals and 11 assists, while Smith shares the team assist lead (13) with Troy Schwab. Freshman Nathan Perkovich resides fifth on the team in total points, but has a team-best ten goals on the year, with six coming on the power play.
The Lakers boast the second-ranked team defense in the CCHA (2.29, while the Spartans rank third at 2.61), but have struggled to find scoring consistency - LSSU is 10th in scoring offense in the league (2.83 gpg). The Laker power play ranks tenth in the CCHA (16.1%), but its penalty kill is clicking at an 85 percent success rate.

quite the cluster
Michigan State is 10-6-1 in conference play, in third place. Seven of its first nine games were 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 3-4-0, and Michigan is 5-2-0.

non-conference success
Since the 2000-01 season, Michigan State has posted a 33-18-4 mark against non-CCHA opponents during the regular season. In the four-plus seasons under Rick Comley, MSU is 21-16-3 against non-CCHA opposition, including a 6-3-1 mark last season and 3-2 mark this year.
The Spartans are 4-2 in their non-conference action this season, with just CCHA competition left on the regular-season schedule. MSU swept a home weekend against St. Lawrence and Sacred Heart back in October, then dropped back-to-back games at the Showcase against Wisconsin and Minnesota over Thanksgiving weekend. The Spartans rebounded by capturing the Great Lakes Invitational title with wins over Harvard (5-2) and Michigan (4-1).

preseason accolades
The Spartans were 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.

tales of two halves
During the Rick Comley era, the Spartans have traditionally been a second-half team. The first three months (October, November, December) of the last four seasons (2002-06), the Spartans have gone 37-34-7 (.519), then compiled a 55-26-8 mark in January, February, and March (.663).
With an 11-7-1 mark through the end of 2006, this year's Spartans are four games over .500, the most in the Rick Comley era. His first team (2002-03) was 8-8-1 at the break, while his next three squads were all one game over .500: 10-9-1 in 2003-04, 10-9-1 in 2004-05, and 9-8-4 in 2005-06.
The trend of second-half surges seems to be continuing, even if it did start in mid-December for this edition of the Spartans. Michigan State has won seven of its last eight games.

the munn advantage
Michigan State is 8-1-1 at home this season, 2-0-0 in neutral-site games, and 4-7-0 on the road. The last time MSU had a better start than its current 8-1-1 at home was 2001, when it started the season on a 10-game (9-0-1) unbeaten streak. MSU is 13-2-1 at Munn since last Feb. 1.

little disparity?
Michigan State has played eight games this season against ranked opponents, is 3-5 in those contests, and all opponents were in the top ten at the time of the game.
Only two of the eight games against ranked teams have come at Munn - Nov. 3 against No. 9 Michigan (6-2 W) and Nov. 18 against No. 5/6 Notre Dame (2-0 W). MSU has played road games against No. 1 Minnesota (5-4 L), at No. 5/6 Notre Dame (4-1 L), No. 9 and No. 7 Michigan (6-2 L, 2-1 L, respectively), before splitting at No. 6 Miami (5-2 L, 4-1 W). (All rankings reflect team's ranking at the time of the game.)

home sweet home
Michigan State had gone nearly six weeks without a home game before last weekend's Alaska series, last playing at Munn Arena on Dec. 1-2 against Ohio State. The Spartans proceeded to go 5-1 during their stretch away from the friendly confines of Munn Arena. This season, Michigan State has played just ten games at home, while playing 11 on the road and an additional two at Joe Louis Arena. The Spartans have five remaining home games, five on the road, and one at Joe Louis on the slate.

better late than never
Michigan State owns an overall 31-17 edge in third-period scoring over its opponent (+14), compared to a +3 in the first period (20-17) and being outscored 24-26 in the middle frame.
Since Dec. 1., the Spartans have outscored their opponents 19-6 in the final frame and overtime.

call it after after two?
Michigan State is 9-1-1 this season when leading after two periods. The Spartans were 21-2-1 with a second-intermission lead a year ago and are 99-6-6 over the last five years.
MSU is 3-6-0 this season when trailing after two periods, with all three come-from-behind victories coming in the second game of CCHA sets: Friday's win over Alaska, a four-goal third-period outburst on Jan. 6 at Miami and MSU rallied from a 2-1 deficit with a pair of goals in the final ten minutes of the Dec. 9 game at Northern Michigan.

break out the brooms
Last weekend's sweep of Alaska was the second CCHA sweep of the season for Michigan State, and its first at home this season. December's road sweep at Northern Michigan was the first conference sweep for MSU since February 17-18, 2006, when the Spartans took a pair from then-second-ranked Miami. It was the first CCHA road sweep for the Spartans since January 23-24, 2004, at Ohio State.

lady byng
Michigan State ranks 46th among 59 Division I teams in penalty minutes per game (15.7), which jumped from only 14.9 the previous week thanks to Friday's post-game extracurriculars. This is the second straight year that the Spartans are one of the least-penalized teams in the nation. Lake State ranks 53rd among Division I teams, averaging 13.5 minutes per game.

tight squeezes
Both games in the Alaska series ended as one-goal affairs - Friday was an overtime win thanks to a Tim Kennedy goal, and the team escaped a late Nanook push for a 4-3 win on Friday. The team is now 4-3-0 in one-goal games this season. The Spartans picked up a pair of one-goal wins in their final pre-holiday action at Northern Michigan - they had been 0-3-0 in previous one-goal contests. MSU was 12-6-0 in one-goal games last season.

emerging special teams
MSU's penalty kill went 6-for-7 against Alaska, and was a perfect 9-for-9 in the Miami series, the second time this season that the team has not allowed a power-play goal in back-to-back games. The Spartans have killed off 22 of 23 man-down situations, dating back to the Michigan game in the Great Lakes Invitational. On the year, the MSU PK is at 84.5% (93-of-110).

breaking it down ...
• MSU is averaging 4.0 goals at home, but only 2.5 goals on the road.
• Michigan State has been outscored 17-6 in the second period on the road, but has outscored its opponent 15-7 in the middle frame at Munn.
• Fourteen of MSU's 28 road goals have come in the third period, and the Spartans have outscored their opponents 14-7 in the final frame.
• Six of Tim Kennedy's 12 goals have come on the road. Four of the six he has scored at home have come on special teams - three with the man advantage, and one empty-net shorthanded effort. One was an overtime game-winner.
• Six of Tim Crowder's eight goals have come in home games. Eight of Nick Sucharski's points on the year (four goals, four assists) have come at Munn.

• Both of senior Brandon Warner's goals this season have come in road games.
• Opponents are averaging 30 shots on goal at their buildings, but only 24 at Munn.
• Jeff Lerg's save percentage in home and road games is nearly identical (.896 at home/.898 on the road). However, his GAA is a half a goal better (2.50) at Munn than in road venues (3.02). He has two shutouts on the year, one each at home and on the road.

in the last five games ...
• Michigan State owns a 4-1 record, and is 3-1 in conference games.
• MSU is clicking at 25.0 percent (5-for-25) on the power play, while opponents are at 10 percent (2-for-20).
• MSU owns a 17-12 edge in goals scored, with a large margin occuring in the third period (9-3).
• Seven of MSU's 17 goals have come on the power play, while two have came shorthanded. Only two of the 12 goals against have been special teams tallies, both on the PP.
• Tim Crowder is the team's top scorer in this span, with five goals and six points. Bryan Lerg (2-4-6) and Tyler Howells (1-5-6) also have six points.
• Jeff Lerg owns a 2.34 GAA and .914 save percentage. Bobby Jarosz tied his career best with 14 saves in his relief effort against Miami.

rolling in extra frames
Michigan State has played ten straight overtime games without a loss (3-0-7). MSU last lost in overtime on Nov. 12, 2005 to Nebraska-Omaha (3-2) at Munn Arena.

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.

mendoza line
With a 3-1 record in January and only two games remaining on the slate during the month, the Spartans have guaranteed at least a .500 record. MSU will be at or over .500 for three of the four months of the season - the exception is a 3-5-1 mark in the month of November.

backbreakers
MSU tallied two goals in the final minute of a period in the Miami series, the eighth and ninth time the Spartans have gotten one that span this season. MSU is 6-1-1 when scoring in this situation. Justin Abdelkader, Tim Crowder, and Chris Mueller each have two tallies in the final minute of a period.

pair of shorties
Michigan State gave up two shorthanded goals in its most recent loss to Ohio State, scored in the final minute of the first period and opening minute of the second frame (both on the same minor penalty). The last time MSU gave up two shorthanded goals in the same game was Jan. 11, 1997 in a 4-4 tie at Lake Superior State. In that game, Joe Blaznek scored at 15:03 of the second and 4:31 of the third.

one-on-one
Bryan Lerg has scored twice on shorthanded breakaways in a span of three games. He scored one in the GLI final against Michigan on Dec. 30, and again against Miami on Jan. 6. He had one shorthanded tally in his first two collegiate seasons.

at the dot
Chris Mueller leads all Spartans (with more than 100 draws) in faceoff winning percentage, with 202 wins and 179 losses (.530). Nick Sucharski is also better than .500, with 123 wins and 116 losses (.515).

everybody loves a winner
Bryan Lerg's four game-winning goals this season ranks second nationally in that category. In addition, he has assisted on four other game-winners, including the primary assist on both GLI game-winners in Detroit. Both he and Chris Mueller have been on the ice for nine of the Spartans' 14 game-winners, tops on the team.
Bryan Lerg and Chris Mueller have both been on the ice for five of MSU's last six game-winning goals. Lerg has 1-3-4 points in those scenarios, and Mueller 1-1-2.

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 owns the team lead in scoring with 24 points (12g, 12a), having tied his freshman-year point total before Christmas.

multiplicity
Tim Kennedy owns the team lead in multiple-point games with seven, while linemate Tim Crowder is right behind with six multiple-point games in 23 contests. Kennedy had six multi-point games all of last season, while Crowder had five.

internationally known
Justin Abdelkader was selected for the 2007 U.S. National Junior Team, and won a bronze medal at the International Ice Hockey Federation World Junior Championship (Dec. 26 - Jan. 5) in Leksand and Mora, Sweden. He is the 22nd Spartan to participate in the World Junior tournament. Spartan video coordinator Keith McKittrick was also selected to join the World Junior team in a similar capacity - he worked with MSU assistant Brian Renfrew and the select Under-17 teams at the Three Nations Cup in Rochester, NY this past August.

points on the blueline
Freshman Mike Ratchuk scored his fourth goal of the season in the championship game of the Great Lakes Invitational. He is the only defenseman to find the back of the net more than once for the Spartans this season. Senior Ethan Graham has a goal and four assists; classmate Tyler Howells, who is listed as a defenseman, has converted to forward for recent games, potted his first goal of the season against Harvard amd added the eventual game-winner against Alaska last Saturday. He has seven points in his last six games.

with a bang
Tim Kennedy snapped a seven-game goal scoring drought with his game-winning overtime tally against Alaska on Jan. 12. He had found the back of the net in the Dec. 1 game against Ohio State. He had four assists in that span, however.

streakin'
Bryan Lerg's nine-game point-scoring streak came to an end on Saturday when he was held off the board against Alaska. He kept the streak alive with an assist on Tim Kennedy's overtime game-winner the previous evening. The eight game streak was his career best, and he recorded 13 points during the streak (6-7-13).
The team's longest active point-scoring streak now stands at three games, as Jim McKenzie has 2-2-4 in his last three contests.

besting the bests
Senior Brandon Warner has a pair of goals and three assists this season, which nearly doubles his career totals entering the year (1-2-3). Bryan Lerg's 13 goals is two shy of his single-season best, set last year (15). Chris Mueller is two shy of his career-best of 11, also set in 2005-06.

howie's a hot hand
Tyler Howells tied his career high with his fifth three-point game on Saturday, which included the game-winning goal. He has nine points in his last seven games. Howells leads the team with 14 assists on the season, and has also been on the ice for seven of the Spartans' 14 game-winning goals this year, third-best best on the team.

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 (Nov. 3).

backstopping success
Jeff Lerg's numbers during MSU's recent 7-1 streak have been nothing short of impressive. He owns a .925 save percentage and 2.21 GAA in those eight games.

zeroes
Jeff Lerg's 25-save shutout of Notre Dame on Nov. 18 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 his career he has had two shutouts in a three-game span.

zeros, the other way
Michigan State was shut out by Wisconsin, 2-0, on Nov. 25. It was the first whitewash of the Spartan offense since Feb. 12, 2005 at Alaska Fairbanks (1-0). Spartan goaltenders have posted 10 shutouts in between.

high percentages
Jeff Lerg has played 1313:11 in the Spartan net, which calculates to 94.7% of the time possible, the highest percentage of any netminder in the CCHA. Close behind is Notre Dame's David Brown (1330:22 91.6%) and Bill Zaniboni of Northern Michigan (1364:29, 90.2%).

ccha honors
Junior blueliner Daniel Vukovic was named the CCHA Defenseman of the Week on Jan. 8, the first such honor of his career. Vukovic scored MSU's first of four third-period tallies in Saturday's come-from-behind victory over Miami, and added an assist on Brandon Warner's goal on Friday night. It was the first time in his career he had points in back-to-back games. In the weekend split, Vukovic was a +5, and helped MSU penalty killers go 9-for-9 in the series.
Cousins Jeff and Bryan Lerg were named the Goaltender and Offensive Player of the Week on Jan. 2. It was Jeff's second nod as the league's Goaltender of the Week this year, while Bryan earned his first honor of the season.
Bryan Lerg was named the MVP of the Great Lakes Invitational with a 3-3-6 scoing line which paced the tournament field and garnered him MVP honors. Lerg assisted on both game-winners, potted a shorthanded breakaway goal, and led the league in goals, assists, points, and power play points (1-3-4) on the week. The junior is second among Spartans in scoring with 20 points.
Jeff Lerg earned all-tournament team honors - his second straight at Joe Louis Arena - as the Spartans captured the GLI title. He stopped 66 of 69 shots on the weekend, including a career-best 45 in a semifinal victory against Harvard, and posted a 1.50 GAA on the weekend. Lerg's only goal against in the championship game against Michigan was off of his own defenseman's leg, but he turned away each of the other 21 which he faced to backstop his team to the title.
Jeff was also 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.

finding the touch
Sophomore Nick Sucharski, who missed significant time due to illness as a freshman, has six goals on the season after netting only two in his first year. He was named the game's first star in the most recent contest against Alaska.

playmakers
Nineteen of Tim Kennedy's 24 points have been either goals (12) or primary assists (7), While Bryan Lerg has similar playmaking numbers (13 goals, six PA on 23 points).

extra advantage
Tim Kennedy (5g, 5a) has been the most prolific scoring Spartan while MSU is skating on the man advantage. nine of Tyler Howells' 16 points (1-8-9) have come on the PP, while Bryan Lerg, Jim McKenzie, and Tim Crowder each have potted seven power play points (4g, 3a).

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.

• Both of MSU's overtime games this season have come at home. MSU is 1-0-1 - a 2-2 deadlock with Ferris State in November, and a 3-2 overtime victory over Alaska on Jan. 12.

• Tim Kennedy and Tim Crowder are the only active Spartans with overtime game-winning goals in their MSU careers.

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

• MSU's fastest two goals this season came at Minnesota, with two third-period tallies within 38 seconds (7:06, 7:42). Their fastest two goals allowed were just 14 seconds apart at Notre Dame (10:35, 10:49). Earlier this season, the Spartans netted tallies 40 seconds apart in the first period (4:13; 4:43) at Ferris State.

• Michigan State owns a 9-1-0 record when Justin Abdelkader registers a point, 7-0-0 when Chris Mueller scores a goal, 6-0-1 when Tim Crowder lights the lamp, 7-0-0 when Jim McKenzie has an assist, and 5-0-0 when Jeff Dunne has a helper.

• Michigan State has scored 41 even-strength goals, and Chris Mueller has been on the ice for 20 (48.8%) of them. Of the 24 power play goals scored, Tim Kennedy has been on the ice for 14 (58.3%). Kennedy, Bryan Lerg, and Dan Vukovic have each been on the ice for 2 of the 3 shorthanded goals that MSU has scored this year.

• Michigan State is undefeated in its last six games at Joe Louis Arena (4-0-2) which began with a 5-5 tie with Michigan last January. The Spartans have won four straight in the building, dating back to last year's CCHA Tournament (which began with a 4-1 win over Michigan in the semifinals).

second star overall
Jeff Lerg leads the team in Perani Cup points with 24, second only to Kyle Greentree of Alaska. Lerg has been named one of the game's three stars in eight of MSU's 17 CCHA games.

fun and games, but an education at stake
The Spartan hockey team participated in a contest of sorts during the first semester, drafing four teams for an academic competition that they waged over the course of the first half - the team with the highest combined GPA for the semester would be served dinner by their teammates. The winning team, with a cumulative GPA of 3.15 for the semester, was captained by junior Jeff Dunne, and consisted of Dan Sturges, Brandon Warner, Justin Abdelkader, Steve Mnich, and Chris Snavely.

`in the box' on the web
MSUSpartans.com has added new weekly video content to its All-Access subscribers. "In the Box with Zak McClellan" will provide a weekly interview with players and personnel within the MSU hockey program. The first web episode features an interview with sophomore Justin Abdelkader, who recently won a bronze medal with Team USA at the IIHF World Junior Championship.

Watch 'In the Box with Zak McClellan"

McClellan, a Frankenmuth, Mich. native and junior forward for the Spartans, is the two-time winner of the team's Goofus Award, given annually to the team humorist at the season-ending awards banquet. McClellan will pick a different player or member of the hockey staff to interview each week.
The weekly clip will be a part of the premium content available to All-Access subscribers on MSUSpartans.com. The "In the Box" feature will be available for free this week; click here to watch the first installment with Justin Abdelkader, and an episode featuring cousins Jeff and Bryan Lerg has also been added.
The official website of Michigan State athletics provides comprehensive coverage of the Spartan hockey program, which includes free video of the Rick Comley weekly press conference, as well as a live video stream of most home hockey games. In addition, fans can listen to every game - home or away - as veteran radio voice Scott Moore calls the action for 1240 AM, with analysis by former MSU skater and current volunteer assistant coach Rob Woodward.

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, Nov. 13 in Toronto. The class included 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.
Mr. 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.