MSU Hosts Miami in CCHA Set
11/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Nov. 13, 2008
Michigan State tangles with clustermate Miami this week at Munn Arena, its only home games in the month of November.
Date/Time: Nov. 14-15, 7:05 p.m., Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing
Audio: WJIM 1240 AM; all audio can also be heard at msuspartans.com
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series history
MSU holds a 65-22-5 mark all-time in the series, including a 35-13-3 mark at home. Miami has won three of the last four meetings, including sweeping the Spartans (4-2, 3-1) last November in East Lansing.
recent history
MSU is coming off a pair of losses at Ohio State (3-0, 3-1). The Spartans were swept by the Buckeyes for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign (5-0, 4-1). Michigan State was shut out on Friday for the second time this season. Both shutouts were by a 3-0 margin. MSU's five-game unbeaten streak that it took last week to Columbus is now a three-game winless streak (0-2-1).
gaining ground
Rick Comley owns a 743-564-97 (.564) career overall coaching record. He needs two wins to surpass Bob Peters for fourth place on the all-time wins list. Peters, who coached from 1964-2001 at North Dakota and Bemidji State, has 744 victories. Former MSU coach and athletic director Ron Mason finished his career behind the bench in 2002 with 924 wins, while Jerry York of Boston College has 808 and Jack Parker of Boston University has 786.
traveling road show
Michigan State is in a rather daunting stretch of the schedule - between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31, the Spartans will play 21 games - and only five of them will be played at home. This does not include the Dec. 16 exhibition against the US National Team Development Program.
... and its on
MSU-Miami is one of five conference series on tap this weekend in the CCHA. In other action, Northern Michigan is at Bowling Green, Ferris State is at Nebraska-Omaha, Western Michigan is at Michigan, and Lake Superior is at Notre Dame. Alaska is idle, and Ohio State has a non-conference tilt on Friday against Robert Morris at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.
ccha outlook
The Spartans, who finished third in the 2007-08 season, are projected fifth in the CCHA's preseason coaches poll (96 points), while the media surveyed had MSU third, with two first-place votes and 776 points. The groups were split on their decisions - the coaches selected Notre Dame (128 pts., eight first-place votes) as the favorite, followed by Michigan (122 points, three first-place votes), Miami (108 points, one first-place vote), Northern Michigan (102 points), and the Spartans. From the media poll, the Wolverines were selected as the front-runner (945 points, 43 first-place votes), then Notre Dame (915 points, 35 first-place votes) and the Spartans. In the media poll, Miami was fourth (746 points, two first place votes) and Northern Michigan fifth (700 points, one first-place vote). Ferris State was the consensus sixth-place finisher.
compete with the east
The Spartans opened the 2008-09 season with four straight games against Hockey East competition: the Spartans went 1-1 at the season-opening Icebreaker Tournament, as MSU defeated Massachusetts, 3-1, in the season-opening game, then fell to host Boston University, 2-1, in the championship tilt. In the season's second weekend, the Spartans split a home series against UMass-Lowell.
law of averages
MSU's roster averages: 6-0, 175 lbs., and the average age is 20 years, six months. Among CCHA schools, MSU is one of seven that averages 6-0, the Spartans are the lightest team on average, and are tied with Notre Dame as the second-youngest. (Michigan's roster averages 20 years, five months.)
if it was baseball, we'd win the cy young MSU has won 20+ games in 16 consecutive seasons, and has won at least 25 in three straight.
national prominence
The Spartans made their 26th NCAA Tournament appearance in 2008 - their third straight selection to the field - and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals for the third straight season. Just three programs have been in an NCAA regional final in each of the last three seasons - Michigan State, North Dakota, and Boston College.
quite the cluster
Michigan State and Michigan are paired with Miami and Ohio State in the 2008-09 season as clustermates; the schools will all play four times, and face off with the remaining eight schools in the conference twice. Michigan, Miami, and Michigan State were the top three teams in the CCHA a year ago, and combined for a 91-26-10 record overall; MSU and Miami reached NCAA regional finals, and Michigan advanced to the Frozen Four. Both MSU and Michigan were eliminated in the NCAA Tournament by Notre Dame. Currently, Miami leads the CCHA with 11 points, while MSU, Michigan, and Ohio State are in a five-team deadlock for second place with eight points.
strong second halves During the Rick Comley era, the Spartans have traditionally been a second-half team. The first three months (October, November, December) of his first five seasons (2002-07), the Spartans were a combined 48-43-8 (52.5%), then compiled a 69-33-10 mark in the second half (66.1%). The 2007-08 Spartans had their best first-half record under Comley (12-5-2, 68.4%), and were 13-7-3 in the 2008 portion of the schedule (63%).
strong starts
MSU scored the first goal of the game in 19 of its final 28 games a year ago and in 25 games overall. The Spartans owned a 22-1-2 record when scoring the game's opening tally, and were 3-11-3 when letting their opponent get on the board first. MSU's only loss when netting the first goal of the game came against Providence in the GLI (Dec. 29). MSU is 3-0-0 this season when netting the game's first goal, and 1-4-2 when allowing its opponent the first strike.
you miss 100% of the shots you don't take
Michigan State has been outshot in six of its 10 games this season, with its largest shot disparity coming in the Nov. 7 game at Ohio State. The Buckeyes had 49 shots and limited MSU to 21 in the contest. Jeff Lerg made a season-best 46 saves as the Spartans lost the game, 3-0.
polar opposites
Michigan State ranks eighth nationally (and second in the CCHA) in team defense, averaging 1.80 goals per game. However, MSU's offensive average of 1.60 goals per game ranks 12th in the CCHA and 56th nationally.
specialties
Michigan State's penalty kill is 10th in the latest NCAA statistics, extinguishing 49 of 53 chances against on the season (.925), The Spartans have been perfect on the penalty kill in seven of 10 games this season.
pk success is continued success
The Spartans have allowed just four power-play strikes in 10 games, and has allowed more than one in a game just twice in 36 games dating back to last season. MSU's kill was 6-for-6 in last weekend's games at Ohio State. Michigan State allowed just seven power play goals in its final 24 games a year ago, and earlier in the season had a streak of 32 consecutive kills over eight games. The kill was 9-for-9 in its two NCAA Tournament games. In those 24 games, the Spartans killed 102 of 109 chances against (93.6%). The penalty kill finished at 87.3 percent for the season (165/189) and ranked seventh nationally. The MSU power play ranked 10th nationally (48/230, 20.9 percent). Dating back to last Feb. 29 (15 games), MSU has killed off 81 of 86 power-play chances against (.942).
early returns
Despite several new faces in the lineup, Michigan State has continued to hold on with a third-period advantage. This season, MSU is 3-1-2 when entering the final period tied or leading the game. Last season, the Spartans were 22-0-2 if they led at the second intermission, and were 2-3-2 when tied entering the final frame.
nip it in the bud
The Spartans never lost three straight games in 2007-08 - and three of the four times it lost-back-to-back games, MSU rebounded with a victory. That streak continued into this season, when MSU dropped back-to-back games against BU and UMass-Lowell, but rebounded the second night against the Riverhawks with a 2-1 victory. MSU needs to pick up a win on Friday to snap a three-game skid.
assert yourself
Only nine times last season was MSU assessed more penalty minutes in a game than its opponent (and was 7-2-0 in those games). Four times in its first Ten games has MSU been whistled for more penalties, and four other times the teams have been called for the same number of infractions.
block party
On the season, MSU has blocked 221 shots, compared to 119 for its opponents. Leading the way in this category for MSU are defensemen Tim Buttery and Ryan Turek (23 each), while Brock Shelgren and Brandon Gentile are tied for second with 13. Among forwards, Kurt Kivisto leads the way with 11.
at the dot
Last year, MSU benefitted from a deep corps of quality centermen who excelled on faceoffs; five pivots had a faceoff winning percentage at or better than 53%. Of the five, only one returned to the roster this season: senior Nick Sucharski who won 176-of-332 (53.0%) a year ago. This season, MSU has won 261 of 594 faceoffs (43.9 percent).
in-season honors
Jeff Lerg and Jeff Petry were named to the Icebreaker All-Tournament Team. They were joined by Darcy Zajac of North Dakota, Alex Berry of Massachusetts, and Nick Bonino and Kevin Shattenkirk of Boston University. BU's Colin Wilson was named Tournament MVP.
He's No. 1
Jeff Lerg became Michigan State's all-time saves leader at MSU on Oct. 31. Lerg broke Dave Versical's career record of 3,108 set from 1975-78. Versical and Lerg are the only goaltenders to ever serve as captains of the Spartans.
didn't take long
The CCHA has introduced the shootout for the 2008-09 season, and Michigan State jumped right into action, skating to a 2-2 tie with Northern Michigan in its first conference game of the season. MSU is one of two teams to have a pair of shootouts already (Western Michigan), and is the only team to have won more than one. MSU has won each of its two shootouts by a 2-1 margin. Kurt Kivisto and Matt Schepke have each scored two shootout goals for Michigan State, and Jeff Lerg and Drew Palmisano each have a shootout victory on their resume this season.
picking up where he left off
Jeff Lerg has earned CCHA Goaltender of the Week honors twice so far this season, in the first four weeks that the conference has awarded weekly honors. His first weekly honor came on Oct. 13. He posted a .955 save percentage and 1.50 GAA in the weekend tournament; Lerg's 63 saves (on 66 shots) was the second-most of any goaltender on opening weekend (Juliano Pagliero of Niagara had 68). He won the award again on Oct. 27, stopping 52 of 54 shots in a four-point weekend against Northern Michigan. He had 24 saves in a 2-2 tie on Friday, but won the subsequent shootout with two saves. On Saturday, he recorded his 11th career shutout (2-0) over the Wildcats.
tight squeezes
On Oct. 25, Jeff Lerg recorded his 11th career shutout. He remains in fourth place in MSU's record book behind Ryan Miller (26), Dominic Vicari (16) and Chad Alban (12). In his career (122 GP), Lerg has 11 shutouts, and 30 games in which he has allowed a single goal. He has allowed just two goals on another 34 occasions - a grand total of 75 of 122 games that he has allowed two goals or fewer.
death, taxes, and Jeff Lerg
Jeff Lerg is consistently a workhorse for the Spartans, and has been for his two previous seasons as the full-time starter. Despite playing in only eight of MSU's 10 games this season, he still ranks 10th nationally in minutes played (483:36). He ranked fourth in the nation in minutes played a year ago (2464:14), and ranked sixth in percentage of team minutes played, (96.3 percent). In 2006-07, Lerg logged 96.9% of available minutes for MSU (2465:06), which ranked second only to Boston College's Cory Schneider.
shooting gallery
Jeff Lerg currently ranks eighth in the country in saves (236), an average of 29.5 shots faced per game (18th nationally). Last year, he ranked second among all Division I goaltenders in saves (1,136) and faced an average of 27.7 shots per game, the second-most of any CCHA netminder and 13th nationally. Last year, only three goalies ranked in the top 15 in saves per game played for teams that are better than .500: Lerg, Alex Kangas of Minnesota, and Kevin Regan of New Hampshire.
shooting gallery, part deux
Jeff Lerg's 17 third-period saves Nov. 7 was one shy of his record for a single period; hiss 46 in the game is eight shy of his career best (54), which was set on Feb. 10, 2007 against Michigan. It was his most saves in an MSU loss in his career. Lerg ranks ninth nationally in save percentage (.944) and is 13th in GAA (1.78), and in conference games only, ranks first in both (1.58, .948)
a lot of actual miles
Jeff Lerg collected his 70th career victory on Oct. 31, and he is just three behind Ryan Miller in fourth place in the all-time victories list. Chad Alban (88) is the career leader. Lerg's 122 career games is nine shy of tying Alban's school record in that category
a peek beyond the present
Michgian State is feeling very confident about its goaltending, with perhaps the best netminder in the nation (Jeff Lerg) and the top first-year baskstop in Drew Palmisano, according to InsideCollegeHockey's preseason rankings. Drew Palmisano won his first collegiate start on Oct. 17, a 2-1 victory over UMass-Lowell. Palmisano, who had 21 saves, is the 14th netminder (of 20) since 1980 to win his first start at Michigan State. All three of MSU's current goaltenders have won their debut: Jeff Lerg had 22 saves against Cornell (a 4-3 victory) in October of 2005, Bobby Jarosz had 24 saves in a 5-2 win over Mercyhurst a year ago. Palmisano drew his second start on Nov. 1 at Western Michigan, and made 32 saves in a 2-2 tie. He also backstopped the Spartans to a victory in the ensuing shootout. (2-1).
in the annals Jeff Lerg has moved into top-10 positions in several netminding categories at MSU:
Career records:• Wins: 70, fifth (record: 88)• Games Played: 122, third (record: 131)• Consecutive Games Played: 61, first• GAA: 2.18, third (record: 1.54)• Saves: 3,192, first• Save Percentage: .924, second (record: .941)• Shutouts: 11, fourth (record: 26)
Single-Season records:• Wins: 26, (2006-07), fifth; 24, (2007-08), eighth• Games: 42, (2006-07), first; 41, (2007-08), third• GAA: 1.96, (2005-06), seventh; 2.22, (2007-08), ninth• Saves: 1,136 (2007-08), third; 1,042 (2006-07), fifth• Save Pct. .928 (2006-06), fourth; .926 (2007-08), sixth
m.a.s.h. unit
Corey Tropp returned to the lineup last weekend in Columbus after missing the previous five games with illness. Comley expects both Andrew Rowe (leg) and Nick Sucharski (arm) to return to play this weekend after each missed the last few games.
milestones reached
Daultan Leveille was named the CCHA Rookie of the Month for October, as released by the league office on Nov. 5. Leveille shares the team goal-scoring lead with Andrew Rowe (3), and leads the Spartans with a 3-2-5 scoring line. He had his first career two-goal game on Oct. 31; two of his three goals on the season have been game-winners, tying him for second in the CCHA in that category. Leveille is tied for fourth among conference freshmen in scoring as well.
milestones reached Alternate captain Brandon Gentile reached the 100-career games mark on Oct. 16 vs UMass-Lowell. Dustin Gazley's two assists on Oct. 24 against Northern Michigan tied his single-game career high, set in Nov. 2007 against Wisconsin in the College Hockey Showcase. Jeff Lerg surpassed Dave Versical's school record in career saves on Oct. 31.
more milestones looming
Tim Crowder is currently sitting on 97 career points on 48 goals and 50 assists.
multiplicity
Sophomore Andrew Rowe had his first career two-goal game on Oct. 24, and has three goals through the first eight games of the year. Rowe had three goals in all of his freshman season.
these go to eleven
All 10 MSU freshmen skaters played at least one game in Boston to open the season, and six recorded points. Eight of the 10 have recorded their first collegiate points, and Andrew Conboy, Daultan Leveille, Ben Warda, and Trevor Nill have recorded their first MSU goals.
Youth on the blueline
Michigan State has three new faces on the blueline for the second straight season, and all three have emerged as solid defenders. Tim Buttery has been with sophomore Jeff Petry on the top pair, and Buttery shares the team lead in blocked shots with 23. Matt Crandell and Brock Shelgren are paired together - Crandell has recorded a pair of assists, is a +1, and has eight penalty minutes. Shelgren also has two assists - both coming in the Western Michigan series), is a +3, and ranks second on the team with 15 blocked shots.
the young ones
Inside College Hockey has ranked MSU's freshman class fifth nationally, behind Boston College, Minnesota, Boston University, and North Dakota. Daultan Leveille was ranked sixth among incoming freshmen forwards, and Drew Palmisano was the top-ranked freshman goalie recruit.
feeling a draft
Three of Michigan State's freshmen were selected in the last two NHL entry drafts. Forward Daultan Leveille was the only Spartan taken in 2008, but did not wait long to hear his name called as he was selected by Atlanta in the first round, the 29th pick overall. Both Trevor Nill and Andrew Conboy were selected in the 2007 NHL draft - Conboy went to Montreal in the fifth round (pick 142), while Nill was the seventh-round selection (190th overall) of the St. Louis Blues. Overall, the Spartans have seven players who have been drafted by NHL teams. The upperclassmen are Tim Crowder (Pittsburgh, 2005, 5/126), Nick Sucharski (Columbus, 2006, 5/136), Ryan Turek (St. Louis, 2006, 4/94) and Corey Tropp (Buffalo, 2007, 3/89)
nine start in the show ...
Nine former Spartans were on opening-day NHL rosters, the second-most in the CCHA behind Michigan. The nine are: Jim Slater (Atlanta), Ryan Miller (Buffalo), Rod Brind'Amour (Carolina), Duncan Keith (Chicago); John-Michael Liles (Colorado); Shawn Horcoff (Edmonton); David Booth (Florida); Mike Weaver (St. Louis); Adam Hall (Tampa).
... and a dozen more in the A
Twelve Spartans started the season on American Hockey League rosters. Jim McKenzie (Binghamton Senators), Justin Abdelkader (Grand Rapids Griffins), Corey Potter and Ethan Graham (Hartford Wolfpack), Drew Miller (Iowa Chops), Chris Mueller (Lake Erie Monsters), Andrew Hutchinson (Norfolk Admirals), Michael Ratchuk (Philadelphia Phantoms), Colton Fretter and Tim Kennedy (Portland Pirates), Bryan Lerg (Springfield Falcons), and Mike York (Syracuse Crunch).
pro notables
Through the first month of the NHL season, Ryan Miller leads the league in GAA (1.62) and ranks second in saves percentage (.942). He ranks third in both wins (7) and shutouts (2). Grand Rapids Griffins center Justin Abdelkader has been named the Reebok Edge/AHL Rookie of the Month for October. Abdelkader scored seven goals and added two assists for nine points in seven games for the Griffins. Tim Kennedy (Portland) leads the American Hockey League rookies in scoring with a 3-9-12 scoring line; he is the only rookie ranked in the top 20 scorers. He is second in the league in assists.
next up
Michigan State has back-to-back weekend trips on tap, heading to Omaha to tangle with UNO on Nov. 21-22 before the College Hockey Showcase on Nov. 28-29. Michigan State's next home game isn't until Dec. 6 against Michigan.
