Spartans. Wolverines Face Off In Pivotal CCHA Set

2/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

Feb. 21, 2008

The Spartans, ranked sixth in this week's polls, renew acquaintences with archrival Michigan this weekend. Top-ranked Michigan sits atop the CCHA standings, with MSU five points back in a tie for second with Miami. Michigan is unbeaten in its last seven games, dating back to the January series between these teams (3-0-4); MSU rebounded from a sweep at Northern Michigan with a sweep of Western Michigan last weekend.

Date/Time: Friday, Feb. 22, 8 p.m., Munn Arena; Sat. Feb. 23, Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, Mich..
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series history
Michigan leads the overall series 131-118-18, and the teams have skated to seven deadlocks since February of 2005.
The Spartans are 58-45-9 in games played in East Lansing, where the teams will face off on Friday night. On Saturday, the game will be part of the "College Hockey at the Joe" series at Detroit's Joe Louis Arena - MSU and Michigan have faced off 40 times at JLA, with Michigan holding a slight 18-17-5 edge. In regular-season (non-GLI, non-CCHA Championship) games, the Wolverines have a 10-9-3 advantage; since the start of the 2002-03 season, MSU is 4-1-3 against Michigan at JLA, however.
In this regular-season game at JLA last season, the teams skated to a 3-3 tie, and Jeff Lerg made a career-best 54 saves.
series notes
• Michigan has won 131 games in this series, but 41 of those wins came between 1922 and 1957. The Spartans recorded only two victories in that span.
• There is a five-game discrepancy between MSU and U-M's all-time series records, all in the early 1920's. The MSU records have four more Wolverine victories and one for the Spartans.
• Five of the last nine meetings have ended in a decisive victory (3 or more goals), but each of the 14 meetings before that were by two or fewer goals, and 10 were one-goal games or ties.
recent meetings
Over the last four seasons, the teams have met 16 times - and MSU's record in those games is 6-5-7, which includes a 1-0 victory at Yost and a 2-2- tie at Munn last month.
home ice matters
MSU's senior class earned their first victory at Yost Ice Arena on Jan. 25, a 1-0 shutout win. Michigan's seniors have not had much success in East Lansing - since the start of the 2004-05 season, Michigan State owns a 3-1-2 record against the Wolverines, with U-M's only win coming on Nov. 18, 2004 (4-2) - the current seniors' first game in the building.
scheduling quirks
Each of MSU's final three regular-season weekends have games contested at different sites - the Spartans play a home-and-home with both Western Michigan and Bowling Green, and will tangle with archrival Michigan at home and then at Joe Louis Arena. All remaining home games will be played on Friday nights.
MSU's game against Michigan at Joe Louis Arena on Saturday has been changed to a 7:05 p.m. start time.
"white out the record"
Michigan State not only expects another sellout crowd for Friday's game against Michigan, (Feb. 22) but the Spartans may also challenge the single-game Munn Arena attendance record. When the teams met on Jan. 26 at Munn Arena, they played in front of 7,072 fans - the sixth-largest crowd in Munn history, and just 49 fans shy of the all-time record of 7,121, set on March 1, 2001 against the Wolverines.
In addition to trying to set the single-game attendance record, the Feb. 22 game has been declared a "White-Out" - all fans are encouraged to wear white to the game to support the Spartan icers.
"shoot for a cure"
This weekend is the finale of the Spartans' "Shoot for a Cure" initiative to raise money for children's cancer. Throughout home games in 2008, MSU has sold pucks for the Feb. 22 "Chuck A Puck" promotion. Weekly winners, along with the "Chuck a Puck"contest this Friday, receive prizes donated by former Spartans in the National Hockey League. The "Shoot for a Cure" intiative was spearheaded by juniors Justin Abdelkader and Daniel Sturges.
long and storied
The Michigan State-Michigan rivalry is not only one of the most famous and heated rivalries in college hockey, but also one of the most contested. In fact, only North Dakota and Minnesota have met more times. Here is a list of the top-five most-contested rivalries (a complete list can be found on p. 9). Minnesota and North Dakota have already completed their scheduled four games this season, while Denver and Colorado College meet in the final regular-season weekend.

271 North Dakota/Minnesota
267 Michigan State/Michigan
265 Denver/Colorado College
256 Minnesota/Michigan
252 Minnesota/Michigan Tech
scouting report
Michigan has lost and regained the nation's top ranking since last playing MSU at the end of January, and earned three points in their series with Miami two weeks ago. Michigan has not lost in its last seven games, (3-0-4).
Like the Spartans, Michigan earned four points from a lower-division opponent last weekend, taking twin 4-2 decisions from Lake Superior State to complete the season sweep.
Kevin Porter continues to lead the nation in scoring, with linemate Chad Kolarik not far behind. Porter's 48 points (25 goals, 23 assists) and Kolarik's 43 (24g, 19a) make them the top-scoring duo in the country. A pair of freshmen are third and fourth on the scoring chart: Asaron Palushaj has seven goals and 24 assists on the wing with Porter and Kolarik, while Max Pacioretty has 10 goals and 17 assists for 27 points.
Billy Sauer has been a key piece to the success of the Wolverines this season, with a .930 save percentage and 1.85 GAA.
wayback machine
Michigan State took three points with a road win and home tie against No. 1 Michigan on Jan. 25-26. The Spartans posted a 1-0 victory on Friday at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, then skated to a 2-2 tie with the Wolverines the next night in East Lansing.
On Friday. MSU made a first-period power-play tally by senior captain Bryan Lerg hold up, in great part thanks to Jeff Lerg's 26-save shutout, as the Spartans posted the road victory. Michigan State picked up its first victory at Yost since Feb. 28, 2003, and shut out the Wolverines for the second time in three seasons.
The power play tally came at 16:33 of the opening frame. Nick Sucharski threw the puck low from his spot in the high crease, and Chris Mueller had the first whack at it from his station at the left post. Mueller's offering was saved by goalie Billy Sauer, but the rebound fell tantalizingly into the crease, where Bryan Lerg poked it home to give the visitors all they would need on the night, as Jeff Lerg picked up his second consecutive and eighth career shutout.
On Saturday, the Wolverines drew first blood at 6:38 in the second frame on the power play, but were whistled for infractions 27 seconds apart midway through the period. The Spartans potted two power play goals in a 46-second span to turn a one-goal deficit into a 2-1 lead - Daniel Vukovic got the five-on-three tally with a blast from the blueline, and Tim Crowder followed suit from the left circle for the go-ahead goal.
Michigan got the game-tying tally with 1:38 to play in the game, when MSU's Matt Schepke inadvertently gloved the puck past Jeff Lerg. The tie did not diminish the outstanding play of MSU's junior netminder, who made 29 saves and finished as the game's first star.
last time out
The Spartans earned their sixth CCHA sweep of the season with 3-0, 4-2 wins over Western Michigan in their most recent series.
On Friday at Munn Arena, junior Tim Kennedy had a goal and an assist - his first goal since the calendar turned to 2008 - as Michigan State earned a the shutout victory over the Broncos. Jeff Lerg made 23 saves in his third shutout of the year, his ninth career whitewash.
Michigan State outshot their visitors 15-6 in the opening frame, but it took more than 19 minutes for the Spartans to get on the board. Bryan Lerg gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead right before the intermission. He took the feed from linemate Tim Crowder as he streaked up the right side and launched a shot from the top of the circle. His offering went off the glove hand of Kuhn and bounced up and over his shoulder for the senior's team-leading 16th goal of the season.
The teams skated through a scoreless middle frame, then Michigan State pushed its lead to 2-0 early in the third period. Sophomore Tyler Ludwig put a shot on net, and it was saved by Jeff Lerg - and pushed to the right wall for Kennedy. Kennedy and Justin Abdelkader stormed out of the zone on a two-on-one break; Kennedy held the puck as Abdelkader went to the net, and Kennedy's offering beat Kuhn over his glove-hand shoulder. Chris Mueller added a power-play tally midway through the frame off an assist from Kennedy for the final score.
On Sunday in Kalamazoo, the Spartan seniors looked to earn their first and only victory at Lawson Arena, and accomplished their mission with a 4-2 win. Mueller scored twice, Bryan Lerg netted his 17th of the season, and Tim Crowder had a goal for the cause, while Jeff Lerg made 22 stops.
sister-kissers
MSU has five ties this season, tied for the third-most all-time in the Spartan annals. The school record of eight was set in 1991-92 and tied in 2005-06.
blankings
With the Jan. 19 win at Ohio State (4-0) and the 1-0 victory at Michigan on Jan. 25, MSU recorded consecutive shutouts for the first time since Feb. 20-21 2004, (vs. Nebraska-Omaha, (3-0, 5-0). MSU posted its third shutout of the year at home against Western Michigan on Feb. 15.
MSU was shut out for the second time this season on Feb. 9 at Northern Michigan. Two of MSU's three road losses this season have been shutouts - the first was opening night at North Dakota (Oct. 13), 6-0.
bonus hockey
The Spartans had their 20-game undefeated streak in overtime games (6-0-14), snapped on Feb. 1 when they dropped a 5-4 decision to Nebraska-Omaha. The Mavericks had been the last team to defeat MSU in the extra period, back on Nov. 12, 2005 (3-2).
Michigan State is 0-1-5 in overtime games this season, and has played overtime games in four of their last six series
law of averages
MSU's roster averages: 6-0, 188 lbs., and the average age is 20 years, 11 months.
the race is on
MSU's two wins at Western Michigan moved the Spartans into a tie for second place in the CCHA standings. Michigan swept Lake Superior to maintain its stranglehold on the top spot (41 points), five points ahead of both Michigan State and Miami (35) in the CCHA standings. Notre Dame is currently occupying the fourth and final bye position in the standings, with 31 points. Eight points remain for each team in the conference.
quite the cluster
MSU and Michigan both hold .750 winning percentages in games within their cluster this season (Michigan State, Michigan, Lake Superior, and Northern Michigan). MSU owns a 8-2-2 record, while the Wolverines are 6-1-3. Northern Michigan is 4-4-2, while the Lakers are 0-9-1. The Wildcats and LSSU face off for a two-game set to conclude the regular season.
january gems
The Spartans finished the month of January unbeaten (5-0-3) - their first unbeaten regular-season month since February of 2006 (6-0-1). MSU was also unbeaten in April 2007 (2-0).
february flats
MSU has nearly half (three of eight) of its losses this season in the month of February, all coming in the first two weeks of the month.
superlatives
MSU is ranked sixth nationally in winning percentage (68.2%).
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 are 8-3-3 since the start of 2008 (67.9%).
roadies
The Spartans have played 18 of their 33 games at home this season, but own a 9-3-1 mark in 13 road contests. Eight of the nine victories have come as part of CCHA sweeps - at Alaska, Lake Superior, and Ohio State and in home-and-home series with Ferris State and Western Michigan. The Spartans earned their road tie at Notre Dame (Jan. 13), and defeated Michigan at Yost in a three-point weekend. The Spartans went 0-2 in their only two neutral-site games, at the GLI.
high-yield returns
Michigan State is one of four teams in the CCHA that returned 20 letterwinners this season, the highest number in the CCHA. The Spartans returned 83.9 percent of their goal scoring from a year ago (115 goals), tops in the league. MSU returned 73.9 percent (263) of its points from a year ago, which ranks second in the CCHA behind Miami (81.5%). The Spartans returned five of their top six forwards: seniors Bryan Lerg and Chris Mueller, and juniors Tim Kennedy, Justin Abdelkader, and Tim Crowder.
if it was baseball, we'd win the cy young
MSU has now won 20+ games in 16 consecutive seasons.
early birds
Michigan State earned its 20th victory of the season on Feb. 16 at Western Michigan, the earliest the Spartans have reached 20 victories under Rick Comley. In 2003-04, MSU had earned its 20th victory on Feb. 21 vs. Nebraska-Omaha (5-0).
let's end this streak
The Spartans will look to snap a rather inauspicious streak: neither of the last two NCAA titleists made the tournament the year after they won the championship: both the Denver Pioneers (2005 champions) and Wisconsin Badgers (2006 titleists) failed to qualify for the 16-team field.
home sweet home
In 2007-08, MSU will play 20 regular-season games at Munn Arena, compared to 15 a year ago. Fourteen of the 20 will be televised.
the number ones
MSU took three points from then-No. 1 Michigan on Jan. 25-26, snapping a three-game losing streak to teams ranked No. 1 in the national polls. In last year's NCAA Tournament, the Spartans defeated both Notre Dame (2-1) and Boston College (3-1) when they held the top ranking.
Michigan State has eight losses this season, and three were to teams which held the No. 1 ranking at the time of the game (North Dakota, and twice against Miami). The Spartans get two last cracks in the regular season this weekend against the Wolverines.
strong starts
MSU has scored the first goal of the game in 15 of its last 20 games. The Spartans own a 18-1-2 record when scoring the game's opening tally, and are 2-7-3 when letting its 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).
specialties
Michigan State has allowed just four power play goal in its last 15 games, and earlier had a streak of 32 consecutive kills over eight games.
In those 15 games, the Spartans have killed 61 of 65 chances against (93.8%), dating back to the Providence game (Dec. 29). The penalty kill is now at 85.5 percent for the season (124/145), and ranks 11th in the country.
The MSU power play also ranks 11th nationally (39/184, 21.2 percent).
high yield
In its first nine games, MSU scored nearly half (15 of 34) of goals on the power play. That pace has slowed somewhat, as 24 of its last 72 have come with a man advantage.
its hot when we win
MSU has converted 31 of 110 chances on the power play (28.2%) in its 20 victories, while scoring just three times in 49 opportunities (6.1%) in its eight losses.
The penalty kill is at 86.7 percent (78/90) in victories, and just 28-of-36 (77.8%) in losses.
In its five ties, MSU's power play has connected five times in 26 chances (19.2%) - but has gone 18-for-19 on the penalty kill (94.7%).
peppered
Michigan State's 52 shots on net against Mercyhurst (Nov. 10) was the most since a 52-shot effort against Wayne State in a 7-2 victory on Nov. 21, 2003. The Spartans had their second-highest shot output of the season on Dec. 1 at LSSU (41 shots).

and not
On Jan. 13 at Notre Dame, the Spartans had their fewest shots on net (15) since a 1-0 victory over Michigan on Nov. 4, 2000 in which they had 13 shots.
fast starts, tough thirds
The third period is the only one in which MSU does not hold a significant scoring advantage - the Spartans hold a 40-20 (+20) edge in the first and 31-25 (+6) in the middle frame, but but hold only a 35-32 advantage in the third (+3).
MSU has allowed multiple third-period goals on eight occasions. The Spartans allowed a season-high four goals to Providence in the third period on Dec. 29, and twice allowed three (Oct. 13 at North Dakota, and Oct. 26 vs. Northern Michigan).
that said
If Michigan State holds a lead entering the final period, its a good bet to finish off the game. The Spartans are 18-0-2 if they lead at the second intermission, and are 2-2-2 when tied entering the final frame.
assert yourself
Only seven times this season, including four times in the last 10 games, has MSU been assessed more penalty minutes in a game than its opponent. MSU was whistled for its season-high in penalties (11) on Jan. 13 at Notre Dame and on Jan. 26 agaisnt Michigan, and its season high for penalty minutes (31) came in the Jan. 19 game against Ohio State and again on Feb. 1 against Nebraska-Omaha.
puttin' on the foil
Northern Michigan was assessed 66 penalty minutes in the Feb. 8-9 series, the most against MSU in a two-game set this season. Miami was whistled for 50 in the Nov. 15-16 set, the previous high.
brooms
Michigan State has registered six CCHA sweeps this season, and have taken at least three points in an additional three series. MSU has been swept just twice - at home against Miami and at Northern Michigan, and earned a split at home against Nebraska-Omaha.
second-half scoring surges
The junior class has accounted for half of the team's scoring since the calendar turned to 2008. In 14 games, the juniors have 59 of MSU's 116 points (50.1 percent) and have 20 of the 42 goals scored (52 percent). Junior netminder Jeff Lerg has posted a 1.81 GAA and .939 save percentage.
Since Jan. 1, Senior Bryan Lerg leads the team in scoring with nine goals and eight assists; Justin Abdeklader ranks second in goal-scoring (7) and has six assists for 11 points. Tim Crowder is second on the team in points (16) with six goals and 10 assists, while classmate Tim Kennedy also has 10 helpers and 11 points.
hot hands
Bryan Lerg has a point in nine of the last 10 games, and had a seven-game point-scoring streak snapped at Northern Michigan on Feb. 9. Lerg has recorded 7-7-14 in those 10 games.
important firsts
Nine of Bryan Lerg's 17 goals this season have been the first goal of the game, including each of the last two contests. MSU is 18-1-2 this season when scoring the first goal of the game.
more hot hands
Junior Tim Crowder has exploded in the second half, with 16 points since Jan. 1. With 29 points on the season (12g, 17a), Crowder has surpassed his sophomore-year total of 25 points, and is one shy of his freshman-year 30.
closing in
Only one current Spartan, senior Bryan Lerg, has surpassed 100 career points. Through Feb. 15, Lerg has 65 goals and 55 assists for 120 points.
Chris Mueller's two-goal outing on Feb. 16 at Western Michigan brought him to 99 career points. Four other Spartans are withing striking distance: Tim Kennedy (94 points), Tim Crowder (84) and Justin Abdelkader (82).
discard that monkey, and that snakebite
Tim Kennedy snapped his 13-game scoreless streak - the longest drought of his career - with a shorthanded goal against Western Michigan on Feb. 15. He added two assists in the series to maintain his team scoring lead of 32 points.
shorties
Tim Kennedy netted his third shorthanded goal of the season in the Feb. 15 game against Western Michigan. Its the third-highest total in the country this year.
to the winners go the spoils
Daniel Vukovic has been on the ice for 14 of 20 game-winning goals this season, and has had a hand in scoring five of them (1g, 4a). Tim Crowder has a hand in eight game-winners (3g, 5a), and has been on the ice for 12 of the 20.
Tim Kennedy has scored a team-best five of MSU's game-winners, has assisted on two others, and has been on the ice for 10 of 18 game-winners this season. Kennedy has also been on the ice for both of MSU's game-tying goals this season, and had a hand in scoring both - he netted the tying goal against Minnesota (Nov. 23), and assisted on Michael Ratchuk's equalizer in the Lake Superior State deadlock (Jan. 5).
offensive defensemen
Michigan State owns one of the top-scoring defensive units in the country, ranking seventh. MSU's blueliners average 2.21 points per game (12- 61- 73).
multiplicity
Tim Kennedy leads the Spartans with nine multiple-point outings this season, followed by Bryan Lerg and Tim Crowder (8), Matt Schepke, and Justin Abdelkader (7).
tight squeezes
Jeff Lerg is now 6-1 this season in one-goal games, with the only loss coming in overtime. Lerg already has five ties on his ledger this season as well.
In his career (105 GP), Lerg has nine shutouts, and 26 games in which he has allowed a single goal. He has allowed just two goals on another 29 occasions - a grand total of 64 of 105 games that he has allowed two goals or fewer.
whitewashes
Jeff Lerg posted a shutout of Western Michigan on Feb. 15, his third of the season and ninth of his career. Earlier this season, Lerg posted back-to-back shutouts of Ohio State (Jan. 19) and Michigan (Jan. 25), and ran his shutout streak to 190:54 through all or part of 11 periods of hockey. The streak was snapped with a second-period power play tally on Jan. 26 against Michigan.
Lerg's most recent shutout streak reached 95:46, over all or part of six periods - Western Michigan's power-play goal at 8:44 of the second period on Feb. 16 at Lawson snapped that streak after being shut out the night before.
In his career, Lerg has two shutouts against Michigan and has twice posted a 1-0 victory - the first was in the 2006 NCAA East Regional against New Hampshire. Two of Lerg's shutouts this season have come on the road.
what have you done for me lateley?
Jeff Lerg has been an intregal part of MSU's success. Since Jan. 1, he boasts a 1.81 GAA and sports a .939 save percentage. In the three series at the end of January, (No. 6 Notre Dame, Ohio State, No. 1 Michigan), Lerg's numbers were beyond outstanding - he boasted a .971 save percentage, and 0.86 GAA.
why not help out offensively, too?
Jeff Lerg recorded an assist on a Tim Kennedy shorthanded goal on Feb. 15, a 3-0 MSU victory. It was the third assist of his collegiate career.
The MSU record for goaltender points in a season is four (1g, 3 a), set by Chad Alban in 1997-98. He finished his career with 10 points (1g, 9a).
death, taxes, and Jeff Lerg
Jeff Lerg leads all collegiate goaltenders in minutes played, entering the weekend with 1916:15. He ranks sixth in percentage of team minutes played, (96 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.
(More Jeff Lerg statistical information on page 12.)
longevity
Jeff Lerg's 4-2 win over Western Michigan on Saturday was the 62nd of his career, which puts him tied for seventh with Bob Essensa in that category. He's now three wins shy of moving into the top five all-time for Spartan netminders - Ron Scott (64) and Mike Buzak (65) sit above him within striking distance in the remainder of the regular season.
With a start on Friday against the Wolverines, he will move into a tie with Ryan Miller and Norm Foster for fifth all-time in career games played (106). Ron Scott is fourth with 112.
shooting gallery
Jeff Lerg ranks first among all Division I goaltenders in saves (856) and faces an average of 26.7 shots per game, 14th nationally. His 856 saves in 32 games is 100 more than Wylie Rodgers of Alaska, who ranks second in that category in the CCHA; Beau Erickson of Connecticut ranks second behind Lerg nationally with 801 saves on the season.
Only two goalies ranked in the top 15 in saves per game play for teams that are better than .500 - Lerg and Kevin Regan of New Hampshire.
in the annals
Jeff Lerg moved into sixth place on the all-time career saves list, surpassing Ryan Miller (106 GP, 2,600 saves) on Feb. 8. He currently has 2,676, and trails fifth-place Chad Alban by 59 saves.
Lerg has moved into the top 10 in several netminding categories at Michigan State: Career wins (60), eighth; career games played (103), seventh; career GAA (2.25), third; career save percentage (.920), third; career saves (2,631), sixth; career shutouts (8), fourth; wins in a season (26), T-fifth; games played, season (42), T-first; saves, season (1,042), fourth.
stopper
Jeff Lerg's penalty-shot save on Feb. 2 against Bill Bagron of Nebraska-Omaha was his second of the season, and also of his career. He previously stopped Tyler Burton on Oct.20 in a 2-1 victory over Colgate. He made 37 saves in that win over UNO, tied for his second-highest single-game total of the season. He made 40 against Providence (Dec. 29) and 37 at Ferris State (Dec. 8)
against the big boys
In his six games this season against the other top three teams in the CCHA (Michigan, Miami, and Notre Dame), Jeff Lerg owns a 1.47 GAA and .952 save percentage, which includes a shutout at No. 1 Michigan on Jan. 25. Those three rank (as of Feb. 17) first, second, and 17th nationally in team offense.
milestones
Three players reached the 100-games milestone against Nebraska-Omaha: Junior netminder Jeff Lerg played in his 100th career game on Feb. 1, just the seventh MSU netminder to reach that milestone. Senior blueliner Jeff Dunne and junior winger Tim Kennedy reached the 100-game mark on the next evening. Three other juniors reached the milestone earlier this season: Nick Sucharski (at Notre Dame, Jan. 13); Justin Abdelkader (vs. Michigan Tech, Dec. 28); and Tim Crowder (at LSSU, Dec. 1).
Senior Zak McClellan (89 career games) and junior Brandon Gentile, (88) will likely be the next to reach the milestone.
double dips
MSU has boasted two, two-goal scorers three times this season, the most recent Michael Ratchuk and Tim Crowder against Lake Superior State on Jan. 4.
Dustin Gazley and Matt Schepke each had two-goal outings on Oct. 19, a 6-2 victory over Colgate, and Schepke and Bryan Lerg completed the feat again against Wisconsin (Nov. 23) in a 4-4 tie.
double dips, part II
In 42 games last season, there were 15 occasions where an MSU skater recorded two goals in a game. Through 33 games this year, it has already happened 15 times.
at the dot
MSU benefits from a deep corps of quality centermen who excel on faceoffs. Senior Chris Mueller has won 249 of 428 faceoffs, for a team-best 58.2 percent; since Jan. 1, Mueller has won an even more impressive 60.6 percent (117 of 193). Justin Abdelkader has won 364 of 675 (53.9%), Zak McClellan is at 52.9 percent (110 of 208), while Nick Sucharski and Bryan Lerg are both at at 52.3 percent (Sucharski 136 of 259; Lerg 257 of 491).
career years
Five veterans have already surpassed their single-season bests through the midpoint of the season. Matt Schepke has already bettered his sophomore-year point total (2-3-5) with his 10-14-24 scoring line. He has had two, two-goal games this season. Senior blueliner Daniel Vukovic, who recorded a 7-5-12 stat line in what was a breakout junior season, has three goals and 16 assists for 19 points - the 16 assists betters his career total of nine coming into the season.
Sophomore Michael Ratchuk has bettered his 12 points he recorded as a freshman (6-15-21), while classmate Ryan Turek and junior Brandon Gentile are also already ahead of their totals from a year ago. Turek has four assists this season after just two as a freshman, while Gentile's nine helpers betters his total of four last year.
earning their roles
Sophomore Justin Johnston has earned an everyday spot in the MSU defensive corps. He has appeared in 15 of the last 17 games for the Spartans, and has steadily shown growth and improvement this season. Johnston's emergence has not only added another dimension to the defensive corps, but the Spartans have recently employed to a seven-defenseman lineup as they did during the 2007 National Championship run.
Freshman Andrew Rowe is making a case for more ice time as well. Playing in just his 10th game of the season, Rowe was inserted into the lineup for the Feb. 2 game against UNO on the second line with Bryan Lerg and Tim Crowder. He responded with a career-best three-point night (1-2-3) and helped MSU earn a split with the Mavericks. Rowe had a hand in all three even-strength tallies on the night, and has played in the last two series.
collegiate debuts
The freshman class has found ways to make an impact through the first half of the season. Five of the six MSU freshmen have recorded their first collegiate goal, with blueliners Jeff Petry and AJ Sturges getting their first on Nov. 10 against Mercyhurst. Petry, a regular on the MSU power play, currently has a 1-13-14 line. Dustin Gazley had an impressive home debut, netting a pair of goals in his first home game (Oct. 19 vs. Colgate) and currently has three goals and nine assists. Corey Tropp leads freshmen in goal scoring (6-9-15) and is the leader in freshmen points. Andrew Rowe played in his first game in green and white on Oct. 26 against Northern Michigan, and has a 3-2-5 line on the season. Forward Joey Shean has played in five games, and still looks for his first collegiate tally - but has played well in his role when called upon.
gentleman and a scholar
Senior Jeff Dunne has been honored with a Charles E. and Frances M. Osterman Scholarship. Robert Osterman, past president of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, provided this scholarship to the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences in memory of his parents. Dunne, a crop and soil science major, has a cumulative grade point average of 3.771.
in-game, and in-home entertainment
MSUSpartans.com has continued its weekly video content in its All-Access subscribers. "In the Box with Zak McClellan" will provide a weekly interview with players and personnel within the MSU hockey program. McClellan's guests have also included the Hanson Brothers, Gary Thorne and Barry Melrose.
McClellan, a Frankenmuth, Mich. native and junior forward for the Spartans, is the three--time winner of the team's Goofus Award, given annually to the team humorist at the season-ending awards banquet. The weekly clip will be a part of the premium content available to All-Access subscribers on MSUSpartans.com.
In addition, McClellan has added some in-arena entertainment to his resume this season. He headlines "Zak and the Macs", a lip-synch music video series that began as a backdrop for highlight packages. The videos can only be seen in Munn Arena, and a new Zak and the Macs will premiere during the home game against Michigan on Feb. 22. In addition, a "Zak and the Macs: Behind the Music" will be part of the "In the Box" series.
Also participating as band members in the "Zak and the Macs" videos are Justin Abdelkader, Michael Ratchuk, Kurt Kivisto, Dan Sturges, and Jay Sprague. The "band" premiered Loverboy's "Workin for the Weekend" in late November, then rolled out Hall and Oates' "You Make my Dreams" in January.
an even dozen
A total of 12 former Spartans are currently on NHL rosters: David Booth (Florida), Rod Brind'Amour (Carolina), Adam Hall (Pittsburgh), Shawn Horcoff (Edmonton), Duncan Keith (Chicago), John-Michael Liles (Colorado), Drew Miller (Anaheim), Ryan Miller (Buffalo), Jim Slater (Atlanta), Bryan Smolinski (Montreal), Mike Weaver (Vancouver) and Mike York (Phoenix).
up next
The Spartans tangle with Bowling Green in the final regular-season weekend of the regular season. The teams will play Friday in East Lansing, then again on Saturday night at the BGSU Ice Arena. Friday night's game will take an opportunity to honor the five Spartan seniors playing in their final regular-season home game.