Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans, Michigan Meet in Joe-and-Road Series
1/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
Jan. 22, 2009
Michigan State prepares to meet Michigan for the fourth and fifth times this season when the teams tangle this weekend. Friday's game will be at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, while Saturday's game will be contested at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor.
Date/Time: Jan. 23-24, 7:35 p.m..
Gametracker: |
Audio: WJIM 1240 AM. All audio can also be heard at msuspartans.com
Television:(F) FSN+ : (Comcast-901, ATT-738, DirecTV-664, DISH-449) (S) FSN Detroit
Download MSU Hockey Notes (PDF)
Podcasts: Rick | Jeff | Dan Shoot for a Cure silent auction information/photo gallery
series history
The Spartans trail the all-time series with the Wolverines by a 119-135-18 margin. MSU has lost four straight to the Wolverines, including each of the previous three meetings this season. The teams will meet on Friday at Joe Louis Arena, a tradition that started back in the 1990-91 season. MSU trails, 8-9-4, in non-CCHA Tournament, non-GLI meetings at Joe Louis. The teams will meet on Saturday in Ann Arbor, where the home team owns a 68-42-4 mark.
shoot for a cure
Michigan State hockey's "Shoot for a Cure" initiative will feature a silent auction at the Friday game at Joe Louis Arena. Items autographed by former Spartans and Wolverines now playing professional hockey, as well as generous donations from former Spartans in the front office of several NHL teams , are available for bid. A complete list of items can be found on the MSU website, www.msuspartans.com. In addition, the 2008-09 version of the "Shoot for a Cure" t-shirts will be on sale for $15.
random tidbits
• Michigan has won 135 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.
recent meetings
Over the last six-plus seasons (the tenure of Rick Comley at Michigan State), the series has been remarkably even - the Spartans own a 11-12-8 record against their archrival. The teams have met 21 times in the last three-plus seasons.
recent history
The two teams met three times back in December. Early in the month, the teams engaged in a home-and-home. Michigan easily handled the Spartans at Yost (6-1), then rallied for a dramatic 5-3 victory at Munn. The Spartans led their home game, 3-2, with three minutes to play, but the Wolverines struck twice in 1:30 and added an empty-netter for good measure to deal MSU the heartbreaking loss. The teams also met in the Great Lakes Invitational final, where Michigan won a 5-1 decision.
when we last left our heroes
MSU is coming off a split at No. 9 Miami, winning 4-1 the first night behind a pair of goals from Corey Tropp and single scores by Tim Crowder and Dustin Gazley; Miami turned the tables the next night to post a 6-1 win, with Daultan Leveille getting the lone score. MSU was outshot 96-29 in the two-game series, and Jeff Lerg stopped 89 shots (.929). Lerg tied his career high with 54 saves in the Saturday contest, the highest single-game save performance in Division I hockey this season.
a tough go
At the end of 2008, the Spartans stood at 5-12-3, the lowest number of wins at the holiday break since the late 70's. in 1977-78, MSU was 4-12-0 at the holidays, and was 5-13-0 a year later in the 1978-79 season.
on an upswing
Michigan State has split each of its last three weekends of action, beating three ranked teams along the way: No. 18 North Dakota, No, 18 Alaska, and No. 9 Miami.
maybe just play on friday
Michigan State owns a 5-5-1 record in Friday night games, but is 2-7-2 in Saturday evening tilts.
a chance to get back in it
MSU's February schedule sees three of four weekend series against teams that the Spartans will be battling with head-to-head to earn home ice in the first round of the conference playoffs. This stretch, featuring a set at Lake Superior, home-and-home series with Ferris State and Bowling Green in addition to a home series against Ohio State, will go a long way in determining MSU's postseason fate.
losing ledgers
MSU had a winless November (0-7-2), its first losing month in more than a year. The last sub-.500 month for Michigan State was in Feb. 2007, going 3-4-2. Incidently, the Spartans were also sub-.500 in November that season as well.
gaining ground
Rick Comley owns a 746-574-97 (.560) career overall coaching record, and just moved ahead of Bob Peters (744) for fourth place on the all-time wins list. Peters coached from 1964-2001 at North Dakota and Bemidji State.
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 812 and Jack Parker of Boston University has 797.
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 were played at home. MSU's next home game is Feb. 6 against Ferris State.
around the league
There are five CCHA series on tap this weekend, with both Notre Dame and Ferris State idle.
As for conference series, Nebraska-Omaha hosts Miami, Ohio State plays host to Western Michigan and Alaska travels to Marquette to take on Northern Michigan, and Lake Superior State is at Bowling Green.
roster shuffles
Head coach Rick Comley announced two roster changes at the end of the first semester: freshman forward Mike Merrifield will return to junior hockey to play the remainder of the season, while defenseman Ryan Turek has been dismissed from the squad for failure to meet team expectations.
Merrifield will return to junior hockey for the spring semester, and will play for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL. His coach in Green Bay is John Cooper, who coached Merrifield last season in the North American Hockey League with the St. Louis Bandits. Merrifield will return to the Spartans in the fall of 2009 as a sophomore.
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.
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.
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 six seasons (2002-07), the Spartans have been a combined 60-48-10 (55%), then compiled a 82-40-13 mark in the second half (66.3%). 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%). This year, MSU finished the first half 5-12-3 (.325), and are gunning for marked improvement as the calendar turns to 2009. So far, the team is 3-3-0 since Jan. 1, with wins over three ranked teams: North Dakota, Alaska, and Miami.
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 5-5-1 this season when netting the game's first goal, and 1-8-2 when allowing its opponent the first strike. MSU had scored first in five straight games until the Alaska series, and Matt Schepke had three of those "first" tallies.
you miss 100% of the shots you don't take
Michigan State has been outshot in 15 of its 24games this season, with its largest shot disparity coming in the game at Miami on Jan. 18, when the Red Hawks outshot MSU, 60-13. Jeff Lerg tied his career high with 54 saves in that contest.
The Spartans are averaging 23.67 shots per game this season, which ranks 57th of 58 teams nationally.
specialties
Michigan State's penalty kill is 20th in the latest NCAA statistics, extinguishing 106 of 123 chances against on the season (.862). The Spartans have been perfect on the penalty kill in 11 of 22 games this season.
seeing the spectrum
MSU now ranks 33rd nationally in team defense, averaging 2.96 goals against per game; six weeks (and 52 goals) ago, the Spartans were seventh in the country in team defense.
MSU's offensive average of 1.67 goals per game (40 goals in 24 contests) ranks 12th in the CCHA and 57th nationally.
playing with fire
MSU allowed (and killed off) a season-high nine power play chances against on Nov. 29 against Wisconsin, bettering its previous single-game high of eight allowed against Miami on Nov. 15. The Spartans allowed nine chances to Michgian on Dec. 28, but allowed two goals to the Wolverines.
pk success is continued success
The Spartans have allowed just 17 power-play strikes in 24 games, and has allowed more than one in a game just five times in 48 games dating back to last season.
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 (29 games), MSU has killed off 139 of 155 power-play chances against (.898).
finally!
Matt Schepke's Dec. 5 shorthanded goal was the first of the season for the team. MSU has surrendered three in its first 22 games - one shy of last year's total of four.
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).
Just four times in its last 18 games has MSU been whistled for more penalties, and four times the teams have been called for the same number of infractions.
block party
On the season, MSU has blocked 492 shots, compared to 285 for its opponents. Leading the way in this category for MSU is defensemen Brandon Gentile (47) and Tim Buttery (42), while Brock Shelgren has 30 and and Jeff Petry 31. Among forwards, Kurt Kivisto leads the way with 37; he had a season-best seven when he dropped back to play defense against Miami on Jan. 17.
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.
Matt Schepke was the lone Spartan named to the Great Lakes Invitational All-Tournament team on Dec. 29. Schepke had three goals in two games.
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.
honor among peers
The CCHA's captain's poll results were released on Tuesday, Jan. 13. Jeff Lerg led all players in the conference with four individual honors, including "Most Respected Player", "Best Difference-Maker", and both goaltending honors, "Best Glove Hand" and "Best Shootout Goalie".
Tim Crowder was the CCHA captain's selection as the "Most Accurate Shot". Crowder was the second runner-up for Most Dangerous in the Slot" to Justin Mercier (Miami) and Ryan Thang (Notre Dame).
Sophomore defenseman Jeff Petry was a runner-up in three categories: first runner up in both "Hardest Slapshot" (Ian Cole of Notre Dame) and "Best 1-on-1 Defenseman" (Teddy Ruth, Notre Dame) and was tied as the second runner-up (with Erik Gustaffson of NMU) as the "Best Power-Play Pointman" behind Eddie DelGrosso of UNO and Chad Langlais of Michigan.
goal support
The Spartans tied their season high with four goals on Friday, Jan. 17 in a 4-1 win over Miami, tying the four scored at Minnesota on Dec. 29. It was also the most it had scored in front of Jeff Lerg all season: In Lerg's 20 games, the Spartans have scored just 29 goals - an average of 1.45 goals per game. In Drew Palmisano's four starts, the Spartans have scored nine goals - an average of 2.25 per game.
He's No. 1 ... and No. 3
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.
In the CCHA, Lerg ranks third all-time in career saves. Robbie Moore (Michigan) owns the all-time mark of 4,434, followed by WMU's Glen Healy (3,932), At his current pace of 32.65 saves per game, Lerg could surpass Healy before season's end.
picking up where he left off
Jeff Lerg earned CCHA Goaltender of the Week honors twice in the first four weeks that the conference awarded weekly honors this season.
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.
he's good at hockey
Jeff Lerg tied his career high with 54 saves in the Jan. 18 game at Miami, and posted an additional 35 the previous evening in MSU's convincing 4-1 win.
Lerg ranks second in the country in both total saves (653) and saves per game (32.65). He has recorded 29 or more saves in each of his last seven games, and Saturday was also his fourth game this season of 46 or more saves. On the weekend, he stopped 89 of 96 shots against - a .927 save percentage.
records, records, and more records
Lerg's 54 saves against Miami on Jan. 18 is the single-game high in Division I hockey this season. He also is tied for the second-most saves (50), which he had on Nov. 28 at Wisconsin. (Andrew Loewen of Canisius made 50 vs. Ferris State on Oct. 10, and Jerry Kuhn of Western Michigan replicated the feat on Oct. 18 vs. Minnesota-Duluth.) Lerg's 49 saves against Michigan in the GLI final (Dec. 29) gives him three of the top-five single-game performances by a goaltender this season.
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 (134 GP), Lerg has 11 shutouts, and 33 games in which he has allowed a single goal. He has allowed just two goals on another 34 occasions - a grand total of 78 of 133 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 20 of MSU's 24 games this season, he still ranks 15th nationally in minutes played (1192:43).
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.
a lot of actual miles
Jeff Lerg became MSU's all-time goaltending leader in games played in the Spartans' Jan. 2-3 series against Alaska. He passed Chad Alban, who played in 131 games (1994-98)
Lerg collected his 73rd career victory on Jan. 17 at Miami, tying Ryan Miller in fourth place in the all-time victories list. Chad Alban (88) is the career leader.
shooting gallery
Jeff Lerg currently ranks second in the country in saves (653), an average of 32.65 shots faced per game (also second 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
Michigan State allowed 23 third-period shots to Miami on Jan. 18, single-period season high. MSU's previous season high was 18, set in the first period against to Wisconsin on Nov. 28 and again to Michigan on Dec. 28. MSU allowed its season high twice in the same game, as it had allowed 19 shots to the RedHawks in the second period of that same game.
Jeff Lerg's 21 third-period saves against Miami in that Jan. 18 game set his career record for saves in a period, which he had last recorded on Feb. 10, 2007, against Michigan. In that game, Lerg made his career-best 54 saves. He tied that 54-save performance against Miami.
a peek beyond the present
Michgian State is quite 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 has made four starts, the most recent on Nov. 29 at Minnesota. He owns a 2.56 GAA and .911 save percentage with a 1-1-2 overall record. He owns one shootout victory, over Western Michigan on Nov. 1.
in the annals
Jeff Lerg has moved into top-10 positions in several netminding categories at MSU:
Career records:• Wins: 73, fifth (record: 88)• Games Played: 134, first (Previous record: 131)• Consecutive Games Played: 61, first• GAA: 2.31, third (record: 1.54)• Saves: 3,609, first• Save Percentage: .922 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
*complete goaltending records can be found on pgs. 110-111 of the Michigan State media guide
a hot hand
Matt Schepke had a pair of goals in MSU's Dec. 27 victory over North Dakota, his first multiple-goal game since Nov. 24, 2007 against Wisconsin. It was his third career two-goal game.
He recently had a four-game goal scoring streak and leads the Spartans with 10 scores. He was MSU's lone representative on the Great Lakes Invitational All-Tournament Team.
a pair of firsts
Corey Tropp had his first career two-goal game on Jan. 17 in a 4-1 win at Miami. Brock Shelgren had his first career multiple-point game in that game as well, with two assists.
m.a.s.h. unit
Several Spartan veterans have missed time with injuries this fall. Senior Nick Sucharski, who suffered two shoulder injuries this fall, will be taking a medical redshirt this season and will return as a senior next fall to complete his eligibility. Sophomore blueliner AJ Sturges is also out for the season. The most recent additions to the list are senior Tim Crowder, who suffered a shoulder injury at Miami and is out indefinitely, and freshman blueliner Matt Crandell, who missed the Miami series and is questionable for this weekend.
Freshman Andrew Conboy has missed five games with injury, including the series against UNO and Michigan. Conboy returned to the lineup for the Great Lakes Invitational.
Corey Tropp missed five games with illness, but returned in the Ohio State series. Andrew Rowe missed three games with injury in October.
rookie kudos
Daultan Leveille was named the CCHA Rookie of the Month for October, as released by the league office on Nov. 5.
Leveille led the Spartans over the course of the month 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's two goals against Minnesota (Nov. 29) were his first scores since a two-goal outing against Western Michigan on Halloween.
worth the wait
Kurt Kivisto's first-period goal against UNO on Nov. 22 was his first of the season and second of his career; he scored the first on Oct. 28, 2006 vs. Sacred Heart at Munn Arena.
Classmate Dan Sturges' first-period goal against Minnesota on Nov. 29 was his first since Dec.29, 2006 against Harvard at the Great Lakes Invitational.
Joey Shean recorded his first collegiate point on Matt Schepke's first period power-play marker against North Dakota on Dec. 27.
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. His two goals against Michigan on Dec. 6 also tied a career single-game best, first set against Colgate in his second collegiate game.
Jeff Lerg surpassed Dave Versical's school record in career saves on Oct. 31.
Tim Crowder recorded his 100th career point, an assist on a Matt Schepke power-play goal on Nov. 22. He scored his 50th goal as a Spartan on Jan. 17 in a 4-1 win at Miami.
multiplicity
Sophomore Andrew Rowe had his first career two-goal game on Oct. 24, and has four goals through the first 18 games of the year. Rowe had three goals in all of his freshman year. Daultan Leveille has had a pair of two-goal games through the first two months of the season.
Matt Schepke is the latest with a two-goal effort, scoring twice against North Dakota on Dec. 27.
Corey Tropp had his first career two-goal game on Jan. 17 at Miami.
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.
graduation comes early
Senior Kurt Kivisto has completed his requirements for his bachelor's degree in civil engineering and graduated in December. He begins graduate work this spring.
academic kudos
MSU's hockey program recorded a 3.05 cumulative grade-point average in the fall semester, an all-time best. Seventeen players recorded a semester GPA of 3.0 or better, highlighted by a perfect 4.0 semester for first-year blueliner Brock Shelgren.
more kudos for Lerg
Jeff Lerg is among twenty collegiate hockey players who have combined excellence in athletics, academics and community service were announced on Dec. 30 as candidates for the men's hockey division of the 2008-09 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award. The winner will be announced at the Frozen Four on April 10.
The award is presented annually to an NCAA Division I student-athlete in nine sports based on achievements in the "Four C's" of classroom, character, community and competition. CLASS is an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School.
The Lowe's Senior CLASS Award was launched in 2001 to honor the attributes of college basketball seniors who fulfill their entire athletic eligibility and pursue the many rewards of a senior season and complete college education.
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 six players who have been drafted by NHL teams. The upperclassmen are Tim Crowder (Pittsburgh, 2005, 5/126), Nick Sucharski (Columbus, 2006, 5/136), and Corey Tropp (Buffalo, 2007, 3/89).
powerful influences
Former Michigan State hockey standouts Ryan Miller and Tom Anastos were recognized on the Hockey News' annual list of the 100 People of Power and Influence. Miller, a goaltender for the Buffalo Sabres, was listed at No. 25 while Anastos, the current commissioner of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, was slotted at No. 86.
eleven in the show ...
Eleven former Spartans are currently on NHL rosters, the second-most in the CCHA behind Michigan. In the most recent transactions, Drew Miller was called up by Anaheim on Jan. 3, and Andrew Hutchinson was traded earlier this season from to Dallas from Tampa. The others 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); and Adam Hall (Tampa).
... and eleven more in the A
Eleven Spartans are currently on American Hockey League rosters. Jim McKenzie (Binghamton Senators), Justin Abdelkader (Grand Rapids Griffins), Jared Nightingale, Corey Potter and Ethan Graham (Hartford Wolfpack), Chris Mueller (Lake Erie Monsters), Michael Ratchuk (Philadelphia Phantoms), Colton Fretter and Tim Kennedy (Portland Pirates), Bryan Lerg (Springfield Falcons) and Mike York (Syracuse Crunch).
pro notables
• Drew Miller has appeared in seven games since joining Anaheim on Jan. 3. At the time of his callup, he led the Iowa Chops in scoring with 14 goals and 11 assists and was named to the AHL All-Star Game.
• Tim Kennedy (Portland Pirates) ranks eighth in the American Hockey League (AHL) in rookie scoring with 29 points, and leads all first-year players in assists with 24. He made his NHL debut with the Sabres on Dec. 27 against the New York Islanders. He has been selected to the AHL All-Star game on Jan. 26.
• Justin Abdelkader ranks 15th in AHL rookie scoring with 12-13-25 in 27 games for Grand Rapids.
• David Booth's 19 goals and 31 points lead the Florida Panthers.
• John-Michael Liles is the top scoring defenseman (5-17-22) for the Colorado Avalanche.
next up
MSU has yet another road trip on the docket, traveling to Sault Ste. Marie to tangle with Lake Superior State. The Spartans get some schedule relief once February hits, as five of eight games will be played at Munn Arena.
