Michigan State University Athletics
Icers Tangle With Wildcats In CCHA Tourney Opener
3/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
March 6, 2009
Michigan State travels to Northern Michigan for the first round of the 2009 CCHA Tournament. The best-of-three series begins on Friday at 7:35 p.m. at the Berry Events Center in Marquette.
Date/Time: March 6/7/8, 2009; 7:35 p.m..
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series history
Michigan State is 30-22-2 all-time against the Wildcats, but trails in the all-time series (12-7-1) in games played in Marquette.
recent history
Michigan State took four points (a regulation and shootout win) when the teams met at Munn Ice Arena back in October. The teams will meet in the postseason for the second straight season; the Wildcats eliminated the Spartans in last year's quarterfinal series at Munn Arena in three games.
playoff history
MSU is 3-5 all-time against the Wildcats in the CCHA Tournament. The teams are meeting in the first round for the first time. MSU is 1-4 against NMU in the quarterfinal round and 2-1 in the semifinals. The Spartans are 14-1 all-time in CCHA First-round games, and 80-24 overall in the CCHA Tournament.
history lesson
MSU mentor Rick Comley spent 26 years at Northern Michigan as the head coach of the hockey program - he recorded 538 of his 749 career coaching victories as the head coach of the Wildcats. Since coming to State, Comley is 11-11-1 against his former charges, which includes a 7-3 record at Munn and 1-4 record in the post-season.
when we last left our heroes
The Spartans are coming off of a sweep at the hands of Notre Dame, 5-0 in South Bend and 2-1 at Munn Arena. It was Notre Dame's first sweep of the Spartans in a weekend set since Feb. 13-14, 1981.
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. MSU is 6-10-2 since it's early-December Michigan series.
on an upswing
Michigan State has taken points in five of its eight CCHA weekends in 2009, beating two ranked teams along the way: No. 18 Alaska, No. 9 Miami, and No. 16 Ohio State.
degree of difficulty
According to the latest KRACH rankings, MSU has played the tenth-toughest schedule in the country this season. All seven of MSU's games against non-CCHA competition came against teams from Hockey East (2-2-0) and the WCHA (1-1-0). The Spartans played four games against Hockey East competition, (one each against Boston University and UMass, and a pair in East Lansing against UMass-Lowell). The Spartans also played three against the WCHA, (one each against Wisconsin, Minnesota, and North Dakota). Michigan State has played 19 games (including a two-game set with top-ranked Notre Dame last weekend) against schools in this week's national polls.
historically significant
The Spartans are the all-time winningest team in CCHA Tournament history, with a 80-44-0 record (.782) in the annual event. Michigan State has also won the most titles of any school in the league, past or present - the Spartans captured their 11th title in 2006. Michigan ranks second with eight, their most recent in 2008. Notre Dame won their first and only title in 2007.
home or neutral, but rarely anything else
MSU has played 56 of its 104 all-time CCHA tournament games at Munn Ice Arena, and owns a 50-6 mark all-time in games on their home rink. Michigan State has played true road games only twice in their CCHA tournament history, but lost both - at Western Michigan in 1991. The Spartans are 31-15 in neutral site games.
fun with facts
Of MSU's six home playoff losses, five came as part of best-of-three series. MSU lost a best-of-three series at home for the first time in school history last season, to the Wildcats.
frequent visitors
MSU has advanced to play at Joe Louis Arena in the league's championship weekend 25 times in 27 seasons.
on a streak
Michigan State is 15-8 in CCHA Tournament games under Rick Comley, and the have won eight of their last 11 CCHA tourney games.
maybe just play on friday
Michigan State owns a 6-8-3 record in Friday night games, but is 4-11-2 in Saturday evening tilts. MSU has won on two of the last four Saturday nights.
a chance to get back in it
MSU's February schedule saw two of four weekend series against teams that the Spartans battled with head-to-head to earn home ice in the first round of the conference playoffs. This stretch featured a three-point weekend against Ferris State, a four-point outing against Ohio State, and a split of a home-and-home series with Bowling Green. MSU was swept by Notre Dame in its last weekend of the season.
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. MSU is 3-3-2-1 in February.
traveling road show
Michigan State had a rather daunting stretch of the schedule midseason - between Nov. 1 and Jan. 31, the Spartans played 21 games - and only five of them were played at home. The Spartans had five home games in the month of February, and went 2-1-2 in those games.
gaining ground
Rick Comley owns a 749-581-100 (.560) career overall coaching record, and recently 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 816 and Jack Parker of Boston University has 804. The Feb. 7 victory over Ferris State (1-0) served as the 150th victory for Comley at Michigan State.
around the league
Three other first-round series are on tap this weekend. Ferris State plays at Nebraska-Omaha, Lake Superior is at Western Michigan, and Bowling Green will be at Ohio State.
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. On Jan. 26, Comley suspended Corey Tropp and Andrew Conboy for the remainder of the season for their actions in a Jan. 24 game at Michigan. Conboy has since signed a professional contract with the Hamilton Bulldogs, the AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. In all, MSU has lost the services of eight players for the balance of their seasons due to suspension/dismissal, injury, or in the case of Merrifield, returning to junior hockey.
ccha predictions
The Spartans, who finished third in the 2007-08 season, were 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.)
quite the cluster
Michigan State and Michigan were paired with Miami and Ohio State in the 2008-09 season as clustermates; the schools played four times, and faced 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. This year, Miami, OSU, and Michigan are all in the current top five in the standings. Those three teams have a combined 65-32-9 overall record (65.5% winning percentage).
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 5-10-2 since Jan. 1, with wins over three ranked teams: Alaska, Miami, and Ohio State.
strong starts
This year, MSU is 6-6-2 this season when netting the game's first goal, and 2-15-2 when allowing its opponent the first strike. MSU had scored first in five straight games entering the Bowling Green series, but allowed the game's opening goal each night to the Falcons, as well as to Notre Dame last weekend.
you miss 100% of the shots you don't take
Michigan State has been outshot in 24 of its 36 games 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 24.11 shots per game this season, which ranks 58th of 58 teams nationally. The Spartans allow 35.67 per game, which is the second-highest total in the country behind Brown (39.10).
it's been a while ...
MSU outshot Ohio State by a 35-34 margin on Feb. 14. It was the first game that MSU had outshot an opponent since outshooting Minnesota on Nov. 29 (4-4). It was also the last game where MSU outshot an opponent.
specialties
Michigan State's penalty kill is 13th in the latest NCAA statistics, extinguishing 156 of 179 chances against on the season (.872). The Spartans have been perfect on the penalty kill in 18 of 36 games this season.
seeing the spectrum
MSU's offensive average of 1.58 goals per game (57 goals in 36 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 23 power-play strikes in 36 games, and has allowed more than one in a game just six times in 60 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).
finally!
Matt Schepke's Dec. 5 shorthanded goal was the first of the season for the team. MSU has surrendered five in its 36 games, surpassing 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 nine times in its last 30 games has MSU been whistled for more penalties, and five times the teams have been called for the same number of infractions.
block party
On the season, MSU has blocked 723 shots, compared to 407 for its opponents. Converted forward Kurt Kivisto had a season-best seven when he dropped back to play defense against Miami on Jan. 17. He has played back on the blueline ever since (11 games), and his 67 blocked shots lead the team. Brandon Gentile has 66, Tim Buttery (58), and Jeff Petry has 57.
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 3-1 in shootouts this season Kurt Kivisto and Matt Schepke are each 3-1 on shootout attempts for Michigan State. Jeff Lerg has stopped six of 10 shootout attempts against.
so much for home cookin'
The Spartans are only being outshot by an average of 3.9 shots per game (28.8-32.7) in home tilts, but by an average of 16.5 (20.4-36.9) in road games. MSU has been outscored 60-23 on the road (-37), but only 32-26 at home (-6).
rarity
Michigan State was shut out on Feb. 21 at Bowling Green (4-0) and at Notre Dame on Feb. 27 (5-0) at Notre Dame. It was the first time that MSU had been shut out in back-to-back games in the same season for the first time in school history. The only other time that the team has been shut-out in back-to-back games, it didn't even happen in the same season or with the same coach behind the bench: on March 22, 2002 Ron Mason's squad lost a 2-0 decision to Colorado College in the NCAA Tournament; on Oct. 11, in Rick Comley's debut behind the bench, MSU dropped a 5-0 game to Denver.
season high
Michigan State recorded a season-best 38 shots on net in the Jan. 31 game at Lake Superior.
shoot `em up
MSU was 3-1 on the season in shootouts, and three of the four deadlocks ended in a 2-2 score (the fourth was a 1-1 final against Ohio State).
get them early
The Spartans are 4-6-2 in the first game of a CCHA set this season, and just 2-9-1 in game two.
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 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 30 games, the Spartans have scored just 43 goals - an average of 1.43 goals per game. In Drew Palmisano's six starts, the Spartans have scored 12 goals - an average of 2.0 per game.
He's No. 1 ... and No. 2
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. With 3,951 career saves, he surpassed Glen Healy (Western Michigan) for the all-time CCHA record, and last week he also passed former Vermont netminder (and current Boston Bruin goalie) Tim Thomas for second place on the all-time NCAA list. Robbie Moore of Michgian (1973-76) is the all-time NCAA leader with 4,434.
picking up where he left off
Jeff Lerg has earned CCHA Goaltender of the Week honors three times 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. His most recent award came on Feb. 16. He stopped 69 of 71 shots in a weekend set with Ohio State, and made three shootout saves after a 1-1 tie. he also recorded a 2-1 victory in the second game of the series. The win allowed Lerg to record his 14th consecutive game with 29+ saves.
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 first in the country in total saves (995) and is second in saves per game (33.14). He has recorded 29 or more saves in each of his last 17 games, and the Feb. 6 Ferris State game was also his fifth game this season of 44 or more saves.
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.
in on the action
Drew Palmisano made a career-high 46 saves in the Jan. 24 game against Michigan. His previous high had been 33 in a 3-1 loss at Nebraska-Omaha. Six times this season, MSU has had a 44+ save performance: Jeff Lerg has had 54, 50, 49, and 46, and 44--save efforts.
tight squeezes
On Feb. 7, Jeff Lerg recorded his 12th career shutout, a 1-0 win at Ferris State. He moved into a tie for third place with Chad Alban, and sits behind Ryan Miller (26) and Dominic Vicari (16). In his career (144 GP), Lerg has 12 shutouts, and 35 games in which he has allowed a single goal. He has allowed just two goals on another 38 occasions - a grand total of 85 of 144 games that he has allowed two goals or fewer (59.0%).
rare occurances The Feb. 7 shutout of Ferris State was Jeff Lerg's third by a 1-0 score in his career: The first was against New Hampshire in the NCAA Tournament as a freshman, the second was a win on Jan. 25, 2008 at Yost against Michigan.
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 30 of MSU's 36 games this season, he still ranks 15th nationally in minutes played (1801:27, 82.44% of the team's available minutes). 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). His current total is 144. Lerg collected his 74th career victory on Feb. 7 at Ferris State, moving ahead of Ryan Miller to claim sole possession of fourth place in the all-time victories list. With 76 career wins, Lerg has tied Norm Foster for third in all-time MSU victories. Chad Alban (88) is the career leader, and Jason Muzzatti (83) ranks second.
shooting gallery Jeff Lerg currently ranks first in the country in saves (995), an average of 33.1 shots faced per game (second nationally). Mike Clemente of Brown is the national leader, averaging 34.1. 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.
career achievement Jeff Lerg ranks among the all-time NCAA leaders in several categories, and continues to move up the all-time charts as his time in East Lansing starts to wind to a close. In addition holding down second place in career saves (he recently surpassed Tim Thomas (Vermont) in second place), his career save percentage currently ranks 14th (.923). His career shutouts, currently 12, is tied for 16th with four players, (and one more puts him tied for 11th) and his 76 career wins currently ranks 12th. Lerg's 61 consecutive games played/started streak from earlier in his career is tied for third in the ranking of goalie games played, and the 61 consecutive starts is second only to Brant Nicklin of Minnesota-Duluth, who started 76 from 1996-98.
in the annals
Jeff Lerg has moved into top-10 positions in several netminding categories at MSU:
Career records:• Wins: 76, T-third (record: 88)• Games Played: 144, first (Previous record: 131)• Consecutive Games Played: 61, first• GAA: 2.32, third (record: 1.54)• Saves: 3,951, first• Save Percentage: .923 second (record: .941)• Shutouts: 12, T-third (record: 26)*complete goaltending records can be found on pgs. 110-111 of the Michigan State media guide
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
always big in the stretch run
In the month of February, Jeff Lerg owned a 1.68 goals-against average (ranked fifth nationally in that period) and led the country with a .954 save percentage.
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 six starts, the most recent on Jan. 24 at Michigan. He owns a 3.33 GAA and .898 save percentage with a 1-3-2 overall record. He owns one shootout victory, over Western Michigan on Nov. 1.
a road warrior
Five of freshman netminder Drew Palmisano's six starts this season have come in road tilts. His lone home start came on Oct. 17 against UMass-Lowell. Four of his five road starts have come in hostile, spirited road venues: WMU, Minnesota, Michigan, and Notre Dame.
a hot hand
Matt Schepke had his six-game point-scoring streak snapped in the shutout loss at Bowling Green on Feb. 21. He had extended that streak in the previous game with a goal to open the scoring, netting his team-best 14th of the season. He 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 leads the Spartans with 14 scores and 23 points. He was MSU's lone representative on the Great Lakes Invitational All-Tournament Team.
hey, newbies
Michigan State has added a pair of former club team players to the roster for the remainder of the season. The most recent is junior Jacob Schering, a forward who last played at Trenton High School. Schering made his MSU debut on Feb. 21 at Bowling Green, and also played on Feb. 28 against Notre Dame. Senior Shaun Fulton made his debut for the Green and White in the Lake Superior State series (Jan. 30-31). Due to a myriad of different circumstances, Michigan State has lost a total of eight players for the season.
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 for the remainder of the season, while freshman blueliner Matt Crandell missed five against Bowling Green. Andrew Rowe missed three games with injury in October. Shaun Fulton, who joined the team in mid-January, also suffered a season-ending shoulder injury.
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.
late bloomers
Adam Henderson scored his first collegiate goal at 1:13 of the third period of the Jan. 24 game against Michigan at Yost Ice Arena. He was the second freshman that weekend to pot his first collegiate tally, as Tim Buttery got his on the previous night against the Wolverines. Joey Shean recorded his first collegiate point on Matt Schepke's first period power-play marker against North Dakota on Dec. 27. He then scored his first collegiate goal at 4:21 of the second period of the Feb. 6 game against Ferris, tipping a Brock Shelgren shot from the right point. Brett Perlini got his first career tally on Feb. 13 against Ohio State and recorded his first career assist the next night against the Buckeyes. The most recent to join this club is blueliner Shelgren, who scored his first collegiate goal - the game-winner - on Feb. 20 against Bowling Green. He and Daultan Leveille scored 26 seconds apart to turn the game around for MSU.
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 six on the season. 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. Kurt Kivisto had a goal and an assist on Jan. 31 at Lake Superior, with his shorthanded tally opening the scoring in the game. It was Kivisto's first career multiple-point game. Brock Shelgren had his first career multiple-point game on Jan. 17 in a 4-1 win at Miami, with two assists.
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 10 collegiate hockey players who have combined excellence in athletics, academics and community service were announced on Feb. 11 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.
uh, yeah ... and even more kudos
Jeff Lerg is one of 10 finalists for the BNY Mellon Hockey Humanitarian Award, which honors college hockey's finest citizen. The 10 finalists for the award were narrowed down from a list of 21 nominees.
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.
Ten in the show ...
Ten former Spartans are currently on NHL rosters, the second-most in the CCHA behind Michigan. They are: Jim Slater (Atlanta), Ryan Miller (Buffalo), Rod Brind'Amour (Carolina), Duncan Keith (Chicago); Andrew Hutchinson (Dallas); John-Michael Liles (Colorado); Shawn Horcoff (Edmonton); David Booth (Florida); Mike Weaver (St. Louis); and Adam Hall (Tampa).
... and a dozen more in the A
Twelve Spartans are currently on American Hockey League rosters: Justin Abdelkader (Grand Rapids), Drew Miller (Iowa Chops); Jim McKenzie (Binghamton Senators), 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
• Tim Kennedy (Portland Pirates) was named the AHL Rookie of the Month for February. Kennedy leads all AHL rookies in scoring with 50 points, and assists with 36, and he had 9-8-17 in the month. He made his NHL debut with the Sabres on Dec. 27 against the New York Islanders. He was selected to the AHL All-Star game on Jan. 26, but could not participate due to losing six teeth in an on-ice incident a week prior. • Justin Abdelkader ranks third in AHL rookie scoring with 20-25-45 in 55 games for Grand Rapids. He had a two-game stint in Detroit in January. • David Booth's 21 goals lead the Florida Panthers, and he ranks second on the team with 38 points. • John-Michael Liles is the top scoring defenseman (7-21-28) for the Colorado Avalanche. He is currently out of the lineup with a wrist injury. • Ryan Miller is sidelined indefinitely in Buffalo as he is nursing a high ankle sprain.
