Anastos Announces 2011-12 Hockey Schedule
7/13/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
July 13, 2011
East Lansing, Mich. - Eighteen home games, including representatives from four of the five ice hockey conferences, awaits the Michigan State hockey team in its first season under new head coach Tom Anastos. The Spartans will host three of the four Big Ten teams at Munn Ice Arena for two games each, as well as play in the season-opening Icebreaker Tournament at North Dakota. Three of the four Frozen Four teams from a year ago appear on the MSU schedule (Michigan, Notre Dame, and North Dakota), and the Spartans could play in a possible 13 games next season against teams which participated in the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
2011-12 Michigan State Hockey Schedule
Download Printable Schedule
"This year's schedule is extremely challenging and features a nice blend of traditional league rivalries along with two high profile tournaments in the Icebreaker and Great Lakes Invitational," noted Anastos, who was appointed the head coach of the hockey program in March. ". Our annual game vs Michigan in Detroit at Joe Louis Arena is also one that we always look forward to and provides us with an opportunity to play in front of a lot of our Detroit area alumni."
The Spartans will participate in the Icebreaker Tournament (Oct. 7-8) at North Dakota's Engelstad Arena, where MSU will tangle with Boston College in the opening round. This will be the first meeting between the two schools since the 2007 National Championship game, where the Spartans got two goals in the final 20 seconds of regulation to capture a 3-1 victory and the third National Championship in program history. North Dakota and Air Force are the other participating institutions.
Conference play gets underway Oct. 14-15 when MSU travels to Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. to tangle with Lake Superior, where MSU took a win and a tie last winter. The Anastos Era makes its home debut with a series against Big Ten foe Ohio State on Oct. 20-21, which is homecoming weekend on the MSU campus. At this series, the 1986 National Championship hockey team will be honored, celebrating the 25th anniversary of it's 1986 NCAA title. Parents Weekend will follow on Oct. 28-29, when Robert Morris (Atlantic Hockey) travels to Munn Ice Arena for the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
The Spartans open November with an open weekend, followed by back-to-back road trips to Western Michigan (Nov. 11-12) and Northern Michgian (Nov. 18-19). The weekend after Thanksgiving, MSU will host Big Ten rival Minnesota for a two-game set, which replaces the now-defunct College Hockey Showcase.
MSU plays three of its four pre-holiday break games in December at home: a series against Bowling Green (Dec. 2-3), followed by a home-and-home series against the Unviersity of Michigan (Dec. 9-10). The Spartans will travel to Ann Arbor for the Friday tilt before the return date in East Lansing on Saturday night. After a two-weekend hiatus for holiday break, the Spartans return to campus to prepare for the 47th annual Great Lakes Invitational, in which MSU will take on Michigan Tech in the semifinals (Dec. 29) in a bid to advance to the championship game and challenge for a 14th Great Lakes Invitational Title. Boston College is the fourth program in the GLI field this season, and will play Michigan in the other semifinal. This is Boston College's seventh trip to Detroit for the post-holiday tournament, and first GLI appearance since defeating MSU in the 2003 championship final.
The Spartans open 2012 with three straight home series - hosting Miami (Jan. 6-7); Northern Michigan (Jan. 13-14), and Lake Superior State (Jan. 20-21). The lone series against Ferris State for next season will follow Jan. 27-28 in Big Rapids, and a trip to Columbus follows the first weekend in February. On Feb. 10, Michigan makes its second appearance at Munn Ice Arena this season, and the teams will face off the following night at Joe Louis Arena. The Spartans, who split their series with the Wolverines 2-2 last year, defeated Michigan in the game held at JLA last January, 2-1.
MSU hosts Alaska (Feb. 17-18), with the second game serving as the backdrop for MSU's senior night ceremony. The Spartan roster features 10 seniors on the 2011-12 roster, more than the last two senior classes combined. The regular season will come to a close Feb. 24-25, when MSU travels to Notre Dame and will get its first look at the new facility for the Irish, the 5,000-seat Compton Family Center.
The game times for all MSU hockey contests for the 2011-12 season will be announced later in the season, in conjunction with the CCHA's television package.