Outdoor Game

The University of Michigan and Michigan State University have announced a second outdoor ice hockey game to be played between the two storied programs. The teams will face off in "The Big Chill at the Big House" at Michigan Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 11, 2010. Faceoff is slated for 3 p.m... continue

Michigan 5 Michigan State 4

The Spartans couldn't complete the season sweep of the Wolverines on Saturday night. They allowed two late third period goals after coming back from a three goal deficit in the first period. Rowe, Petry, Perlini, and Chelios each had goals and Krug dished out two assists. Drew Palmisano made 30 saves in the loss. MSU showed great resiliency by coming back from a 3-0 deficit after the first period. It is a tough loss to handle against a team like Michigan, but we have lost the same kinda tough games this year and came back fine the next game. It will be a long trip for the guys this weekend up to Alaska. Fairbanks has a pretty good team this year, so the Spartans must forget about the loss and play the way they are capable of.

Michigan State 3 Michigan 2

The Spartans beat the Wolverines for the third straight time this season. Michigan State got off to an early 3-0 lead before a few Michigan State penalties allowed Michigan to pick up two third period goals. Both teams played really good hockey and there was a lot of flow in the first two periods. The third period saw some scrums after the whistle which is to be expected in a heated rivalry. It's very impressive how this team has really turned it around against Michigan after losing all their regular season games to them last year.

Corey Tropp had two goals to become the nation's second leading goal-scorer and lead the country in game-winning goals. Andrew Rowe had the other goal on a nice pass from Dustin Gazley. Drew Palmisano stopped 22 shots in the victory.

Update on the Wolverines

Michigan State will play against Michigan in a home game Friday night and a game at Joe Louis Arena on Saturday night. Michigan State swept the first series against the Wolverines this year. Michigan is in seventh place in the CCHA with a 9-8-1-0 record and are 14-11-1 overall. The Wolverines have played better as of late with a split against Ferris State last weekend. The weekend before that they beat Alaska the first night and lost in a shootout the second night. So far this year, Michigan has underachieved, but they are still not a team to take lightly. They beat both Wisconsin and Minnesota during the College Hockey Showcase, which were two teams that the Spartans lost to. I think that home advantage will help on Friday night, but Saturday night will be really tough because they always play well against us at Joe Louis.

Ohio State 4 Michigan State 2

Ohio State scored with 1:07 left to go in the game and later scored an empty-netter to clinch the victory. Drew Palmisano stood on his head in the game, making 43 saves in his best save performance of the season. He made some incredible saves and kept the Spartans in the game. I recall one time where he had lost his stick in the first period and was making save after save. MSU was out-shot by 28. We played well at times, but we took too many penalties and let me control the play in our zone. Nick Sucharski had the first goal on the power play and Dustin Gazley scored the second one. Michigan State will have to learn from this game and head into two games with an improved Michigan team next weekend. A split was not terrible against Ohio State, but it's always hard to lose it in that fashion. We have a young, resilient team, who will forget about their last game and have a renewed sense of focus.

Michigan State 5 Ohio State 2

The Spartans got a much needed win after going 0-2-1 in their last three contests. Ohio State hung close with Michigan State, but the Spartans were able to pull away at the end. Derek Grant and Nick Sucharski each had a goal and an assist. Trevor Nill netted an insurance goal to go up 4-2 and pretty much seal the deal. Torey Krug and Zach Golembiewski had the other two tallies. Drew Palmisano looked sharp in net recording 31 saves.

Scouting the Buckeyes

The Spartans will face the Ohio State Buckeyes this weekend in two home games. Ohio State comes into the series tied for eighth place in the CCHA with a 7-8-1-1 conference mark and a 9-12-1 overall record. They beat the US Under 18 team in their last game and their best win came against now ranked #1 Denver. Zac Dalpe leads the team with 23 points (12 goals, 11 assists). Michigan State will look to get a much needed sweep in this series before facing Michigan the following weekend. Every series is tough in the CCHA, so the Spartans must keep up their 5 on 5 play and strengthen their special teams from here on out.

Michigan State 4 Notre Dame 4 F/OT; MSU wins shootout 1-0

Michigan State won their first shootout of the season with Andrew Rowe's goal and three saves by Bobby Jarosz. Jarosz also made 28 saves in regulation. Corey Tropp recorded three assists. Nick Sucharski, Daultan Leveille, Brett Perlini, and Derek Grant had the goals. The Spartans took a 3-0 lead, but Notre Dame stormed back with 4 unanswered goals. Grant saved the day with a goal in the last couple minutes of the third period.

Michigan State played two periods of great hockey yesterday. They struggled in the third period, but showed a tremendous amount of resiliency. It would have been a very tough loss for the Spartans, especially after surrendering leads in back-to-back nights. They should have some confidence going into the home series against Ohio State. MSU finally got the monkey over their back by winning their first shootout. It was a much better feeling on this Saturday night getting two points than it was the prior Saturday night after the shootout loss.

Notre Dame 5 Michigan State 2

The Spartans lost to the Fighting Irish in a tough road game. MSU was up 2-0 in the second period, but Notre Dame chipped away and eventually took the lead for good. Freshman Dean Chelios and sophomore Brett Perlini scored the two Spartan goals, while Trevor Nill had the two primary assists. Drew Palmisano made 34 saves in the loss.

Update on Notre Dame

Michigan State will take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a home and home series this weekend. The Irish are currently 9-10-5 overall on the season and tied for seventh in the CCHA with a record of 5-7-4-2. They were swept by Ferris State last weekend. ND's Billy Maday leads the way with 7 goals and 12 assist for 19 points on the season. In their previous meetings this season, the Spartans lost in a shootout at home and were defeated in Ft. Wayne by the score of 4-1. MSU looks to get their first win against Notre Dame this season in what should be a highly contested series.

NCAA Rankings

The Michigan State Spartan hockey team has moved up in the rankings with their win and tie over Lake Superior State. They are currently #6 in the USA Today Poll and #7 in the USCHO rankings. They previously held the ninth spots in both polls. The Spartans trail #2 Miami and #6/7 Ferris State in the CCHA by one point.

LSSU 3 Michigan State 3 F/OT; LSSU wins shootout 2-1

Michigan State and Lake Superior State played a tough, physical game. They tied 3-3 in regulation after Michigan State tied the score twice in the third period. The Spartans had their best chances to win the game on a delayed penalty call towards the end of the third. Mahoney-Wilson made some incredible saves for the Lakers. Michigan State lost its third shootout of the season, so they are now 0-3 in shootouts. Dean Chelios was the first shooter and scored the lone goal. The Spartans specifically practice shootout situations, but they have still struggled. The reason may be that there has not been one standout shooter this season. Last year's team could always count on Kurt Kivisto for a shootout goal. I think some guys maybe try to think too much and deke the goalie rather than just shoot it right past him. They still got a point in the CCHA for the tie and the shootout lost does not count nationally. Gazley, Krug, and Rowe had the goals in regulation. Daultan Leveille tallied two assists. MSU would have liked a sweep this weekend, but a win and a tie will suffice. Torey Krug is starting to become a more offensive player, which bodes well for our offense the rest of the way.

Michigan State 4 LSSU 2

Michigan State beat Lake Superior State 4-2 in the opening game of the series. It was their fifth straight win and they now lead the country with 15 victories. Andrew Rowe scored two of the Spartan goals and Nick Sucharski and Derek Grant had the other two. Drew Palmisano made 31 saves in the win.

The Spartans battled hard all game and came away with a win over a team that had not lost in their last eight games. They did not allow a goal on the dangerous LSSU power play, which was key. Michigan State had easy victories in their last four games, so this close game was a good test. MSU played very average, but still beat a good hockey team.

Tropp, Krug Earn CCHA Awards

The Central Collegiate Hockey Association announced today that Corey Tropp of Michigan State has been named the RBC Financial Group CCHA Player of the Month for December., while freshman defenseman Torey Krug has been named the CCM CCHA Rookie of the Month... (continue)

Scouting the Lakers

Michigan State will host Lake Superior State this weekend in two games. Friday's game will take place at 7:35 p.m. and Saturday's game is at 5:05 p.m. Michigan State comes into the game at #9 in both national polls, while the Lakers are unranked. LSSU is 12-7-3 overall and 7-6-1 in the conference. They swept Robert Morris in their last two games and they have won their last six. Lake St. swept a good Northern Michigan team that the Spartans split with. Rick Schofield and Zac MacVoy lead the team with 19 points apiece. Mahoney-Wilson is their goaltender with a 2.58 GAA. The Spartans can expect a tough series with a team that is 6-3-1 in road games.

Michigan State 8 US-18 2

Michigan State won 8-2 in an exhibition contest with the US NTPD U-18 team. Leveille scored two goals and recorded an assist to lead the team. Corey Tropp and Derek Grant added a goal and an assist apiece, as well. Bobby Jarosz made 21 saves before being replaced by Kyle McMahon. Seven different Spartans scored in the game.

It could have been easy for the Spartans to lay an egg after winning the GLI. By winning in another domination fashion, it shows how focused the Spartans are. They are playing like CCHA champion contenders right now. MSU has two CCHA games with Lake St. this weekend, which should result in two W's. Hopefully, the players can continue the balance scoring and keep putting those pucks in the net.

Petry and Josepher Win CCHA Honors

Two Spartans earned CCHA weekly honors for their play in the Great Lakes Invitational, as announced by the CCHA office on Monday, Jan. 4. Junior defenseman Jeff Petry (Farmington Hills, Mich.) was named the Defensive Player of the Week, while fellow blueliner Zach Josepher was named the Rookie of the Week... (continue)

GLI Champions- Michigan State 6 RPI 1

The Michigan State State Spartans captured the GLI crown with an easy win over RPI. Brett Perlini was named tournament MVP with a goal and an assist in the game. Perlini, Gazley, Petry, and Palmisano were named to the all-tournament team. With the win, the Spartans moved to 14-6-2 overall.

All I can say is that the Spartans did not lose any momentum over the Christmas holiday. They came back strong and crushed two pretty good hockey clubs. Perlini really deserved the MVP award with his performance in the two games. He is a guy that made the most of his opportunity to play in the tourney. Scoring came from all lines in the two games, which is a great sign. Palmisano's two games were overshadowed by all the goals, but he played two excellent games in net by only allowing a goal in each game.