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.

Michigan State 10 Michigan Tech 1

Michigan State completely dominated Michigan Tech in the semis of the Great Lakes Invitational tournament. They will face the RPI Engineers in the finals tomorrow at 7:05 p.m. The game will be televised on FSN-Detroit. Michigan and Michigan Tech face-off in the consolation of the tourney.

The ten goals by the Spartans was the second-most ever in the GLI tourney. All but two of the Spartans had at least a point. Zach Golembiewski and Matt Crandell scored their first collegiate goals. Brett Perlini scored his first goals of the season and was the only MSU player to have a multi-goal game. Andrew Rowe added a playmaker (0-3-3). Drew Palmisano made 28 saves in the win. There can be nothing but positive things to say about the Spartans after a game like that. Every player stepped it up in the game, but I think Brett Perlini and Trevor Nill deserve some recognition tonight. They are two sophomore role players who made the most of their opportunities in the game tonight. Perlini had an assist along with his two goals and Nill added a goal and two assists. Also, it was great to see Nick Sucharski get a goal since he had been in a drought and his linemate, Tropp scored one to further his national scoring lead.

GLI Starts Today

Michigan State will take on the Michigan Tech Huskies at 4:05 p.m. today at Joe Louis Arena in the first game of the GLI. Michigan plays RPI in the game following game at 7:35 p.m. The consolation game will be played Wednesday at 4:05 p.m. and the championship game follows at 7:35 p.m. The championship game will be the only one televised.

Lerg Will Receive NCAA Award

Former Spartan Jeff Lerg was named a NCAA Top VIII award winner. He is only the second Spartan (Greg Kelser in 1980) and the second hockey player ever to receive this honor. He joins a list of eight outstanding student athletes including Tim Tebow from the University of Florida. Lerg is very much deserving of this award. He represented what a student athlete at Michigan State University should be like. He was one of the best players ever to play at State, he was a fine student, and was active in the community. Congratulations to Jeff Lerg!

News Release

Tropp- CCHA Player of the Week

Corey Tropp leads the nation in goals and points after recording six points (4 goals, 2 assists) in a sweep of Bowling Green this past weekend. He was awarded CCHA Player of the Week honors for his efforts. Tropp has led the Spartans to a 12-6-2 overall record so far this year.

Michigan State 4 Bowling Green 1

Michigan State came out with more energy than Friday night and outplayed the Falcons the entire game. The Spartans finally got it going on the power play with a beautiful goal by Jeff Petry at the end of the first period. Bowling Green tied the score in the second, but Corey Tropp scored with less than a minute to play to put MSU up a goal. It was all Michigan State from then on. Tropp added to more goals in the third to complete his hat trick and lead his team to a 4-1 victory. Michigan State has a lot of confidence heading into the holiday break. They sit at second place in the CCHA at 9-3-2 and are 12-6-2 overall. They will face the Michigan Tech Huskies in the GLI on Dec. 29. Hopefully, the Spartans can get healthy over break and come out with the same fire that they had the first half of the season. This is a team that no one gave a chance before the season and now they are vying for a conference title at this point of the season. It's too early to talk about the NCAA tourney, but the Spartans have 12 wins including a victory at Maine and at Miami.

I wish all my readers a Merry Christmas. Come support Michigan State in the GLI on Dec. 29 and Dec. 30. I'm looking forward to a great second half of the season. Go Spartans!!

Michigan State 3 Bowling Green 2 F/OT

The Spartans rallied from a two goal deficit after two periods to tie the score in regulation. Torey Krug scored his first collegiate goal in the overtime period. Zach Josepher and Corey Tropp added the Spartans' other tallies. It was not a great first two periods for Michigan State. Bowling Green was able to get a goal off a Spartan turnover in the first and another off a rush in the second. MSU hit a few pipes, but weren't able to get many shots through to the net. Eight min into the third, Josepher shot it past a screened BGSU netminder and Corey Tropp tied the game with six min remaining. Michigan State had all the momentum going into overtime and Krug buried a huge one for the Spartans. Bobby Jarosz made 29 saves in the win. The guys really needed to pull this game out as a confidence boost. They struggled early, but came through in the end. Good teams learn to win games that they should win even if they don't play particularly well.

Scouting the Falcons

Bowling Green State University has a record of 2-12-2 overall and a 2-8-2 conference mark. They went on the road last weekend and lost both games to Lake Superior State. Their best win was at home against #16 Alaska and they also won at Michigan. The Falcons opened the season on a 9 game win-less streak. Freshman Jord Samuels-Thomas leads the team with 15 points and senior Kyle Page leads the defensmen with 7 points. Nick Eno is the starting goaltender of a team that struggles defensively.

Spartan Hockey Update

The MSU Blue Line Club website has posted a short video from Friday night's win over Northern Michigan. The Spartans remain in second place in the CCHA. They are currently ranked #14 by USCHO and #13 by USA Today. Their victory on Friday matched last year's win total with ten wins. MSU has a home and home with Bowling Green this weekend. After those two games, they do not play again until Dec. 29 & 30 in the GLI tournament.

Northern Michigan 3 Michigan State 2 F/OT

Northern Michigan scored a goal off a Michigan State defensman's skate in the overtime period to beat the Spartans. Northern took the lead 1-0, but Dustin Gazley tied the score 1-1. NMU led 2-1 heading into the third period. Corey Tropp scored with around 6 min to go to tie the game and send it to overtime. Palmisano made 30 saves in net for MSU. Its a tough way to lose, but we played another hard-fought game. The Spartans wish they could have gotten the sweep, but its okay to get a split on the road in the CCHA. Check back for a scouting report on their next opponent BGSU later in the week.

Michigan State 1 Northern Michigan 0

Michigan State ended its losing streak with a 1-0 win over Northern Michigan on Friday night. Bobby Jarosz recorded his first career shutout in the win with 20 saves. Corey Tropp had the lone Spartan goal. MSU out-shot Northern by a wide margin, especially in the third period. Tropp scored with 6 min to go in the last frame. This is the kind of hockey we have seen the Spartans play this season and it needs to continue in order for us to be successful Both teams fought hard the entire game, but State was able to come out on top.

Scouting the Wildcats

Michigan State will be traveling to Marquette this weekend to take on the Northern Michigan Wildcats. NMU has a record of 5-5-4 overall and 4-4-3-0 in the CCHA. Last weekend, they tied Alaska twice, losing both games in the shoot-out. Their best win came early in the season against Minnesota-Duluth and they also swept Nebraska-Omaha. Junior forward Mark Olver leads the team with 10 goals and 9 assists for 19 points. Erik Gustafsson is the top defenseman and is second in points with 14. Brian Stewart (3.45 GAA) has played the most in net for Northern. Expect two tough games for the Spartans this weekend. NMU always comes to play against their former coach.