Sports: Milestone Year For MSU Hockey

MILESTONE YEAR FOR MSU HOCKEY

Several milestones took place during the 1992-93 hockey season, the 50th in MSU history. All-time attendance passed the 3 million mark and Munn Ice Arena saw its string of consecutive regular-season sellouts pass 130. Head coach Ron Mason, last year's 'National Coach of the Year,' was on a pace to become the winningest coach ever in U.S. college hockey.

In a season that saw an incredible rash of injuries and illnesses, the Spartan icers performed erratically, at times looking invincible, at times looking very mediocre. 'That's what happens when underclassmen carry the load in scoring,' notes Ron Mason. 'Usually your upperclassmen do most of the scoring, taking the pressure off freshmen and sophomores.'

Late in the season only senior Bryan Smolinski, who led MSU with 27 goals and 58 points, and junior Kelly Harper (10/26) were among the top offensive producers. The others were all underclassmen: sophomores Rem Murray, Steve Guolla and Steve Suk, and freshmen Brian Clifford and Anson Carter had combined for 61 goals and 154 points. While this bodes well for the future, it made the current season topsy-turvy at best.

By early February, MSU was in a fierce battle with Western Michigan for fourth place in the CCHA, an achievement that could propel the Spartans to their 11th NCAA appearance in 14 seasons under Ron Mason.

An example of the roller-coaster nature of the season was that by the first week of February, MSU had split on seven consecutive weekends--usually losing on Friday and winning on Saturday. MSU split with archrival Michigan in the first two encounters, both close contests. Then the Spartans lost 11-1 in the rubber match at Joe Louis Arena, Mason's worse loss in the past decade.

Several Spartans enjoyed outstanding performances. Smolinski, a winner of CCHA Player of the Week honors and leading scorer in the league, made a solid bid for All-America and possibly Hobey Baker honors. Sophomore Mike Buzak performed admirably at net, surpassing 600 saves and mustering a 2.75 goals- against average. He was tied for second in the CCHA in save percentage (.904). Freshman phenom Anson Carter electrified the fans with some of his power moves on scores as well as his tough checking.

MSU acquired assistant coach David McAuliffe, a former Spartan player and graduate assistant at Western Michigan, to replace Tom Anastos, who left to pursue private business. Assistant coach Tom Newton enjoyed his third year with the MSU program. Many former Mason players are now thriving in the professional leagues--by one count, 33 of them. In addition, Mason's former assistants have performed admirably as head coaches. Shawn Walsh, also Mason's son-in-law, has built a powerhouse at Maine, while George Gwozdecky led Miami to the top of the CCHA standings. Late in the season, Walsh was the odds-on favorite to win the NCAA title, an accomplishment that former Mason proteges Rick Cowley and Jeff Jackson had done in 1991 and 1992.

Fan interest remained high, thanks in large part to the leadership of the Blue Line Club, the largest hockey booster club in the country. A unique hockey fund- raiser auction premiered in January at the Michigan Athletic Club in East Lansing and proved very popular among fans, with more than $20,000 being raised.

As the season neared completion, the Spartans remained optimistic because of a favorable schedule. None of the top three CCHA teams--Miami, Michigan and Lake Superior State--were scheduled. However, with illnesses and injuries plaguing the youthful squad, nothing could be taken for granted.