Sports: Hockey Life After Anson

MSU hockey fans looking to the 1996-97 season may be distressed about life after Anson Carter. Carter, MSU's three-time leading goal scorer, has left for the pro ranks, taking with him, among other accomplishments, his seven career hat tricks. No player remaining on the Spartan roster has a collegiate hat trick, but this may not be reason to despair.

While head coach Ron Mason may not have a dominant player of Carter's caliber, he returns nine different Spartans who have combined to produce a total of 21 two-goal games, evidence of the team's solid offensive depth. 'Whether we have a go-to player like Anson Carter remains to be seen,' Mason says. 'He was a special player who attracted a lot of attention. We'll probably have to rely on a number of different players for our scoring this year.' If the next group of scorers that followed Carter a year ago-- players like Carter's old linemates Mike Watt and Mike York-- assume a little larger scoring burden, or if a few newcomers contribute regularly, MSU will have the goaltending and defense to keep the Spartans among the elite teams in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association.

MSU's best position entering the year is goaltender, after going into last year with a large question mark in net. If Mason can find as strong an answer on offense this year as he had in Chad Alban between the pipes in 1995-96, he will be a happy man. Alban, a junior, enters this season after posting 26 wins a year ago and maintaining a career goals-against average (3.00) that ranks him fourth all-time at Michigan State. 'Chad Alban learned a lot last year and should be better this year--and he was very good,' Mason says. He will be backed up by two capable goalies, sophomore Mike Brusseau and freshman Mike Gresl. While Alban played in all but two games last season, Mason would rather get him more rest this year, and Brusseau and Gresl should allow that.

In front of the goalies is a young but talented defense. Two freshmen led the Spartan blue-liners in scoring last season, as Chris Bogas posted 21 points on the year and Jeff Kozakowski, a walk-on, had 20. Two juniors, team captain Tyler Harlton and Jon Gaskins, also return on defense. These four make up a unit with size and an intimidating hitting presence. The four freshman defensemen (at least two of whom will need to play right away) have a little different look than the veterans. Brody Brandstatter, Brad Hodgins, Mike Weaver and Dan Zaluski all are under 6-foot-0, embodying a team which has an average height of 5-11, the shortest the Spartans have been since the 1986 national championship squad. And while they may not offer the physical presence that the returning defensemen do, the freshmen are expected to provide more offense than Spartan defensemen have in recent years.

Offensively, MSU will feature a deep group of forwards, if not one with a dynamic scorer. Watt and York should be reliable sources of points. Watt is a big, strong left wing with a powerful shot, while York is a creative playmaker, leading the team last year in assists (27) as a freshman. Behind them is a group of established veterans who will need to produce more goals. Junior Sean Berens finished just two points behind Watt and York in scoring last year. Tony Tuzzolino's most noticeable stat may be his penalty minutes, but the tough senior can also put the puck in the net. Mason calls junior Richard Keyes the team's best true scorer, and will count on senior Steve Ferranti for the kind of clutch play that produced seven game- winning goals last season.

The most anticipated newcomer is highly touted freshman Shawn Horcoff, who joins the forward corps after starring in junior hockey in British Columbia. Horcoff has the offensive tools to be an impact freshman. 'If you lose someone like Anson Carter, you don't necessarily replace him with a freshman,' Mason says, 'but you replace him with someone who has that kind of potential. Shawn Horcoff has that potential no question about it.'

Mason doesn't expect any one individual to fill Carter's role. But if several players pick up their level of play, the young defensemen continue to shine and Alban remains a leader in net, the Spartans will be able to make a run at the CCHA title which has eluded them since 1990.