Sports: MSU Icers in 2004-05

         After finishing within three points of the CCHA title a year ago, MSU icers begin the 2004-05 season hungry for another championship try.  The pieces are there . . . offensive point production, defense and goaltending.

         Rick Comley, in his third year as head coach, returns 21 letterwinners, including 12 forwards, six defensemen and three goaltenders to their rotation.  MSU also welcomes seven newcomers (five forwards, two defensemen) to a line-up that went 23-17-2 overall, took third in the CCHA and made the NCAAs.       

         Last season MSU finished 15th in the nation on offense, averaging 3.24 goals per game, with 87.5 percent of its scoring production returning.  Up front, senior forward Jim Slater, a 2004 All-America Second-Team selection, a Hobey Baker finalist and an All-CCHA First-Team honoree, leads the charge.  He tallied a team-best 48 points (19 goals, 29 assists) one year ago to tie for the CCHA overall scoring race.

         “There is no question in my mind that we will have the ability to score goals this season,” says Comley. “We just need to find a way to be more creative on offense and find a second line that can score on a consistent basis to take some of the pressure off Jim Slater’s line.”

         MSU also returns senior forward Mike Lalonde and sophomore forward Tommy Goebel, Nos. 2 and 3 in scoring last year.  Lalonde tallied a career-best 40 points, including a team-high 22 goals. Meanwhile, Goebel tallied 15 goals and 17 assists for 32 points while making league Honorable Mention in his rookie campaign.

         Defense should be solid this season with the return of six letterwinners that allowed just 2.5 goals per game one year ago.  Sophomore A.J. Thelen leads the returnees after finishing fourth on the squad in scoring with 29 points (11 goals, 18 assists) and being named the CCHA’s Best Offensive Defenseman.  Other returnees include assistant captain Jared Nightingale, Corey Potter, Ethan Graham, Chris Snavely and Brandon Warner. 

         Unlike last year’s squad which featured five rookie blueliners, State’s roster shows just two newcomers in Jeff Dunne of the Chicago Steel and Daniel Vukovic pf St. Michael’s Buzzers of Ontario. 

         MSU also returns all three netminders in sophomore Dominic Vicari, senior Matt Migliaccio and junior Rod Tocco.

         “Defensively, we are in a very good situation with the return of six blueliners and goaltenders Dominic Vicari (2.31 GAA) and Matt Migliaccio (2.70 GAA),” remarked Comley. “It is an area that we need to continually improve upon if we are going to contend for championships.”

         The 36-game regular-season schedule features 19 games at Munn Ice Arena, as the Spartans will entertain foes from the ECAC, Hockey East and CCHA and seven teams that made the 2004 NCAA Tournament.

         “The schedule has good balance this season,” said Comley. “We have some new opponents coming into Munn Arena as New Hampshire and Cornell will be coming to East Lansing, and both teams have been nationally ranked the last few years.”

         The CCHA’s scheduling format divides the conference into six “rivalry pairings” which are then grouped into three clusters of four teams. Schools play other teams in their cluster four times during the season, and face the league’s remaining eight schools twice. Under the current format, Michigan State is paired with Michigan as its’ rivalry pair. MSU’s cluster also features Bowling Green and Notre Dame this season. The CCHA slate kicks off Oct. 22-23 when MSU travels to Marquette for a pair of games with Northern Michigan.

         “The CCHA will be very competitive from top to bottom,” remarked Comley. “It is going to make for a very interesting league race.”

         The CCHA Tournament, its fourth season, will take place at six campus sites March 11-13, with the six winners advancing to the CCHA Super Six Championship at Joe Louis Arena (March 17-19).  The semifinals will take place on Friday, March 18, followed by the championship game on Saturday, March 19.  The winner of the CCHA Super Six will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

         The road to the Frozen Four will travel through four NCAA Regional sites. Two regionals will be held on March 25-26, with Western Michigan hosting the Midwest Regional at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Boston University putting on the East Regional at Worcester’s Centrum Centre in Worcester, Mass. On March 26-27, UMass will host the Northeast Regional at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass., while Minnesota picks up the West Regional at Mariucci Arena.

         The 2005 NCAA Frozen Four, which is hosted by Ohio State, will be held at the Value City Arena at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, April 7-9.