Sports: MSU Favored to Win CCHA

            Last season, for the first time since he took over for legendary coach Ron Mason, MSU hockey coach Rick Comley was able to shoo the proverbial monkey off his shoulder.

            The Spartan icers provided convincing evidence that Comley could lead MSU to the promised land.  The team finished with a 25-12-8 record, good for second in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA), won the CCHA Playoff Championship—appropriately, the Mason Cup—and made the NCAA tourney. 

            With success, however, comes rising expectations.  This season the CCHA’s coaches preseason poll ranks MSU No. 1 in the league, while a national poll ranks the Spartans No. 5 nationally.

            "We've worked real hard to get the team to this point,” says Comley.  “I like the makeup of this year's team, now we have to get better.  We have what it takes to get to the Frozen Four this year. If we work hard and pay the price we could get there."

            One key piece of any hockey puzzle is goaltending, and MSU boasts a proven net-minder in Jeff Lerg.  As a freshman last season, he achieved a stunning goals-against average of 1.96 and delighted fans with acrobatic saves enroute to a 17-6-6 record. 

            On offense, MSU returns considerable firepower.  Juniors Bryan Lerg (15 goals, 23 assists, 38 points) and David Booth (13-22-35) are proven scorers, and they return alongside youngsters who produced double-digit goals—sophomores Tim Crowder (17) and Justin Abdelkader (10).   MSU’s defense is young but solid and speedy, and some defensemen, like sophomore Tyler Howells, can also add to the offensive output.

            "We will play up tempo on defense," says Comley. "I really like the speed we have on this team. We are going to be aggressive on defense and play defense at a high rate of speed."

            MSU will need that speed when one peruses the schedule.  Besides having to face league powerhouses like Michigan and Miami, the Spartans also will clash against Minnesota and Wisconsin—ranked 1 and 3 nationally—in the College Hockey Showcase and open up with Harvard at the Great Lakes Invitational in December.

            "The key for us is to win at home," says Comley. "We have to dominate in our own building and it's also important that we get off to a good start."