Schedule Updated

The schedule on the right hand side has been updated - as always, when things become known, it will continue to be updated.

OHL Draft & New Spartan

Over the weekend, Michigan State gained a verbal commitment from Connor Wood. He currently plays for Detroit Honeybaked U18. He is listed at 6-0, 175 lbs from Bloomfield Hills, MI. His birthday is March 7, 1994.

Connor Wood will join the Spartan Icers for the 2012 or 2013 season.

Stats were unavailable at this time, but we will continue to look for it. Obviously, he provides some decent size up front for the Spartans. Size has been a concern of many Spartan fans lately, and some of these early classes that are coming in for Coach Anastos appear to help answer those concerns. Wood certainly could help as he continues to grow.

 Spartans Damaged But Not Fatally Hurt in OHL Draft

 A few Spartan recruits were drafted. The biggest pick was Perlini going in the first round. Teams in the OHL usually don't draft first round guys unless they know they can get him to sign. I hope I am wrong, but it's looking like that he'll go the OHL route. Josh Jacobs was another one Spartan fans needed to keep an eye on. He was taken in the fourth round which puts him more on the fence, but it is certainly still a possibility that he could end up going the way of the OHL. Marcel Godbout was picked in the 9th round, so that appears safe. MacEachern was not drafted. 

MacEachern moved up the NHL Central Scouting Rankings moving up to the 140s (up from 201). 

While this may not be good news for Michigan State fans, it's still can be looked on as a good sign that Michigan State is starting to bring in higher end talent. The OHL will always be an issue for any NCAA team that tries to bring in good talent. So, in a way, it's good to see Michigan State have this problem. 

New Commitment

Michigan State has picked up a new commitment. Connor Wood of Detroit Honeybaked has verbally committed to Michigan State.

More to come later tonight.

MSU was also impacted by the OHL draft - more to come on that later tonight.

Preseason Rankings - Do They Matter?

Boston College defeated Ferris State 4-1 on Saturday to capture their 3rd national title since Michigan State defeated BC in the 2007 title game. Ferris State was right in this game until the very end, as Boston College scored two goals in the final 3:30 including an empty net goal. BC's Milner made numerous great stops in goal to help keep Ferris State off the board.

Boston College came into this season ranked #5 in both the USCHO and USA Today  preseason polls. Ferris State was unranked in both polls, but they did receive votes in the USCHO poll (#28 overall). This got me thinking, do preseason polls matter?

Going as far back as we could go, on short notice, we looked up the rankings of each Frozen Four team since the 1997-1998 season. The polls seem to show that it helps to be ranked in the top 10, but #1 overall isn't always the best thing. Only one team has won the national title in the same season that they were ranked #1 in either the USCHO or USA Today poll, and that team was the 2002 - 2003 Minnesota Golden Gophers. They took home the top spot in both preseason polls. There are only three other times that the preseason #1 team in either poll even made it to the national title game. North Dakota in the 2000 - 2001 season and Boston College in the 1999 - 2000 season took home the top spot in both preseason polls, they lost in the national title game. Outside of that you have to go to the 2006 - 2007 Boston College Eagles that came in #1 in the USA Today poll, and a co-number one in the USCHO poll.

The worst preseason ranking that still won the national title? The 2003 - 2004 Denver Pioneers came in #13 in the USCHO poll and #12 in the USA Today poll. The 2009 - 2010 edition of Boston College came in at #12 in both polls.

The average preseason rank for the national champion? 6.6

NCAA Champion Preseason Rankings

		Champion	USCHO	USA Today
2012		BC	5	5
2011		Minnesota-Duluth	8	9
2010		BC	12	12
2009		BU	9	10
2008		BC	2	3
2007		Michigan St.	5	4
2006		Wisconsin	10	10
2005		Denver	7	7
2004		Denver	13	12
2003		Minnesota	1	1
2002		Minnesota	4	3
2001		BC	4	5
2000		North Dakota	4	5
1999		Maine	8	4
1998		Michigan	9	8

Of the last 15 champions, seven of them have been ranked in the top five of the USCHO poll, and eight in the top five of the USA Today Poll. All but two have been ranked in the top ten, and everyone has been ranked in the top 13.

NCAA Runner-Up Preseason Rankings

		Runner-Up	USCHO	USA  Today
2012		Ferris St.	28	NR
2011		Michigan	15	4
2010		Wisconsin	13	14
2009		Miami	8	8
2008		Notre Dame	8	8
2007		BC	1.5	1
2006		BC	3	5
2005		North Dakota	5	3
2004		Maine	12	13
2003		New Hampshire	4	4
2002		Maine	7	10
2001		North Dakota	1	1
2000		BC	1	1
1999		New Hampshire	11	8
1998		BC	14	12.5

Six runner-ups have been ranked in the preseason top five of either poll. Eight have been ranked in the top ten of the USCHO poll and 11 in the USA Today Poll. And up until Ferris State, everyone has been ranked.

NCAA Frozen Four Semi-Finalists

		Frozen Four	USCHO	USA Today
2012		Union	11	11
2011		North Dakota	2	2
2010		Miami	4	1
2009		Bemidji St.	36	NR
2008		Michigan	10	10
2007		Maine	11	11
2006		Maine	11	11
2005		CC	14	12
2004		BC	3	3
2003		Cornell	8	8
2002		Michigan	5	4
2001		Michigan	2	2
2000		Maine	2	2
1999		BC	1	1
1998		New Hampshire	6	6

 

		Frozen Four	USCHO	USA Today
2012		Minnesota	19	16
2011		Notre Dame	17	16
2010		RIT	29	NR
2009		Vermont	20	NR
2008		North Dakota	1	1
2007		North Dakota	6	7
2006		North Dakota	7	6
2005		Minnesota	6	8
2004		Minnesota-Duluth	15	15
2003		Michigan	3	2
2002		New Hampshire	10	11
2001		Michigan St.	5	4
2000		St. Lawrence	12	10
1999		Michigan St.	5	5
1998		Ohio St.	NR	NR

11 of the 30 semi-finalists were ranked in the top five.  19 of the 30 semi-finalists were ranked in the top 10 in at least one of the two major polls. This means 11 of the 30 semi-finalists were ranked outside of the top 10.

The 1997 - 1998 Ohio State Buckeyes hold the honor of the only team since the 97-98 season to reach the Frozen Four without receiving a single preseason vote in either major poll. Vermont, RIT, Bemidji State, and Ferris State all were teams in the USA Today poll that didn't receive a vote in the preseason poll, but still managed to reach the Frozen Four.
 
 So what does this tell us?


Well, it's only logical to think that if you receive a lot of preseason votes, you are expected to be good. In the end, the teams that get the votes are there in the Frozen Four. And even though the hockey polls can get made fun of with how they react some weekends, they show they are in the ballpark before anyone even plays a game.

The question becomes, how long until someone outside of the top 13 wins a title?

Krug Earns First NHL Point

Earlier tonight, we posted about how this week has been a week of firsts. Torey Krug continued a week of firsts as he earned his first NHL point tonight in Boston's 3-1 win at Ottawa.



Krug (#47), at the bottom of the video, is patient in moving the puck out of the zone - as he makes the initial outlet pass. Milan Lucic finishes the play off. Krug is credited with the second assist. Congrats to Torey on his first NHL point.


National Championship

Boston College handled Minnesota tonight 6-1, so they will move on to play Ferris State on Saturday Night (ESPN 2, 7:00 pm)

A Week Of Firsts

This week has been a week of firsts. Torey Krug made his NHL debut on Tuesday against Pittsburgh logging in just over 18 minutes of ice time, getting two shots on goal, blocking one, and posting an even rating (he was on the ice for four goals total - two even strength goals for both teams).

That's not bad, and Torey looked comfortable out there. 

"I thought he handled himself well," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "I like the way he moved the puck. I think everybody who knows the game realized that he's a good puck-mover, his mobility was obvious, and the only thing I would tell you is that you could see him in the defensive zone really thinking about trying to play within our system, and sometimes he was maybe just a fraction of a second delayed, which is totally normal. But once he knew what he had to do, he went. So there was no hesitation once his mind was made up, and that will only get better as it becomes second nature, and that's totally, as I said, totally natural for a guy playing in his first game."

Even though it is expected he'll start next season in Providence, he certainly seems to be setting himself up well for a long and successful career in the NHL. He said he was most disappointed that they didn't win. Would you expect a former captain to say anything less?

Krug is playing tonight in Ottawa.  As of this post, he has 7:10 in ice time, one shot on goal, one blocked shot, and an even rating.

Frozen Four

Congrats are in order to Ferris State. The Bulldogs defeated Union earlier today 3-1 to reach their first national title game in program history. Ferris State is coached by former Spartan Bob Daniels. They'll take on the winner of Boston College-Minnesota (BC currently leads 1-0) on Saturday night. That game can be seen on ESPN2.

The winner of that BC-Minnesota game is going to be a heavy favorite, but do not sleep on the Bulldogs who play a system extremely well. If Ferris State gets a lead, they are very tough to beat.

ECHL Playoffs

Dustin Gazley had a goal and two assists in the first two games of the ECHL play-offs, but it wasn't enough as Elmira dropped both games in Reading by scores of 4-1 and 4-2. Elmira must now win the final three games of the series, all at home, to advance in the ECHL playoffs. Elmira finished the Eastern Conference with the best regular season record. Game three is Friday night.

Krug to Play Tonight

Torey Krug will make his NHL debut tonight as they face-off with Pittsburgh tonight at 7:35 pm. The game can be seen on NBCSN (Versus).

Dustin Gazley named ECHL Rookie of the Year

A day after winning the ECHL scoring title, Dustin Gazley was named the 2011-2012 CCM Rookie of the Year in the ECHL. 

Gazley is the second former Spartan to win the award, as Colton Fretter took home the honors in 2007.

Dustin Gazley wins ECHL Scoring Title

The ECHL regular season came to an end today, and former Spartan Dustin Gazley topped the entire league with 85 points. Dustin currently plays for the Elmira Jackals. Elmira is the ECHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators. Elmira finished the year with the best record in the ECHL.

The ECHL playoffs begin on Tuesday. Elmira will travel to Reading for the first two games of the best of 5 series. The last three games are at Elmira.