This Week in the CCHA: Nov. 14, 2002

Green And White And Frustrated

When Ron Mason stepped down as Michigan State’s head coach and Rick Comley stepped in, it was obvious that things would be different in Munn Arena. Not only had Mason left, but Hobey Baker winner and goaltender extraordinaire Ryan Miller had decided to forego his senior season in favor of pro hockey, so not one but two anchors of the program were suddenly gone.

As a result of changes in style — Comley favors a more wide-open brand of hockey, rather than Mason’s conservative, defensive approach — and personnel, the Spartans are still adjusting to all the changes.

“They’re coming,” says Comley of his squad. “I think it’s a team that’s going to be a pretty good team. I think that we’ll be a second-half team rather than a first-half team.”

Last year at this time, the Spartans were 6-2-1 and nationally ranked. So far this season, MSU is 5-3-0 and unranked; the most recent Spartan loss was Friday’s 2-1 defeat at the hands of Niagara, a team MSU squeaked by Saturday night.

“Patience isn’t something they [the players] like,” says Comley. “Last year, they never dropped below sixth in the country.”

There are several reasons — some obvious, some not so — for MSU’s slow start.

“Ryan Miller was so good,” says Comley, “and this team had the best power play in the conference, the best penalty killing in the country, and the best goaltending in the country. It takes time to rebuild that.”

Comley also says that this team misses Adam Hall and Andrew Hutchinson, who together were responsible for 29 of MSU’s 129 goals last season.

“We aren’t scoring,” says Comley, “and you let teams stay around, and there’s really not a team in this league you can do that with.”

The Spartans are averaging nearly 30 shots per game, but just can’t seem to bury their chances. In overall games, MSU is even in scoring with opponents (25-25), and is barely edging league rivals (17-13).

Another contributor to the slow start is not the absence of Ryan Miller per se, but the presence of Matt Migliaccio — and it’s not even the netminder’s fault.

“Matt has played well in goal,” says Comley, “but there was a period of time during which that had to be proven to the team.”

Finally, the biggest factor to MSU’s period of adjustment is, well, adjustment.

“It’s style of play,” says Comley, whose Northern Michigan teams were traditionally more offensive-minded and played the body like nobody’s business. “I’ve got a different approach with them, and I’m going to stay with that.”

Games Of The Week

There was a time when this would be a grudge match, pure and simple. With a new coach at MSU and 1998 so long ago, now this pairing is simply a great series between two Big Ten schools close in the standings.

Michigan State (5-3-0, 3-1-0 CCHA) at Ohio State (6-2-1, 3-0-1 CCHA)
Friday and Saturday, 7:05 p.m., Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio

Ron Mason coached both Rick Comley and John Markell. A few years ago, you would have been hard-pressed to find the evidence of such a pedigree on the ice; Comley prefers a wide-open, take-the-body style of hockey, while Markell had stuck to the more conservative play favored by Mason himself.

Oh, how times have changed.

Now Comley — a logical successor to Mason at Michigan State — has had to allow for an adjustment period with the Spartans.

Markell, on the other hand, has opened it up at Ohio State. The Buckeyes are outscoring opponents in both overall (33-24) and league (16-7) play. And while every OSU goal so far this season has come from a forward, blueliners are encouraged to jump into the play when the situation calls for it.

And these Buckeyes really want to score; OSU is averaging 34 shots on goal per game.

Markell says, “We’re playing our systems right now. I think the young kids are doing a good job. Our defense is playing solidly, and our goaltending is solid.”

The only thing that worries Markell at this point is unnecessary penalties. “It continues to be a problem and it’s frustrating.”

Buckeyes fans have been surprised to see backup goaltender Dave Caruso play a game at home and on the road. Last weekend, Caruso, a sophomore from Georgia of all places, earned his first league win Saturday in Sault Ste. Marie.

Markell says that Mike Betz, the Buckeyes’ top netminder, is using Caruso’s play the “right way — as motivation.”

“He [Betz] likes the fact that Dave can play,” says Markell, “but naturally he wants to be in net himself.”

Markell is happy to be able to give a backup time between the pipes, a luxury he didn’t really have in Betz’s first two years of play, and he’s been careful about when he’s played Caruso.

“He’s been in two situations where he could have success.” The Buckeyes also beat Colgate with Caruso in net.

Starting Caruso produced more than just a 5-2 win against Lake Superior State; all five OSU goals came from sources other than the first line of RJ Umberger, Dan Knapp, and Dan Kesler.

“[Caruso] works way too hard in practice for the team to not respond in front of him,” says Markell.

While it seems as though the Buckeyes are off to a more solid start than are the Spartans, Markell knows what happens when these two teams square off. MSU has a commanding 69-13-7 all-time lead over OSU, leading 25-10-6 in Columbus, 7-1-2 in the last 10 meetings.

“They’re just adjusting to a new coach and a new system,” says Markell. “It’s part of getting to know what’s going to be acceptable and not acceptable. Watching them on tape, they’re still a good hockey club.”

Markell says he expects the games this weekend to be physical. “I expect a very emotional series — a Big Ten school, and we have quite a few kids from Michigan who looked at MSU at one time or another.” Markell adds, “They demand our respect, and that’s something that creates emotion.”

Here are a few stats to consider: