{"id":27652,"date":"2005-10-07T12:20:35","date_gmt":"2005-10-07T17:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2005\/10\/07\/200506-michigan-state-season-preview\/"},"modified":"2010-08-17T19:56:19","modified_gmt":"2010-08-18T00:56:19","slug":"200506-michigan-state-season-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwwproxy.uscho.com\/2005\/10\/07\/200506-michigan-state-season-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"2005-06 Michigan State Season Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"
The only true knowledge of things is the knowledge of their causes.<\/i> — Archbishop Leighton<\/p>\n
All those who think that Michigan State will emerge a top-tier CCHA team this season, say, “Aye!”<\/p>\n
Come on. A little enthusiasm here.<\/p>\n
“I feel good about our hockey team,” says head coach Rick Comley. That’s a big statement from a man whose team has undergone a crisis of faith in recent years. In the post-Ron Mason, post-Ryan Miller era of Spartan hockey, not only did MSU fans need to be convinced that the Earth would continue to spin and the center would hold, but Spartan players themselves seemed slow to buy into Comley’s tenure.<\/p>\n
Between Mason and now, Comley has had to endure early departures, attitude issues, injuries, and kids who just weren’t getting what the man wanted his team to do. It took longer than expected for Comley to transition the team away from its Ryan Miller dependency toward a more offensive-minded style. <\/p>\n
A strange side effect was a limping offense that didn’t begin to blossom until midseason last year and never fully reached its potential. When the Spartans found themselves awake again offensively, though, they couldn’t put together enough consistent back-to-back effort to make any real noise.<\/p>\n
They did, however, realize what they could do if they played together as a team, and that’s the cause of Comley’s optimism. “The thing I like most about our team is our balance. Colton Fretter is a 20-goal scorer, Drew Miller has become a very valuable player. David Booth I expect to have a breakout season. <\/p>\n
“Corey Potter, I think, we are lucky to get back. He could have signed with the New York Rangers but didn’t. Ethan Graham will play a ton of minutes for us. Obviously, you can see with Dominic Vicari’s selection as second team preseason that we are pretty good in that position.”<\/p>\n
And that, Spartan fans, is your team’s biggest advantage. In a league that returns precious few time-tested goaltenders, Vicari gives MSU an edge; if he remains healthy and plays as he can, he has the potential to be among the best goalies in the country.<\/p>\n