Michigan State Men's Club Hockey

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Spartans Take Two

The Spartans completed another weekend sweep, as they beat Grand Valley State University 5-2 on the road, and then topped GMHL counterpart Ferris State University 7-3 on home ice. The Spartans improve to 18-3 for the year, with a solid 7-2 record in the GMHL.

On Saturday night, MSU jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with goals from Josh Pergande and Jason Keene. They swapped two goals per side in the second period, with David Berger scoring the eventual game winning goal half way through the period and leading defenceman scorer Matt Pletkovic scoring late. Marco Trevino clinched the game with an empty net goal with under a minute to play. The Spartan Defense was once again dominating, limiting the Grand Valley offence to just two goals.

Saturday night was marked by 7 different Spartan goal Scorers. Bruce Dudley, Cory Clearman, Marco Trevino, David Berger, Jon Perkovich, Jimmy Stephenson, and Jason Keene all took part in the scoring as the Spartans soared past the Bulldogs of Ferris State, 7-3.

#12 Corey Clearman has been on fire

The Spartans have one of their biggest weekends of the season next weekend as they host GMHL rival Davenport on Friday, and Northern Michigan on Saturday. Huge ranking implications will be on the line on Friday night, so don’t miss any of the action.

Other Notes:

Ryan Felber and Nick Griffin each saw action this weekend. In two solid performances, both improved their respective records.

With the Ferris State win and two Davenport losses, the Spartans gave themselves a 3 point cushion in the GMHL. This is especially important this year as only the first place team in the GMHL receives a first game bye. MSU still has Davenport this Friday, and Miami twice to finish out the GMHL season.

Brian Hergt will rejoin the club at practice on Tuesday as he had been out for a week with Bronchitis.

MSU Starts Out Right

The Spartans returned from the Christmas break with determination as they sent the Seahawks of Wagner packing for home after a 4-2 Spartan victory in East Lansing.

This was the first game in a month for the Spartans, and the third game in as many days for the Seahawks. On their swing through the enchanted mitten of Michigan, Wagner topped Ferris State on Thursday night 6-3, but fell to Oakland 4-1 on Friday. Saturday’s contest started off very tight-checking with both teams getting numerous scoring opportunities. The Spartans struck first on the power play, as rookie defenceman Matt Pletkovic wound up from the top of the circle and beat the Wagner goalie to give the Spartans the 1-0 lead after the first period. Both teams traded goals in the second period making the score 2-1 going into the third.

Matt Pletkovic (Fr) nabs the first goal of the game

Two goals from freshman Marco Trevino and a late Seahawk powerplay goal capped off the game and the Michigan State Spartans defeated the Wagner Seahawks, 4-2. Though it wasn't the strongest game the Spartans have played all year, they did manage to get the job done. When asked about the game captain Dale Swims noted "we will only get better from here."

Next week features the Spartans traveling to Grand Valley State University on Saturday night, then returning home to face off against the feisty Bulldogs of Ferris State on Sunday. It will be another big week for the Spartans, as they try to improve their central division ranking before the end of the ranking period.

Other Notes:

Rookie forward Marco Trevino took part in all 4 Spartan goals on Saturday (2 goals, 2 assists), in the Spartan 4-2 win.

Goalie Nick Griffin bounced back with a vengeance on Saturday in a game in which Head Coach Alex Piotrowski said "was his best all season."

Spartans End Semester with a Split

The Spartans ended the first semester with a split, winning against Ferris State 9-3, but losing to Oakland 6-0.

On Friday night, the Spartans were flying right from the opening face-off as they scored 4 goals in the first 5 minutes of the game. The first period was rounded out by forward David Berger (#16 Jr.) registering his first career "natural" hat trick. Other goal scorers included John Perkovich, Brandon Lipari (2), Dale Swims, Bruce Dudley, and Jim Stephenson.

Fatigue might have played a factor on Saturday afternoon, as the Spartans found themselves down 5-0 after the first period to the Oakland University Grizzlies. The Spartan offense was shut down all game long by an aggressive Oakland defense; the Spartans were shut out for only the second time of the year, 6-0.

The split moved the Spartans to 15-3 on the year and 6-2 in the GMHL. Despite the loss to Oakland, the Spartans remain in first place in the GMHL standings over the Christmas holiday with 12 points. The third ACHA ranking will be released on Christmas Eve, so check the ACHA website for updates: www.achahockey.org

The Spartans resume practice on Tuesday, January 11th.

From everyone in the Spartan organization, we wish Happy Holidays to one and all!

Another Spartan Sweep

The Spartans improved their record again, taking two games from the Broncos of Western Michigan this weekend, 9-1 and 5-4 (ot).

On Friday night, it was all MSU, as they took it to the Stallions right from the opening draw. They got goals from 6 different players, including Jesse Victory and Derek Olson, both scoring their first goals of the season. The Spartans never looked back, winning the game 9-1 in East Lansing.

However it would be a different story in Kalamazoo on Saturday, as the Spartans found themselves down 2 goals very early in the contest. Despite a solid second period, the Broncos still led 4-2 going into the third. But goals from Josh Pergande and Marco Trevino tied the contest mid-way through the third period. The Spartans reached victory in overtime as Cory Clearman scored 3 minutes into the extra session to finish the game at 5-4.

The Spartans will enjoy these two wins for now, but know they have a daunting task next weekend, as they face-off against GMHL counterparts Ferris State and Oakland. On Friday they travel to Big Rapids, where the Bulldogs are coming off a sweep of the Miami of Ohio Redhawks, 4-2 and 3-1. The Spartans return home to host the Oakland University Grizzlies, who are coming off a 5-3 loss to Michigan and are 0-2-1 in their last 3 games.

Other Notes:

Brian Haymond (So) returned to the Spartan line up this weekend. Sidelined since early October, his presence was very much felt in the two wins against Western.

Team scoring leader Brandon Lipari put up 5 goals this weekend against the Broncos, upping his season total to 22.

Both Nick Griffin and Ryan Felber saw action between the pipes this weekend and each played very well.

MSU Takes Two on the Road

The Spartans traveled to the Bluegrass State this past weekend, to play the Wildcats of the University of Kentucky; the boys from MSU came away with 2 wins, 6-2 and 7-2. Led by captains Jim Stephenson and Brandon Lipari with 3 goals each, the Spartans had the packed crowd out of the game for most of the weekend. All three goalies saw action for Michigan State, and each played very well.

Contrary to rumors around the league, games at Kentucky are not out of control; the Kentucky organization hosts quality games in a fun environment. All the MSU players enjoyed their stay in Kentucky quite a bit.

The wins move the Spartans to an impressive 12-2 start, and close out the second ranking period at 3-1.

The Spartans will resume practicing on Tuesday November 30th, as they will spend the Thanksgiving week off the ice. But when they return, 4 tough games will be awaiting them before Christmas break: MSU faces Western Michigan (D1) for 2 games, travels to Ferris for a tough battle, and finish by hosting the Oakland University Grizzlies.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Spartans Top Oakland

Friday night was a great day to be a Spartan, as Michigan State defeated the defending national champion and Central Division leader Oakland University Grizzlies 5-2. The loss was the first for Oakland since January 22nd.

The Spartans scored the lone first period goal, as Brandon Lipari chipped home a rebound mid-way through the period.

In a wild second period, Jason Keene struck again for the Spartans on a break away to increase the lead to 2-0. But just 10 seconds later, the Grizzlies netted a rebound off a 2 on 1 to cut the lead in half. After the Spartans killed off a huge penalty, defenceman John Perkovich found a pass in the slot, and put it top shelf for his first goal as a Spartan. Then, possibly the turning point in this contest, with under 1 second remaining in the period, rookie Ryan Fix's slapshot from outside the redline found its way into the net and the Michigan State Spartans went into the locker room with a 4-1 lead after 2 periods.

The third period was again marked by Spartan defence, as it has been all year long. Lipari notched his second of the game and Oakland scored late in the period, to make it a 5-2 Spartan win. Goaltender Nick Griffin had another strong performance only letting up 2 goals on 29 shots.

The win improves the Spartans to 10-2 on the season, and earning 2 points for the GMHL standings keeps MSU in first place in the GMHL race. The Spartans will be departing Friday morning for 2 games in Kentucky to close out the second ranking period. Both Friday and Saturday’s games will start at midnight this weekend.

Check the "results" link for complete stats on Friday night’s game.

A Spartan Sweep

The Spartans finished the job on Saturday night in Ann Arbor, defeating the Wolverines by a score of 4-2. Marco Trevino (7) got the ball rolling for the Spartans by scoring the lone first period tally on a short handed goal at 3:07 of the first period.

In the second period, the Spartans scored 3 goals by converting on the odd man rush. Jim Stephenson (10) scored off a pass from Dale Swims at 14:39 of the second period. But the Wolverines came storming back, scoring off a turnover near the Spartan blueline to make it 2-1.

The Spartans quickly answered with a huge goal by a rookie defenceman. Matt Pletkovick one-timed a pass from Bruce Dudley at 8:01 to give the Spartans another 2 goal lead, which proved to be the game winner. But minutes later, the Wolverines added one on a shot from the point which deflected off a Spartan player before finding its way into the net.

The Wolverines had the momentum and outplayed the Spartans to the mid to late stages of the second period. But the last of the odd man rushes saw Brandon Lipari bury a pass from Marco Trevino to give the Spartans the 4-2 lead going into the third period.

The final period was marked by tough defence by the entire Spartan team. Goaltender Nick Griffin stopped everything that the Wolverines had and the Michigan State Spartans held on to the 4-2 win, improving their record to 9-1 overall and adding 4 points in the GMHL race.

The win should solidify the Spartans standing in the Central division for the time being; they still having to play the defending national champions Oakland University Golden Grizzlies twice before Christmas break.

The Spartans host the Ohio State Buckeyes next Friday, 8pm at Suburban East Lansing in the only game of the weekend.

Spartans Take Game 1

In the first game of a home and home series, the Michigan State Spartans defeated the Wolverines of Michigan, 6-3 at Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing.

Ryan Merz's slap shot from the blueline was deflected by Corey Clearman (2) at 14:18 of the first period to give the Spartans the 1-0 lead. Then, with 1:19 remaining in the first, Brandon Lipari (11), scored off a beautiful feed from Marco Trevino, giving the Spartans a 2-0 lead after 1.

But, the Wolverines did not back down and scored 2 unanswered second period goals to tie the game going into the third. After a few unsuccessful powerplay opportunities for each team, rookie Ryan Fix (3) caught a pass from Nick Turner in the slot, and at 15:55 scored his 3rd of the year to put the Spartans ahead for good. U of M mounted a late rally, scoring a short handed goal at 10:24 of the 3rd period.

Alex Wright (1), Mike Ellenbogen (1), and Jason Keene (11) all scored in the third period to seal the Spartans 5th win in a row; the Spartans improve to 8-1 on the season. The team travels to Ann Arbor Friday (10/29/04) night for the second game of this important series. MSU has a chance to sweep the season series between these clubs for the first time in 5 years.