Weekend Overview: The College Hockey Showcase returns to the upper Midwest this year, as Michigan State and Michigan travel to face Minnesota and Wisconsin. The showcase is in its 18th year and features four of the most prominent college hockey programs in the country. On Friday, Michigan State plays at Minnesota, while Michigan visits Wisconsin. Michigan then heads to Minnesota for a Sunday matinee and Michigan State travels to Wisconsin. Last year, Michigan went 2-0-0 in the event, while Minnesota and Wisconsin were 1-1-0. Michigan State was 0-2-0.
Series History: Minnesota leads the all-time series with Michigan State 101-41-11 and has not lost to the Spartans in their last nine meetings (4-0-5 in that time). Last year, Minnesota upset the seventh-ranked Spartans 2-1 in East Lansing, Mich., on Nov. 28, 2009. The game featured 80 combined shots (42 for Minnesota) but only Jordan Schroeder and Mike Carman scored for the Gophers. Kent Patterson was between the pipes for the Gophers and statistically played the best game of his career, stopping 37 of 38 shots to earn the win. The last time Michigan State beat the Gophers was Nov. 24, 2000, when they won 3-2 at Mariucci Arena. Minnesota owns a 9-3-5 record against Michigan State in the College Hockey Showcase.
About The Spartans: Michigan State is 4-5-3 overall and 2-5-1 in CCHA play. The Spartans are the first of three CCHA teams Minnesota will face this season. They play Michigan on Sunday and will face Ferris State on Jan. 1. The Spartans are led by Brett Perlini (8g-5a) and Derek Grant (2g-9a). The only other player on the team with double-digit points is sophomore captain Torey Krug (3g-7a). In goal, Drew Palmisano has played more than 85 percent of the team's minutes and is 4-4-1 with a 2.57 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Defenseman Matt Crandall is the only player on Michigan State from Minnesota. He is a St. Cloud-native and played one season on the same St. Cloud Cathedral High School team as Gopher defenseman Nate Schmidt. MSU is 0-4-0 in road games this season and is 2-4-2 against teams currently ranked in the USCHO Rankings.
