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Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

Spartanforlife4 said:
Now that I've had some time to look at the other schedules, here's what we have:

10/11-10/12: @ Northern Michigan
10/25-10/26: @ Colorado College
10/25-10/26: vs. Arizona State
Unless we're doing split squad, something here clearly has to change.
11/8-11/9: @ Penn State
11/15-11/16: @/vs Michigan
11/23-11/24: vs Notre Dame
11/30-12/1: @ Ohio State (interesting, both B1G series this weekend are Sat/Sun)
12/6-12/7: vs Wisconsin
Christmas-New Years: GLi vs Tech and Ferris/Michigan
1/10-1/11: vs Minnesota
1/17-1/18: @ Wisconsin
1/24-1/25: vs Penn State
2/7-2/8: @ Minnesota
2/14 & 2/17: vs/LCA Michigan
2/21-2/22: vs Ohio State
2/28-2/29: @ Notre Dame

TBD:
Cornell x2
Canadian exhibition
USA U-18 exhibition

Due to the 26th of October being a home football game, I'd assume that's when we go to Colorado, but ASU looks busy every weekend we'd be open except for 12/14-12/15, and that's typically been the U18 exhibition. Meanwhile, CC is open the first weekend in October and that first weekend in January. Plus we still have to fit Cornell in somewhere.
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Maybe we can fit something in during the October off week. Maybe the U-18 team so ASU can fit in that December slot.

Also, that off week in the beginning of the season is dumb and it feels like we do it frequently. Fill it, even if it’s with the Canadian exhibition. 2 weeks is a long layoff and is counterproductive when guys are still getting back to game speed after the off season.
 
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Pirateasaur said:
Maybe we can fit something in during the October off week. Maybe the U-18 team so ASU can fit in that December slot.

Also, that off week in the beginning of the season is dumb and it feels like we do it frequently. Fill it, even if it’s with the Canadian exhibition. 2 weeks is a long layoff and is counterproductive when guys are still getting back to game speed after the off season.
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I just remembered that something that might throw an extra wrench in scheduling is that some of those ECAC teams don’t start their season until nearly November. That might cut down on available dates to shuffle everyone.

Also, it feels like we should be gearing up for a new season but no, not for a long time. Might as well be discussing the 2020-21 schedule right now.
 
Re: Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

Pirateasaur said:
Also, it feels like we should be gearing up for a new season but no, not for a long time. Might as well be discussing the 2020-21 schedule right now.
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True, but I always like to check in for two more reasons: 1) the NHL draft in a few weeks usually means that there are still some moving parts on rosters (not necessarily for the Spartans, but you never know); and 2) most teams start training on campus right after 4th of July, so if there's any late signings/surprises, those will be known then. Just as an interested observer.....
 
Re: Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

Pirateasaur said:
I just remembered that something that might throw an extra wrench in scheduling is that some of those ECAC teams don’t start their season until nearly November. That might cut down on available dates to shuffle everyone.

Also, it feels like we should be gearing up for a new season but no, not for a long time. Might as well be discussing the 2020-21 schedule right now.
Click to expand...

I recall our series against Cornell being their opening weekend. That same weekend this year is when we're currently double booked.

Shared weekends we have open with Cornell's currently known schedule (provided the late start) are:
11/1-11/2
12/13-12/14

Colorado College could move to:
10/5-10/6
10/18-10/19
1/3-1/4

Arizona State could move to 12/13-12/14.
 
Spartanforlife4 said:
I recall our series against Cornell being their opening weekend. That same weekend this year is when we're currently double booked.

Shared weekends we have open with Cornell's currently known schedule (provided the late start) are:
11/1-11/2
12/13-12/14

Colorado College could move to:
10/5-10/6
10/18-10/19
1/3-1/4

Arizona State could move to 12/13-12/14.
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ASU website does not currently list MSU on their schedule although they announced it earlier. They have 34 games scheduled, but 2 are exempt so they can add two more.

Cole doesn’t like home hockey on home football weekends...so it looks like there is some shuffling going on....
 
wsummers said:
ASU website does not currently list MSU on their schedule although they announced it earlier. They have 34 games scheduled, but 2 are exempt so they can add two more.

Cole doesn’t like home hockey on home football weekends...so it looks like there is some shuffling going on....
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ASU announced the series is now December 14-15. I would expect Cornell to be November 1-2 which is a football bye week.
 
Re: Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

Looks like incoming freshman Josh Nodler was drafted in the 5th round by Calgary this weekend.

Would certainly be nice if we could find these players coming to EL again. Our roster used to be littered with drafted players.
 
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Re: Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

Some great news! Tom and Lupe Izzo have donated 1.1 million to the Munn expansion project! https://msuspartans.com/news/2019/6...e-support-services-spartan-marching-band.aspx

Ii’m not sure if that is split between a couple of the other things mentioned or all for Munn but it will go towards upgrading the locker room, weight room and other training areas.

This, I have long believed, is most essential for bringing Munn up to speed with modern rinks and for recruiting purposes. My playing days ended a decade ago and even back then Munn’s inner workings felt out of date and inadequate compared to other college rinks I was able to see over the years.

It’s also great to see the support from other sports. Our Basketball and football programs seem to pal around a lot so it’s great to see hockey get in there.
 
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Re: Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

Pirateasaur said:
Some great news! Tom and Lupe Izzo have donated 1.1 million to the Munn expansion project! https://msuspartans.com/news/2019/6...e-support-services-spartan-marching-band.aspx

Ii’m not sure if that is split between a couple of the other things mentioned or all for Munn but it will go towards upgrading the locker room, weight room and other training areas.

This, I have long believed, is most essential for bringing Munn up to speed with modern rinks and for recruiting purposes. My playing days ended a decade ago and even back then Munn’s inner workings felt out of date and inadequate compared to other college rinks I was able to see over the years.

It’s also great to see the support from other sports. Our Basketball and football programs seem to pal around a lot so it’s great to see hockey get in there.
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They got rid of the donation counter the last year of Anastos because it was doing so poorly. Then an article last year said Cole had already raised 7-8 million for the project. I wonder if donations stalled and this is another way to jump start it or if this is getting them near the finish line.
 
Re: Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

No Canadian exhibition this year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here it is - the complete 2019-20 schedule! <a href="https://t.co/LmsOKSp07l">pic.twitter.com/LmsOKSp07l</a></p>— MSU_Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSU_Hockey/status/1146091244726018053?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
 
Spartanforlife4 said:
No Canadian exhibition this year.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here it is - the complete 2019-20 schedule! <a href="https://t.co/LmsOKSp07l">pic.twitter.com/LmsOKSp07l</a></p>— MSU_Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) <a href="https://twitter.com/MSU_Hockey/status/1146091244726018053?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 2, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Hmm, unfortunate. Maybe we can still schedule one? Not sure how that works.

No official home game until November and a very away heavy schedule to start the year. We’re gonna have to wait a long time to get much of a taste of this year’s team in person.

I am glad they filled that bye week with the U-18 team, though.
 
Re: Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

We finally have some hockey news. Per MSU hockey Twitter, we will host Western Ontario for an exhibition on oct 7th.

Always good to have a bit of a tune up. This is also nice because we have so few opportunities to see the team in person the first several weeks of the season.
 
Pirateasaur said:
We finally have some hockey news. Per MSU hockey Twitter, we will host Western Ontario for an exhibition on oct 7th.

Always good to have a bit of a tune up. This is also nice because we have so few opportunities to see the team in person the first several weeks of the season.
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Not crazy about Monday night games, but I plan to be there.

Other news from a few weeks ago....Pierce Charleson from Brooks Bandits has committed for 2020...we now have 2 goalies for that year. Will be interesting to see if both arrive together or if one is told to wait.
 
Re: Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

Looking forward to what the upcoming exhibition signals (start of the college hockey season!), as much as determining what can be taken away from the game itself, depending upon who Cole rosters not to mention the competition.

WSummers, I saw that news about the AJHL goalie recruit. I say keep 'em coming until we achieve that elusive consistency in net.

Finally, here's one of the first previews I've seen which seems fairly spot on in its simplicity: https://thegopherhockeyblog.blogspo...michigan-state-university-hockey-preview.html
 
FLHockeyMom said:
Looking forward to what the upcoming exhibition signals (start of the college hockey season!), as much as determining what can be taken away from the game itself, depending upon who Cole rosters not to mention the competition.

WSummers, I saw that news about the AJHL goalie recruit. I say keep 'em coming until we achieve that elusive consistency in net.

Finally, here's one of the first previews I've seen which seems fairly spot on in its simplicity: https://thegopherhockeyblog.blogspo...michigan-state-university-hockey-preview.html
Click to expand...

That blog hit on something I was planning to bring up for discussion as the season nears and that’s who is going to replace Hirose on the top line. Ideally one of the freshman could step in and be productive but if that is the case I hope we use that to create a 2nd line that’s a scoring threat as opposed to stacking the first line because I don’t see much offense emerging where it didn’t exist last year(lines 2-4.) An interesting idea is that Keefer did replace Hirose in a game last year and the KKL line still hummed. Seeing as how he wasn’t a regular in the lineup, I can see how that may be unlikely but on the other hand, I doubt Cole just threw a dart at a board with that choice.

But using my head and not my heart, I just don’t see how this returning roster is going to increase scoring in Hirose’s absence and we may struggle to even match last season’s numbers.

Where I do think we can improve greatly is defense and goaltending. We lose Osburn but are overall much more experienced. Maybe we’ll see big leaps from Cesana and the Krygiers.
 
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Re: Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

Pirateasaur said:
But using my head and not my heart, I just don’t see how this returning roster is going to increase scoring in Hirose’s absence and we may struggle to even match last season’s numbers.

Where I do think we can improve greatly is defense and goaltending. We lose Osburn but are overall much more experienced. Maybe we’ll see big leaps from Cesana and the Krygiers.
Click to expand...

More than one F is going to have to step up, that's for sure. I have high hopes for Nodler being one of them based on his USHL success.

As far as defense and goaltending are concerned, I was pleasantly surprised with Christian Krygier's performance at the recently concluded World Junior Summer Showcase. While I'd be surprised if he made the final WJC team in December, and it's probably just as well if he doesn't since that leaves a large hole to fill in the d corps, it still bodes well for MSU going forward. Unfortunately, IMO the same can't be said for DeRidder's performance at the WJSS.
 
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Pirateasaur said:
That blog hit on something I was planning to bring up for discussion as the season nears and that’s who is going to replace Hirose on the top line. Ideally one of the freshman could step in and be productive but if that is the case I hope we use that to create a 2nd line that’s a scoring threat as opposed to stacking the first line because I don’t see much offense emerging where it didn’t exist last year(lines 2-4.) An interesting idea is that Keefer did replace Hirose in a game last year and the KKL line still hummed. Seeing as how he wasn’t a regular in the lineup, I can see how that may be unlikely but on the other hand, I doubt Cole just threw a dart at a board with that choice.

But using my head and not my heart, I just don’t see how this returning roster is going to increase scoring in Hirose’s absence and we may struggle to even match last season’s numbers.

Where I do think we can improve greatly is defense and goaltending. We lose Osburn but are overall much more experienced. Maybe we’ll see big leaps from Cesana and the Krygiers.
Click to expand...

I’d like to see a Jr or Sr added to the KL line. Then I’d put together a Fr So 2nd line with Nodler with the plan it would move to number 1 in a year.

I’m waiting to see a few games before making a judgment on this team.
 
Re: Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

Well, my KKL line plan might already be dead. Keefer is not listed on the roster on the athletic site. As far as I can tell, everyone else with eligibility remaining has returned.
 
Re: Spartan Hockey 2018-2019 - Preparing for Glory

Pirateasaur said:
Well, my KKL line plan might already be dead. Keefer is not listed on the roster on the athletic site. As far as I can tell, everyone else with eligibility remaining has returned.
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Keefer wouldn't have been on the top of my list of all the players to cut. And with only 26 players, I'm not sure there was any reason to make a cut, so one might assume this was a player decision. That having been said, there's no question Keefer fell out of favor between his frosh and soph seasons. It will be interesting to see where he lands. As I said, it's not a very deep roster with 26 players, so hopefully we don't have a lot of injuries. And with only 3 frosh, we can only hope Cole is saving his powder for a deep recruiting class for next season.
 
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