Shaved Ice – Oct. 13
By Michael Caples –
Welcome to Shaved Ice, the new daily blog for MiHockeyNow.com. Every morning, we will share a comprehensive summary of what’s happening in hockey around the Mitten – in the hopes of starting your day off right. Because let’s face it, what’s better than a little hockey in the morning?
Quick hits
Yesterday I took a look around the NHL; today, it’s time for some college hockey. The CCHA regular season is about to get underway, and there’s been plenty of non-conference action to get the Michigan schools ready.
In case you missed it, here are our previews for the Spartans, Wolverines, and the rest of the Michigan college teams.
Michigan State, under the direction of new head coach Tom Anastos, traveled to North Dakota for the IceBreaker Tournament last weekend – a tough test to start the season. The Spartans dropped the opener 5-2 to No.5 Boston College Friday night, after taking a 2-2 tie into the third period. The next day, Anastos picked up his first official win, when Lee Reimer scored in overtime to help MSU beat Air Force 3-2. The Spartans start conference play in Sault Ste. Marie against LSSU tomorrow.
The Wolverines have posted four straight wins after starting the season with an exhibition loss to the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. Michigan knocked off the U.S. NTDP U-18 team for their first win of the year, and followed that up with a win over Niagara, and a sweep of a two-game series with Bentley. Michigan hosts St. Lawrence tonight in their final tune-up before starting the CCHA season at Northern Michigan Oct. 21-22.
Western Michigan is prepping for a big series with Union College this weekend. The No. 12 Broncos will travel to New York to take on the team ranked just above them for a two-game series Friday and Saturday. New coach Andy Murray and the Broncos have posted convincing wins to start their season – 7-2 over Toronto, 7-1 over Alabama-Huntsville, and 4-0 over Alabama-Huntsville a night later.
Ferris State is undefeated to start their season, as well. The Bulldogs opened with a win over Toronto, and followed it up with back-to-back wins over St. Lawrence. They host RPI this weekend.
Lake Superior State carries a 2-0 record into their first CCHA games this weekend. The Lakers traveled to Alabama-Huntsville and posted wins of 3-2 and 2-1.
Northern Michigan faced steep competition to start their season – traveling to Madison, Wis. for a weekend series with the Badgers. The Wildcats won the first game 3-2, and dropped the second by the same score. Northern hosts St. Cloud State this weekend, and the University of Michigan next weekend.
Over in the WCHA, Michigan Tech starts conference play with a weekend series against Wisconsin. The Huskies are 2-0 to start the season after sweeping American International.
Highlight reel
Here’s one for all the lovebirds out there:
Outside the Mitten:
Some notable NHL transactions have our attention at MiHockeyNow. First, former Michigan star Eric Nystrom has been traded from the Flames to the Wild. Also, the Penguins just announced that they have locked down Ferris State alum Chris Kunitz with a new two-year extension.
NHL scores from last night:
- Colorado beat Columbus 3-2 in a shootout
- Philadelphia topped Vancouver 5-4
- Carolina beat Boston 3-2
Check it
Take a glance at Pierre LeBrun’s feature on one of Hockeytown’s main foes – Rick Nash.
Next up
I’ll be staying up all night in the press box of Joe Louis Arena to cover the Wings game. Keep an eye out for some tweets or somethin’. Maybe a game recap too. Follow on Twitter – @MiHockeyNow and @michaelcaples