Part two of the annual College Hockey Showcase features the two victors from day one--Michigan and Wisconsin. The Wolverines dispatched Minnesota in impressive fashion, 6-0, while the Badgers demolished Michigan State, 7-3.

Tonight's game can only be seen on Comcast Local. MGoBlue.com has your free audio feed, and I'll be live at the game giving your Cover It Live play-by-play, so please stop on by. I'm hoping for a huge turnout tonight. The puck drops at 7:35 p.m. and the chat will open around 7 p.m.

Michigan (3-5-0 CCHA, 5-7-0 overall) finally broke their five game losing streak with a dominating 4-1 win over Bowling Green last Saturday and they're looking to keep the momentum going. Standing in their way is the Minnesota Golden Gophers, who are in a similar boat as the Wolverines.

The Gophers are 4-7-1 overall and limp in to Yost on a three game losing streak. When's the last time both teams faced off at the College Hockey Showcase with losing records? And just like Michigan this past week losing Robbie Czarnik to the OHL, the Gophers lost defenseman Sam Lofquist to major juniors a few weeks ago.

Both teams are trying to right the ship and desperately need a win tonight.

Tonight's game can only be seen on Fox Sports North beginning at 7:35 p.m. ET. If you can't watch the game, I'll be live at Yost Ice Arena providing play-by-play and, as always, you can chat with your fellow fans.

Michigan is looking to rebound after losing four straight games for the first time since 2005. If they do lose, well, I won't know what to say. Bowling Green is 1-8-1 this season and tied for last in the CCHA. The Falcons were bad last season, too, but in their trip to Yost back in January they shutout Michigan, 3-0, in one of the most brutal games I've ever sat through. Please don't let me sit through a repeat of that! I'll be live at Yost tonight. Radio and video feeds on MGoBlue.com. Cover It Live chat will start around 7 p.m.

For the first time since the infamous Kampfer assault, Corey Tropp returns to Yost Ice Arena, where he's sure to get a warm welcome, uh... Michigan style.

Despite being 4-4-0, beating nobody good, and getting slaughtered by Miami, Michigan is somehow ranked #6.  On the flip side, with a 7-2-1 record with wins over Clarkson, Maine, Miami, and Nebraska-Omaha, the Spartans are only ranked #13.  Gotta love the polls!

It's Michigan vs. Michigan State.  What more needs to be said?  The game is on Fox Sports Detroit starting at 7:30 p.m. ET.  I'll be providing live coverage of tonight's game via a Cover It Live chat below, so if you can't catch the game or just want to join some hockey chat, come on in!

Hopefully with better results!

COVERAGE NOTE: I will be in the Soo this weekend giving live play-by-play via a CoveritLive chat.  I already have the chat room posted at Michigan Hockey Net if you want to setup a reminder.  The chat will kick off around 6:30 p.m. tonight and Saturday.  The puck drops at 7:05 p.m.  So stop by and chat with your fellow Wolverine hockey fans!

Now then, Michigan travels to "da U.P., eh!" to open their CCHA schedule against Lake Superior State.

The Wolverines (2-2-0 overall) are coming off a bit of a disappointing weekend which saw them narrowly hold off Niagara, 3-2, before dropping a 3-2 decision at Boston University.  U-M rallied from a 2-0 deficit against the Terriers to tie the game with five minutes left, but a bad play by goaltender Bryan Hogan led to a wraparound goal with 2:30 remaining to give BU the victory.

The Lakers, on the other hand, are off to a solid start this season, sporting a 1-1-0 conference record and 4-2-0 overall.  They started the season getting clipped, 4-3, at Minnesota-Duluth, then rebounded with a win at Michigan Tech and sweep of Canisius.  LSSU opened CCHA play with a 3-2 win over Ohio State, then lost to the Buckeyes, 4-3, the following night.  As I said with Niagara last week, don't be surprised if the games are close.

Continue reading this post »

Ugh.

 

As the NCAA tournament approaches, lets take a look at Michigan's opponent in the opening round of the East Regional, the Air Force Falcons...the fightin' Falcons!

Founded in 1954, the Air Force Academy is located just north of Colorado Springs.  Their mission:  To educate, train, and inspire men and women to become officers of character motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation.  And what better way to prepare these men and women to defend our country than by trying out the latest in high tech gear?

Of course, anyone who knows someone who has been in the Air Force knows that there is only one essential piece of equipment...

When they're not busy dropping Freedom Bombs around the world, they're filling in those holes of Democracy with 72 holes of golf on "highly valued government property."  Hey, their words!  And you Liberals thought we invaded Iraq for the oil.

The Air Force hockey team is back in the NCAA tournament for a third straight year and looking for the big first round upset, which they've come close to accomplishing the past two times.  In 2007 they led #1 seed Minnesota 3-1 with eight minutes to go in the third period before the Gophers rallied for three unanswered goals to win, 4-3.  Then in 2008 #1 seed Miami had to come from behind to force overtime and needed over 15 minutes in the extra session before defeating the Falcons, 3-2.

The Falcons are led by junior Northern Michigan University defector Jacques Lamoureux, who played 16 games with the Wildcats in 2006-07 and posted one goal and one assist before leaving the team behind for an opportunity to chest bump the President.

After sitting out last season due to transfer rules, Lamoureux went from scoring two points two seasons ago to posting a nation leading 32 goals—including an NCAA best 15 power play goals—and is second with 52 points in 39 games en route to becoming a Hobey Baker Award finalist.  I guess when you can teach birds to fly using parachutes instead of their wings, anything is possible, though if he were playing baseball he'd probably be under investigation right now.

Lamoureux isn't a one man show, however.  Four other Falcons have scored ten or more goals, as well as posting more than 30 points.  Air Force has the nation's fourth highest scoring offense averaging 3.69 goals per game, just ahead of Michigan's 3.62.

Defensively they rank seventh allowing 2.13 goals per game, just behind Michigan's 2.05.  Senior Gregg Flynn commands the blue line with seven goals and a team-high 33 assists.

Junior netminder Andrew Volkening has played all 39 games and sports a 27-10-2 record with 2.01 GAA, good for eighth in the nation, though over the past 24 games he has averaged 2.50 goals against.  Volkening has a .916 save percentage and has posted five shutouts, including blankings in his last two games.  He has not given up a goal in his last 157:55 minutes of play.

While statistically they are on par with the Wolverines, the biggest knock against the Falcons is they play in the mighty Atlantic Hockey Association, where they played the likes of 11-23-4 Sacred Heart seven times this season.  But the Wolverines had to face Michigan State five times, so it's kind of a wash.

The Falcons did play a few worthy non-conference games against local powerhouses Denver and Colorado College, where they lost to the Pioneers, 4-1, but defeated the Tigers, 4-1.  They also lost a closely contested 3-2 decision to East Regional #2 seed Yale University, showing that the Falcons are definitely better than the perception of their conference.  The Pairwise Rankings also agreed as the Falcons finished 14th in the PWR, whereas top teams from the AHA rarely crack the top 25.

Air Force is not going to be a cake walk first round opponent for Michigan, and the Wolverines know it.

"I don't really think it matters who you play during the year," sophomore forward Louie Caporusso said.  "I mean, at the end of the day, that's a good team.  They beat Colorado College AND Denver.  They've proven themselves."

Well, they didn't beat Denver this year...they beat the Pioneers last season...but I'll call truthiness and if you say they beat Denver this season, then who am I to argue?  Pioneers, you lost, deal with it!

Expect the Falcons to come prepared, upset minded, and with their guns loaded.  If the Wolverines turn in another performance like last Saturday, it could be mission accomplished for the Falcons.

FARDIG BACK IN: According to The Ann Arbor News, Danny Fardig practiced on the fourth line alongside Luke Glendening and Brandon Naurato and will play tomorrow.  It appears the Scooter Vaughan experiment is over.  Good, there was no reason for that experiment at this time of season to begin with.  Sophomore forward Ben Winnett, the other usual fourth liner, remains sidelined with a leg injury and will not play Friday.

TICKETS: If you're out East and looking for tickets, try your local scalper.  As of this afternoon, all tickets for the East Regional have been sold.

TELEVISION: Friday's game will be broadcast on ESPNU at 3 p.m. ET.  If you are in the Ann Arbor area and don't get ESPNU, I know Damon's at 3150 Boardwalk St. will be showing the game, and I wouldn't be surprised if other places like The Arena and Buffalo Wild Wings downtown show it, too.

East Regional (Bridgeport, CT) - March 27
#1 Michigan vs. #4 Air Force (ESPNU, 3 p.m. ET)
#2 Yale vs. #3 Vermont (ESPNU)

West Regional (Minneapolis, MN) - March 27
#1 Denver vs. #4 Miami (ESPN2)
#2 Minnesota-Duluth vs. #3 Princeton (ESPNU)

Midwest Regional (Grand Rapids, MI) - March 28
#1 Notre Dame vs. #4 Bemidji State (ESPN Classic)
#2 Northeastern vs. #3 Cornell (ESPNU)

Northeast Regional (Manchester, NH) - March 28
#1 Boston University vs. #4 Ohio State (ESPN2)
#2 North Dakota vs. #3 New Hampshire (ESPN2)

Quick thoughts... Boston University, the top overall seed, got a tough draw.  In theory they should be facing Bemidji State, the lowest seed, but instead get Ohio State, who has struggled but is a tougher opponent.  This is because there were two CCHA teams as #4 seeds and #1 seeds and in order to avoid first round interconference match ups between them, they had to swap.  Kind of bogus for the Terriers, but that's the way it goes.

As for Michigan's draw, do NOT underestimate Air Force.  They finished with a 27-10-2 record, won the AHA regular season and tournament titles, are ranked #14 in the PairWise Rankings (whereas teams from the AHA almost never rank in the top 25), and feature the nation's top goal scorer in Jacques Lamoureux, who posted 32-20-52 in 39 games (second in the nation in points).

Last year in the NCAA tournament the Falcons nearly upset #1 seed Miami, losing 3-2 in overtime.  It took the RedHawks 15+ minutes in the extra session to finally beat the Falcons.  And in 2007 they pushed top seed Minnesota to the limit in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, leading 3-1 in the third period before the Gophers scored three unanswered goals to win 4-3.

The Falcons have been very close to upsets the past two years and seem due for one sooner or later.  Hopefully it doesn't come at our expense.

Yes, there is an important hockey game tonight.  The CCHA Championship between Michigan and Notre Dame, and the Wolverines are leading 1-0 after the first period.  Now that bouncy ball is over, follow along with the live blog.

The puck drops at 7:05 p.m. tonight.  Michigan defeated WMU 5-2 last night and is looking to close out the series and advance to The Joe.

According to The Ann Arbor News, the CCHA is looking at revamping the current replay system to include more camera angles.  Associate commissioner Fred Pletsch said the league is looking into using a portable camera unit.

This discussion comes on the heels of Michigan getting hosed for the third time in a month by the current review system, which only allows the referees to use the overhead goal cameras.

During Saturday’s 3-2 loss at Ohio State, the Wolverines had a goal waived off when the official determined the puck went off Louie Caporusso’s glove before going into the net.  However, replays on TV clearly showed the puck hit Caporusso up near the top of his chest or visor.

Then later in the game, with a loose puck in the crease, Scooter Vaughan and C.J. Severyn battled for the puck and it was knocked in to the net with a skate.  The officials, using the overhead camera, determined it went in off the skate of Vaughan, while TV angles appeared to show it off the skate of Severyn.  That goal would turn out to be the deciding factor.

Last month against Notre Dame the replay system was exposed when a puck went into the net clearly off the skate of Irish forward Billy Maday.  The first problem is somehow all four officials missed it.  Then the replay did not show it because it happened outside the crease area.  The CCHA apologized to Red Berenson after the game.  They probably apologized after the Ohio State games, too.  They can apologize all they want, but you can’t go back and change the outcome.

Pletsch said that the use of a portable camera unit will all come down to cost.

In my opinion, if some schools can’t afford it or don’t want to shell out for it, then that should be their choice.  But the whole league shouldn’t have to suffer as a result of it.  I don’t like the “all or nothing” mentality that seems to prevail all too often these days.  “Not all schools will have the equipment, therefore we won’t do it,” is not a valid reason that you shouldn’t at least use all camera angles when a game is on TV.

One of their reasons is because some teams (i.e. Michigan) are on TV more than others and therefore it wouldn’t be fair to the rest.  However, that argument doesn’t hold up because NOT getting the correct calls can also affect the rest.

Lets say Michigan’s third goal counts and Ohio State’s goal is disallowed and U-M goes on to win the game.  Michigan remains in a 2nd place tie with Miami as opposed to be two points behind them.  But also Ohio State would be five points behind Alaska instead of three.  So the Nanooks go from locking up a first round bye to potentially losing it because of this.  Northern Michigan is five points behind OSU.  If OSU would have lost, they would have only been three points behind and had a shot at fifth place and a better first round draw.  Just because a team isn’t on TV as much does not mean there aren’t ramifications that effect them.

When a TV network comes in to broadcast a game, there is no reason not to use their camera angles to help determine the right call.  The technology is already there and there’s no added cost to the team.  I mean would it be that hard to hook up a TV in the booth with a picture of the game and have the official talk on headset to the production truck?

There’s no good reason the league should pass up the opportunity to get the games that are broadcast called correctly.  Fix what you can now (the games that are broadcast and schools that can afford the equipment) and work on the rest later.  But this “all or nothing” approach is stupid.  And Berenson shares the same feeling.

“I don’t think we’re getting it anymore right right now then we did before (the replay review),” he said.  “If all these games are televised, you’ve got resources.  So let’s use them.  Now, the league is saying not every rink has (televised games and extra camera angles).  Well, it doesn’t matter.  Use the ones that you have.  We’ve already seen huge situations evolve.  … If we want to get it right, let’s get it right.”

LIVE COVERAGE: Wanted to plug this first.  If you can't catch tonight's game, I will be live blogging the contest on Michigan Hockey Net and simulcasting it here at Maize n' Brew.  Now then...

The rivalry on ice isn't as big as the rivalry on the football field, but this weekend's Michigan-Ohio State hockey games are big for both teams as the CCHA regular season winds down.

Following a sweep of Nebraska-Omaha at Yost last week, Michigan (17-7-0-0 CCHA, 23-9-0 Overall) leap frogged Notre Dame to move up to #2 in the latest PairWise Rankings, which is used to determine pairings for the NCAA tournament.  This is significant because whoever finishes higher between Michigan and Notre Dame will most likely be placed in the Midwest Regional at Grand Rapids.

The Wolverines will be looking to keep their advantage on Notre Dame in the all important poll as they travel to Columbus this weekend to face the Buckeyes.  Michigan swept Ohio State (11-9-4-3 CCHA, 18-10-4 Overall) back at the end of October, but it's more than about revenge this weekend for the Buckeyes.  It's about CCHA tourney positioning, where OSU is in fifth place and two points behind Alaska for a first round bye, and more importantly keeping their own NCAA hopes alive.

The Buckeyes are currently ranked 16th in the PairWise Rankings, which would have them on the outside looking in.  While 16 teams do make the tournament, six teams are autobids and two are those are from conferences whose teams are almost never ranked that high, so when you factor in their bids taking up the last two spots, OSU would be one of the last two teams cut.

Right now the CCHA only has three teams locked in--Michigan, Notre Dame, and Miami, who is ranked 6th in the PWR.  Three teams in the Top 6, so the league is very top heavy.  Right above Ohio State in the PWR are four teams from the WCHA, and I'm sure there's more than a few fans out there hoping the Buckeyes can move up to knock a few of them out.

As much as any Michigan fan loves to see OSU suffer, for for conference sake it would be great for them to slip into the tourney, though hopefully not at our expense.

LAST WEEK: Ohio State has had a season similar to Nebraska-Omaha last week.  They had a great first half of the season and went on a 14-1-0 streak from November to mid-January.  But since then they have stumbled, going 2-4-3-2 since January 17, including a shootout loss and regulation loss at CCHA bottom dweller Michigan State last weekend.

Michigan, on the other hand, has gone 14-2-0 since the beginning of December, though that's not to say they haven't been without their flaws.  Last weekend against Nebraska-Omaha was a prime example of that.  Despite blowing out the Mavs, 8-3, Friday night, anyone who saw the game knows it was closer than the scoreboard would indicate.  Michigan jumped out to a 3-0 lead before allowing the Mavs to close the gap to 4-3 a few minutes into the third period.  That's when Michigan woke up and decided to play hockey again and rolled off four unanswered goals.  But UNO certainly had plenty of great scoring opportunities and the game easily could have gone the other way.

Saturday night was the same deal and this time senior Billy Sauer was in net filling in for Bryan Hogan, who was sick.  Michigan suffered during a penalty-filled opening stanza, which saw Tim Miller receive a major penalty for kneeing and the Mavs got not one, but two full two-minute power plays during the period.  I won't dwell on the officiating other than to say some calls were right and some were horrible.  That's been the story every week, so why keep beating a dead horse?  UNO jumped out to a 2-0 lead as a result and U-M is fortunate that's all the damage they did.

Once the Wolverines started to settle down in the second period, they started to find their groove and chip away.  Travis Turnbull and Brian Lebler scored 1:40 apart to tie the game.  In the third period, Luke Glendening scored with 4:28 left off a beautiful feed from Louie Caporusso to give U-M the lead, then the freshman added an empty net goal to seal the game.  Glendening was named the CCHA Rookie of the Week for his efforts.

It was a nice comeback victory and even more satisfying because Sauer was in net.  U-M has struggled all season scoring with Billy in net and the four goals they scored are the most they've scored in front of him since October 31 when they defeated Ohio State, 4-3.

THE WEEKEND: If Michigan can stay out of the penalty box, a sweep is certainly possible given the way the Buckeyes have faltered of late, though a split is more realistic.

Games in Columbus have a way of being unpredictable.  The last time U-M played there in 2007 the games ended up being a pair of wild back-and-forth affairs which saw the Wolverines take the opener, 4-3, on a late third period goal by Brandon Naurato, then drop a 6-5 decision the following night, which saw U-M blow a pair of two goal leads, battle back to tie, then lose on a late third period goal by Mathieu Beaudoin with 1:30 left.

TEE-VEE: Friday night's game will be broadcast on The Big Ten Network starting at 7 p.m.  Saturday's game can be seen on CBS College Sports with an 8 p.m. start time.

 

Following a weekend split against top ranked Notre Dame, which was not without controversy, the Michigan hockey team welcomes Lake Superior to Yost Ice Arena for a weekend pair.

LAST WEEKEND

The Wolverines split with Notre Dame, winning Friday night 2-1 in South Bend before losing 3-2 Saturday night at Yost.

All the week's talk has been on Saturday's game, where for the first 40 minutes the Wolverines were a total non-factor.  It was like the 3-0 loss to Bowling Green at Yost back on January 16.  Sloppy play and they barely had any good shots.

The Irish held a 3-0 lead after two periods and seemed to be easing their way to a win, but in the third period Aaron Palushaj and Robbie Czarnik netted power play goals at 4:27 and 8:45 respectively to breathe new life into the team and make it a game.

Czarnik later missed a golden opportunity to tie the game when he whiffed on a centering pass on the doorstep with an open net.  The Irish went on to hold, 3-2.

THE CONTROVERSIES

#1 - Notre Dame's first goal went in off the skate of Billy Maday.  After a bad turnover in the U-M zone, Calle Riddenwall whipped the puck wide of the net but it went off Maday's skate as he was skating towards the net and redirected in.  The referees called it a good goal initially.  They went to replay, but it didn't show the play because they can only use the overhead goal cam and the play happened outside the crease area.  They talked it over and ruled it good.

Michael Spath of The Wolverine talked to two CCHA sources and wrote, "The official ruling from the CCHA is any puck directed in by a skate, regardless of intent, regardless of kicking motion or not, is not allowed. However, the call on the ice was a goal because no official saw the puck deflect in off the skate."

So while the referees made the right call based on what they saw, it's inexcusible to me that there are four officials on the ice and not one of them saw the puck go in off the skate.

#2 - Late in the game during a scramble in front of Irish goalie Jordan Pearce, the Wolverines found the loose puck and put it in the net.  But the goal was waived off.  My initial thought at the game was the whistle had blown.  According to Spath after the game, Berenson was told the net was dislodged.

Later clarification with his CCHA sources revealed that the neutral ice official thought he saw the net off its moorings, so he blew his whistle before the puck went in.  The problem is the net never came off.  According to the CCHA sources, the neutral ice official needs to trust the deep zone official and in this case he didn't.  The deep zone official was right at the side of the net and has a much better view than someone 75 feet away.  So while they technically got the call correct based on what happened, it was yet another screw up by the referees.

As you can imagine, Berenson wasn't happy about it and you can read his comments here.

Anyways, what happened happened and nothing is going to change that.  But I think pollsters took it into account, too, because the Wolverines jumped up to #4 in the latest national rankings.

THE LAKERS

LSSU is having another one of their lower-middle of the pack seasons they've been accustomed to since their downfall.  But they haven't fallen as far as Michigan State, whom they swept last weekend.  The Lakers are 6-8-6-1 in the CCHA and 9-11-3 overall and they enter Yost Ice Arena on a three game winning steak.

Both games are must-win for both teams for different reasons.  Michigan is currently tied for fourth place in the CCHA with Ohio State with each team having 26 points in 20 games.  With the top four teams in the league getting a first round bye, it is important for U-M to not lose any ground.  They do have some cushion as they are only two points behind third place Alaska and have four games in hand.  And with the Wolverines on the verge of a potential No. 1 seed for the NCAA tournament, any loss to an unranked team would be harmful.

The Lakers, on the other hand, are tied for eighth place with Northern Michigan, who has been on a roll as of a late.  While their chances of obtaining a first round bye for the CCHA tournament are slim and none, the teams who finish between fifth and eighth place host a first round series, an advantage the Lakers would surly like to have.  LSSU hosts Miami and Western Michigan the next two weeks then finishes on the road at Northern Michigan, a series which could ultimately decide who gets home ice.

PREDICTION

Michigan needs to put Saturday behind them and take out any frustration on the Lakers.  They've already lost games this season to lower tier teams Bowling Green and Northern Michigan and they can't afford to keep giving up two points and tournament position to teams they should beat.  I think they accomplish that this weekend.  Wolverines win 3-1 and 4-1.

Friday night's game will be broadcast for free on MGoBlue.com.  Saturday's game is on Comcast Local and tape-delayed on the NHL Network.

Even after the announcement today that Andrew Conboy and Corey Tropp are no longer on the Michigan State hockey team, and in Conboy’s case, no longer at the university, tonight The Michigan Daily reports that the U-M Department of Public Safety will review the on-ice incident to determine whether or not to proceed with an investigation.

Spokeswoman Diane Brown said it will come down to intent, which can be hard to determine when dealing with athletics, and that they must determine if a "players’ actions contain elements of a crime, even in an on-ice environment."

I know a few fans out there will be happy and continue urging them to press charges, but don’t count me as one of them.

On a Steve Kampfer health note from the article, the Daily mentions that in addition to the strained neck, Kampfer also suffered a concussion.  He did not practice today, but Red Berenson is hopeful he will be cleared tomorrow.

Andrew Conboy and Corey Tropp are no longer on the team according to The Detroit News.

"It was a tough decision, but the right decision," MSU head coach Rick Comley said. "I don't think the kids are bad kids. I don't think (their actions) were premeditated."

According to the article, Conboy had the option to remain in school and talk to Comley in the spring about a return next season, but decided to leave both the hockey team and school.  Tropp also has that option if he remains enrolled in school.

As I previously stated, based on his past, I hoped Conboy would leave and I'm glad he did.  This also eases some fear about a rematch next season involving the players.

The Associated Press reports Michigan State head coach Rick Comley has suspended Andrew Conboy and Corey Tropp for the remainder of the season following their attack on Michigan defenseman Steve Kampfer near the end of Saturday's game.

"What happened near the end of the game this weekend is not the way in which we want our hockey program represented," Comley said in a news release. "We cannot condone their actions. We felt that we had to send a strong message that this behavior will not be tolerated."

MSU athletic director Mark Hollis said he and Comley agreed that their actions were "were spontaneous, emotional actions carried out during a highly competitive game" but added "their actions were completely inappropriate and reflect poorly on our program."

The CCHA is conducting their own investigation and will issue their report by Friday.

I'm pleased enough by this, especially since there's always a chance Michigan and Michigan State could meet in the CCHA playoffs and if those two played all hell would break loose.

Tropp, based on his clean past, I expect to be back next season and given another chance.

But I do hope Conboy considers leaving for major junior hockey or signs a pro contract with Montreal (his draft team) if all he wants to do is be an enforcer in hockey (and judging by his stats, that's all he ever will be).  At least there fighting is tolerated.  I never understand guys like him in college hockey.  Putting up five points and 76 penalty minutes in 21 games isn't exactly helping your team, unless their goal is to play shorthanded all the time.  Last year in junior hockey he had 210 penalty minutes.  Seriously, just leave.'

UPDATE: The CCHA has released a statement on the suspensions.

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. –  The CCHA, upon review of the on-ice incidents in the Jan. 24th game between Michigan and Michigan State, fully supports the decision of Michigan State’s athletic administration to suspend the playing privileges of players Corey Tropp and Andrew Conboy for the remainder of the season, including playoffs.

"We feel that the measures taken by Michigan State are appropriate and consistent with the parameters of the sanctions that were being contemplated by the league," stated CCHA Commissioner Tom Anastos.

No waiting for the weekly hockey wrap up for this one.

Last night was a very physical and emotional game between Michigan and Michigan State.  There was a lot of post-whistle stuff that caused emotions to run high.  And near the end of the game, it got ugly.  Real ugly.

 

A person uploaded the Fox Sports Detroit video of Michigan State's Andrew Conboy and Corey Tropp's assault on Steve Kampfer from the end of last night's game.  The same Steve Kampfer who back in October was assaulted in an off ice incident that left him with a fractured neck and skull and nearly ended his career.

First you will see the clean hit Kampfer laid on Tropp at center ice, but the original replay is hard to see Conboy and Tropp's actions as the camera followed play in the foreground.

But play close attention starting at 45 seconds.  It's a wide angle shot from the far corner.  You see Kampfer's hit, then you see Conboy come up from the back right side and cold cock Kampfer, then literally to add insult to injury Tropp skates up and gives Kampfer a pair of hard two handed whacks near the head and neck area after he was already down.

Absolutely disgusting.  It's one thing for players to have a one-on-one fight to settle an incident.  But there's no condoning this.  It was so bad that after the game a Michigan fan broke into the MSU locker room to go after Tropp or MSU head coach Rick Comley (reports vary) and police had to be called in.  And if you've seen the visitor's locker room area at Yost, no, it's not that hard to break in.

Some fans always complain about thuggery by certain players on teams--for example, Jack Johnson and Chad Kolarik sandwiching a Spartan near the end of a game a few years ago, which State fans have never forgotten and continue to despise Johnson for, even though (a) it wasn't from behind, (b) probably nothing more than a charging call (though since it was Jack he was ejected), and (c) Kolarik's the one who ripped at the helmet from behind but didn't get called for anything but Sparties don't acknowledge he was even in the play.  But what Conboy and Tropp did last night...there's no comparison, that is what true thuggery in hockey is.

Conboy only getting a double minor for roughing was a joke.  Tropp's double game disqualification was at least acceptable.

No doubt we will all be paying close attention to what action Comley and the CCHA takes.  Comley told Red Berenson after the game that he would discipline his players.  I sincerely hope it's more than him coming out and saying, "It's an internal matter, I talked to them about their actions, and its been dealt with," and then you see them on the ice the following week.

Honestly, after the Todd Bertuzzi incident, I always felt that in true goonish incidents like that, the attacking player should have to sit until the injured player returns and then serve his game suspensions on top of that.  For example lets say Kampfer ends up missing a month of hockey.  Yet Tropp only misses three games.  Or Conboy only misses a few games.  Where's the justice there?  Kampfer gets assaulted, Michigan loses one of their top defensemen for a long period of time, and Michigan State gets their players back before Michigan gets Kampfer.  That does not make sense and that is not fair.

But if, say, Tropp sits out until Kampfer is cleared to return (be it a week or a month), and THEN serves his three game suspension on top of that, that would be fair to me.  I just don't believe that the attacking players should be able to play again before the player they injured.  It sends the wrong message if they do.

The No. 8 ranked Michigan hockey team will face a familiar foe this weekend when they battle rival Michigan State for the last time during the regular season.  The Wolverines defeated the Spartans three times during December, twice in CCHA action (won 6-1 and 5-3) and a dominating 5-1 victory in the Great Lakes Invitational championship game.

Last week: The Wolverines are looking to rebound after a disappointing split with last place Bowling Green.  The Falcons walked into Yost Ice Arena last Friday and stunned the Wolverine faithful with a 3-0 blanking, in which there wasn't much good from a U-M perspective.  They bounced back the following night at Bowling Green with a 1-0 shutout, but certainly had to work for that lone goal as they put another 39 shots on net while going 0-for-8 on the power play.

One person who didn't see much work Saturday was senior goaltender Billy Sauer, who made all 19 saves in his first start since November 29 against Wisconsin and picked up his first victory since October 31 against Ohio State.  Sauer got the nod after sophomore goalie Bryan Hogan struggled in Friday's loss.

It has been a rough road for Sauer this season as he entered the season after setting U-M's single season record for lowest goals against average, but his stumble in the Frozen Four against Notre Dame is what most remember him for.  He and Hogan started out this season splitting time in net and a trend soon developed in which the team not only wasn't winning with Sauer in net, but wasn't scoring, either.  In the nine games Sauer has started this season, the Wolverines have only scored 11 goals (1.22 per game), compared to scoring 68 goals in Hogan's 15 games (4.53 per game).  That's quite a contrast!  Though no fault of his own, Billy lost his role in the rotation following a 3-0 loss to Wisconsin at the end of November, and even though the offense only gave him on goal Saturday, it was great to see him come out with the shutout victory.

U-M head coach Red Berenson stated earlier this week that Hogan remains their No. 1 goaltender and will start the bulk of the games as long as he continues to play well, but the door is certainly still open for Sauer should Hogan begin to faulter.

Though it was good to end the weekend with a win, Michigan lost out on two critical points in the CCHA standings, where they currently sit in 6th place.  U-M is two points behind Ohio State and Nebraska-Omaha, with no games in hand on the Buckeyes and two in the bag on UNO.  They are five points behind Miami and Alaska, with a pair in hand on Miami and four games in hand on the Nanooks.  And they are 12 points behind first place Notre Dame with pretty much no chance of catching the Irish.

The top four teams in the CCHA get a first round bye in the conference tournament, and while they are within striking range of accomplishing that, the two points they lost out on to Bowling Green certainly would have made the things a bit more comfortable moving forward.  After Michigan State, the Wolverines still have weekend series with Notre Dame, LSSU, Nebraska-Omaha, Ohio State, and Ferris State.

Little Brother: The Spartans are having their own "Michigan football" type of year.  Known for always being one of the top teams in the CCHA, Michigan State sports a 7-14-3 overall record and finds themselves in 9th place in the CCHA, just one point ahead of a three way tie for last place.

Despite this, I know people always say polls don't mean anything, but this year they are certainly proving that as somehow the Spartans still managed to receive six points in the latest U.S. College Hockey Online/CBS College Sports poll and two points in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.  Seriously, whoever voted for them should have their rights taken away.

On top of losing several top players from last year's team, the Spartans suffered four more losses in December.  A.J. Sturgis (injuries from MSU hockey-football fight) and Nick Sucharski  (shoulder) are out for the season, while Ryan Turek was dismissed from the team and Mike Merrifield headed back to junior hockey for more seasoning.

This weekend: So this weekend's games against another bottom tier team (and it's not often you get to say that about the Spartans in hockey) are critical for the Wolverines to keep pace with the teams ahead of them and even make up a little ground.  The other series to keep an eye on is Miami at Nebraska-Omaha, as both teams are ahead of the Wolverines and them beating up each other can help U-M.

Michigan will get an added boost with the return of junior defensive captain Chris Summers and sophomore forward Matt Rust.  Summers took a hard hit 23 seconds into Saturday's game and left a few shifts later due to dizziness and minor pain.  He sat out a few days of practice and passed all concussion tests.  Rust missed the game due to the flu.

Friday night's game takes place at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.  The puck drops at 7:35 p.m and it can be seen on Fox Sports Net Plus.

Saturday's game is at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor and will be broadcast by Fox Sports Detroit.

For anyone attending Saturday's game, keep in mind that there is a home basketball game Saturday night at 8 p.m., so arrive a bit early if you can to avoid parking issues.  MGoBlue.com suggests parking at the Elbel Field lot as an alternative.  It was bad scheduling on someone's part as I know they typically try to avoid home games between two of their bigger sports overlapping each other.

And if you are going to the basketball game, give a little round of applause to former Wolverine hockey great Bill MacFarland, who will be among the six member class inducted into the Hall of Honor and publicly honored during half time of the b-ball game.