Decision Time For Spartans’ Miller

There’s no question that Michigan State’s Ryan Miller wants to conclude the 2002-03 hockey season by playing in Buffalo’s HSBC Arena. All he has to decide is which team’s uniform he wants to wear. With top players and multi-million dollar contracts moving around the NHL’s free agent market in the weeks ahead, the Buffalo Sabres, … Read more

Nystrom Follows Father’s Footsteps Via Different Path

Michigan’s Erik Nystrom has big shoes to fill if he wants to follow in dad’s footsteps. Bob was a veteran of 900 NHL games and four Stanley Cups. But after being taken 10th overall in this year’s NHL draft, for now Erik just wants to concentrate on developing in school.

Kyle Named New NMU Coach

With the interview process finally completed on Wednesday afternoon, Northern Michigan athletic director Dan Spielmann wasted no time naming 1981 alumnus Walt Kyle as the program’s second head coach. He fills the spot left vacant when Rick Comley resigned in March to become the head coach at Michigan State. For the past two years Kyle, … Read more

NMU Job Still Vacant, Interviews Begin

With the NHL’s New York Rangers finally close to filling their coaching vacancy, Northern Michigan can finally move closer to filling theirs. Walt Kyle, a Northern Michigan graduate and assistant coach for the Wildcats’ 1991 NCAA championship team, has been a Rangers assistant. His contract expired May 31 and his status was up in the … Read more

NMU Narrows Coaching Search

The only Division I men’s hockey team without a head coach is moving closer to changing that distinction. According to the Marquette (Mich.) Mining Journal, Northern Michigan athletic director Dan Spielman will conduct telephone interviews with three or four remaining candidates during the week of May 20-24, with the hopes of naming a replacement by … Read more

Notebook: Minnesota-Michigan

(North Dakota’s) Pride On Ice One of the more remarkable traditions Minnesota has is the near-exclusive use of Minnesota-born talent in the lineup. But when Don Lucia became coach at Minnesota three seasons ago, he recruited the first non-Minnesota player since 1986 by signing Grand Forks, N.D., native Grant Potulny. Potulny, a sophomore, scored the … Read more

Frozen Four Preview: Michigan

“It seems like Michigan goes every year, but the rest of us don’t.” That’s Minnesota head coach Don Lucia on the only repeat team in this year’s Frozen Four. It does seem as though the Wolverines are in the postseason mix yearly, so to those outside the CCHA, Michigan’s appearance in St. Paul may have … Read more

End Of An Era

Michigan State’s loss at the West Regional sent Ron Mason out a loser in his last game. But Paula C. Weston says the new MSU AD is able to focus elsewhere — and there’s plenty to see.

Coming Around Again

Rick Comley’s life, he says, has intermingled with Ron Mason’s for 35 years — no surprise, then, when Mason tapped Comley to succeed him at MSU. Frequent contributor Steve Klein gives his thoughts.

Comley Named New MSU Coach

Rick Comley jumps from Northern Michigan, where he spent 26 years, to Michigan State, where he takes over for long-time colleague and friend, Ron Mason.

NCAA West Regional Preview

From the talk on the USCHO.com message board and around the nation, you’d think the West Regional draw included the Colorado Avalanche or the Red Army alongside the WCHA and the CCHA’s best. After Michigan State’s loss to Michigan last Sunday, first-round byes went to Denver and Minnesota, both of which were among the top … Read more

Miller Repeat POTY, Mason Honored By CCHA

The CCHA honored its league award winners at the 2002 CCHA Awards presentation Thursday night in Detroit’s historic Fox Theatre. For the second straight year, Michigan State goaltender Ryan Miller was named the league’s Player of the Year. Alaska-Fairbanks head coach Guy Gadowsky is the 2001-02 Coach of the Year, and Western Michigan’s Pat Dwyer … Read more