The cavalry, coming to the defense once again!
 
Jeff Jodzis wrote:
>let's face it, so far the msu spartans cannot raise
>     their level of play in the big games to get the W.
>
>What is their record against top 10 teams like
>     Michigan, BGSU, and Minnesota?  2-6, I believe.
 
2-6 is correct.  The Spartans are 2-2 against BGSU, 0-1 against Minnesota, and
0-3 against Michigan.  However, in those 8 games, the Spartans were only really
out of 2 of them, the 7-3 loss at Yost in November and the 6-2 loss at BG in
December.  Take those 6 games out of Michigan State's record and the Spartans
are 17-1-3, the only loss coming to Alaska-Fairbanks right before Thanksgiving,
and the three ties, all on the road at UIC, at LSSU, and at FSU.
 
> For a team who looked really good on paper entering the
>     season, you have to question its senior's ability to
>     rise to the occasion and overcome having an overrated
>     goalie in mike buzak.
 
Overrated?  OVERRATED?  You are kidding, right?
 
Even with his "subpar" performance this year, Buzak's save percentage still
hovers around 90%.  The problem?  He's faced way too many shots, some of that
by design however.
 
>in the GLI, Michigan was playing without two of its top
>forwards in jason botterill and kevin hilton, but the
>     spartans still could not pull it out.
 
"Munn East" ain't no more.  Last year's win over Michigan at JLA was the first
in a long time for MSU.  Some key mistakes on defense cost MSU the game.
 
>     we all know what happened over the weekend as Michigan
>     was able to win its second consecutive game at Munn.
 
A game that was tied going into the third.  A game either team could have won.
(I should know, I was there.)
 
>     The Spartans have also lost two key road games at BGSU,
>     while winning one early in the season at home.
 
Two early in the season at home, and those games weren't even close.  As much
lack of success as MSU has had at BGSU Ice Arena this year, the Falcons fared
no better at Munn.  Also remember that BGSU has failed to beat Michigan this
year.  (In fact, a lot of teams have failed to beat Michigan this year.)
 
>     And then at the WCHA-CCHA Challenge, the Spartans were
>     severely outshot by the Gophers in a one goal defeat.
 
As strange as it may sound, that was by design.  Why Mason played the type of
game he did is still beyond me (he admits it was a mistake), but for Justin
McHugh, that's a W for MSU.  (I didn't intend the rhyme, but what the hell...)
 
>     I just wonder how the Spartans veterans like Buzak,
>     Guolla, Murray, Carter, Suk, and Sylvester feel about
>     their inability to beat a young Michigan team comprised
>     mainly of sophomores and freshmen.
 
Probably about the same way Michigan felt when they couldn't beat a Lake
Superior team that they had knocked off 4 times earlier last season.
 
Frankly, they probably feel like shit about it, but it won't change the fact.
The only thing they can do now is get ready for Miami this weekend, and not
think about Michigan again until about 9:30pm EST on February 17, after the
final whistle of the Western Michigan game at Munn.
 
MSU's goal now is to finish second (with a very outside shot at first).  Down
the stretch, BGSU might have a slightly tougher schedule.  Should MSU finish
second and get to the finals of the CCHA, they'll set themselves up for a 3 or
4 seed in the NCAA's (and most likely a trip to Worcester).  They haven't
played a high caliber Eastern team all year (in fact, they only played one,
Cornell, in the first round of the GLI) so it's tough to tell what they could
do against the best in the East.
 
And they've always had fabulous luck in Providence.....
 
G. M. Finniss
Michigan State University 12-4-3, 17-7-3
WVU '87, UTenn '92, MSU who the hell knows when?