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Already decimated to some extent by losses of personnel due to the World Junior Tournament, Michigan State has seen two more of its players go down during practice this week, but will get a belated Christmas present with the return of one of its most promising defenseman when the Spartans make the annual Yuletide trek to Detroit to participate in the 31st annual Great Lakes Invitational. With forwards Mike Watt (Canada) and Mike York (USA) and defenseman Chris Bogas (USA) participating in the WJT in Massachusetts, coach Ron Mason was already looking at some significant line juggling for Friday's 7:30 matchup with host Michigan Tech. As reported locally, Spartan forward Steve Ferranti (tied for second in the nation with 5 game winners this year) and defenseman Jeff Kozakowski sustained injuries in practice this week and their status is uncertain. The good news for MSU comes in the form of the return of sophomore defenseman Jon Gaskins, who will see his first action of the year in the GLI. Gaskins sustained a knee injury late last season and had seen no action at all this year due to blood clots, but was taken off blood thinners recently. One would expect that Gaskins' timing will be off somewhat due to the long layoff, but with the promise he showed last season, he should be back in the swing of things fairly quickly. And Michigan State will need the help. Due to the length of the WJT, Watt, York, and Bogas will most likely miss the Spartans' three-game series in Fair- banks against the Nanooks beginning on January 4. Those three games loom large on Michigan State's schedule, considering that the Spartans unexpectedly find themselves in second place, two points behind even-bigger-surprise Western Michigan with one game in hand. The Spartans finish the season with only 6 of 16 games at home (Bowling Green twice, Ferris State twice, Western Michigan, Notre Dame) and two neutral ice games at Joe Louis Arena (Lake Superior and Michigan, though the Spartans will be the road team both nights) to go with the 8 road contests (Alaska-Fairbanks thrice, Illinois-Chicago twice, Notre Dame, Western Michigan, and the season finale in Ann Arbor against the Wolverines on 1 March). MSU has done well against the bottom six in the CCHA (9-0, including three-game sweeps of Miami and Ohio State) but has been mediocre at best against the teams it is vying against for the CCHA crown (2-3, with two losses to Lake Superior). With seven more against the other contenders, the 1995-6 Green and White will have to find a way to beat the best, if they hope to play on their home ice in the NC$$ Tournament. G. M. Finniss Michigan State University 11-3-0, 14-5-0 PASS will telecast the two GLI semifinals live on Friday at 4:00 and 7:30 EST, with Michigan taking on woeful Northern Michigan in the afternoon tilt and Tech and State battling in the nightcap. The consolation and championship games, from what I've seen, will be tape-delayed on Saturday, due to the Pistons. HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.