It's rare in any conference when one can look back at a season and say that the biggest weekend of conference play came in December. However, that may be said this year in the CCHA, as 4 of the top 5 teams face off in a series of games that could go a long way toward deciding the eventual CCHA regular season champion and the home ice for the playoffs, where finishing 4th or 5th can be deadly with the new playoff format. Friday night, Western Michigan visits Michigan State in a game facing off at 6:45 pm (due to commencement) in what is at the moment a battle for first place. While it can be said that both teams have the potential to win the conference, one would be hard-pressed to find too many people who though these two teams would be battling for first at this juncture. The Broncos, while having a large number of freshmen, are led by seniors Jeremy Brown, Jamal Mayers, Chris Brooks, and Kyle Millar in scoring and by the play (somewhat surprising) of freshman goaltender Mark Magliarditi, who's carrying a save percentage over 92%. Western has already managed to pull off three major road upsets this season in conference play, at Michigan, at Lake Superior, and at Bowling Green, and they usually give Michigan State fits in Munn Ice Arena. Michigan State, supposedly in a rebuilding year, finds itself tied for first after a period of time that saw them win 10 of 11, the only loss coming in the College Hockey Showcase against Minnesota in overtime. Spreading the wealth around seems to be a tradition for the 1995-6 Green and White, who are seeing contributions from all four lines, from the blue line, and from players stepping in for the first time. While the line of Anson Carter, Mike Watt, and freshman Mike York lead the team in scoring, the Spartans get contributions from the crash line of Steve Ferranti (4 game-winners), Tony Tuzzolino, and Taylor Clarke, as well as from freshmen such as Bryan Adams and Mark Loeding (two goals in his debut Saturday at OSU) and Chris Bogas and Jeff Kozakowski on the blue line. While the 1995-6 Spartans on paper don't appear to have as much talent as the preceding year's team, the current crop of Spartans appear to work harder at making things happen, which has led them to a 13-4 record. The Spartans will be facing the Broncos (the only team besides UAF that they haven't played so far this season in conference) again in a home-and-home series in February. Meanwhile, the teams many expected to be battling for first at this time of the season, Lake Superior and Michigan, will be facing off in Ann Arbor (Prime Game of the Week) at 7:30. Saturday night sees a change in venue for three of the four contenders, with only Michigan State staying put. Lake Superior and Michigan both head out of Ann Arbor, LSSU for East Lansing and Michigan for K-zoo, where they will face Western for the third and final time during the regular season. The two split their earlier home-and-home series, with Western winning big at Ann Arbor, 7-2, followed by a Michigan win at Lawson Ice Arena, 3-2. Lake Superior heads into Munn for the second time this season, victorious in their first venture into Munn on 26 October by the final tally of 4-1. John Grahame, LSSU's sophomore netminder who has missed a large portion of the season, stymied Michigan State in the Spartan's last loss before the 10-of-11 string. The Lakers have been somewhat skittish of late, dropping home con- tests against WMU and Bowling Green and losing at Notre Dame before taking UIC out to the woodshed this weekend in the Soo. The Anchor-bearers come into Munn with a lineup that has less resemblance to the Rome telephone book than in past years. At the moment, the Lakers leading scorer is Sean Talliare, who finally appears to be ready to graduate (at least it seems that way to those of us who play against him) and who is backed up by the usual cast of characterswho don't light up the stats sheets but light the goal judge's lamp at key times. Their strong defense is anchored (no pun intended) by All-Galaxy defenseman Keith Aldridge (who's finally graduating this year, too) and one would expect the usual war-on-ice that occurs when the Lakers and the Spartans collide. All in all, it should be a very interesting weekend in the conference, to see if one team with two possible wins can open up a lead or tighten up the con- ference race. In a league where 5th place is almost a death sentence, two losses on a weekend like this could find you facing the wrong part of the Zamboni. G. M. Finniss Michigan State University 10-2-0, 13-4-0 Necessity for the college hockey traveler: http://www.nashville.net/speedtrap A list of the known speed traps in the 50 states and DC (there might be an extra "/" after "speedtrap" in that address). HOCKEY-L is for discussion of college ice hockey; send information to [log in to unmask], The College Hockey Information List.