National champs unveil '07-08 schedule

Twenty home games and 11 contests against NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago are the highlights of Michigan State 's 37-game schedule for 2007-08. The defending National Champions will take on teams from four of the six Division I hockey conferences, including three perennial powers in the WCHA.

The Spartans' CCHA cluster in the CCHA schedule will include Northern Michigan and Lake Superior State in addition to rivalry partner Michigan . MSU went 4-0 against NMU and Lake State in 2006-07, and was 2-3-1 in the six meetings with the Wolverines (1-2-1 in games which counted in the CCHA standings).

"We are very happy our schedule - we have quality non-conference games, and we expect it to be another very competitive year within the CCHA," noted Spartan head coach Rick Comley. "We'll have Michigan in our building twice this year, and the College Hockey Showcase games against Minnesota and Wisconsin as well. It's a Big Ten flavor, and something I think our fans will be happy to see.

"We'll play three teams from the WCHA - in addition to the Big Ten teams, we'll travel and play North Dakota , which has been in the Frozen Four the last three seasons. I think the games between the WCHA and CCHA are significant games that are good for our players - as coaches, it serves as a great gauge of where you are as a team."

Fans will get a first look at the Spartans on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 7, at the annual Green & White game. A Tuesday-evening exhibition against the University of Windsor follows on Oct. 9 as a final tuneup before the regular season begins.

Michigan State tangles with North Dakota in Grand Forks on Saturday, Oct. 13 in the US Hockey Hall of Fame Game. The 2006-07 National Championship squad will be honored the following weekend during a two-game home series with ECAC-member Colgate (Oct. 19-20), which serves as the official home opener as well. A home set with Northern Michigan will close out the season's opening month, as the Wildcats come to Munn on Oct. 26-27.

November opens with a trip to the CCHA's furthest outpost - Fairbanks , Alaska - for a series with the Nanooks on Nov. 2-3. Three straight home weekends follow - a pair of two-game series' against Atlantic Hockey member Mercyhurst (Nov. 9-10), and Miami (Nov. 15-16). The set against Miami is a Thursday-Friday pairing.

An annual gem on the Spartan schedule is the College Hockey Showcase - MSU's yearly meetings with Big Ten rivals Minnesota (Nov. 23) and Wisconsin (Nov. 24) the weekend after Thanksgiving. The showcase wraps up a stretch of 10 of MSU's first 13 games in the friendly confines of Munn Arena.

November ends - and December begins - with a series at Lake Superior State (Nov. 30-Dec. 1) The squad will play a home-and-home with Ferris State on Dec. 7-8 which will serve as the final pre-holiday action for the team.

The 43rd annual Great Lakes Invitational at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit (Dec. 28-29) pits MSU against Michigan Tech in the first round. The Spartans, the defending champions and 11-time titlists, will look to move on to the championship game against either Michigan or Providence.

Three straight home games are on the docket to start January - a two-game set with clustermate Lake Superior on Jan. 4-5 and the front-end of a home-and-home with defending CCHA regular and tournament champion Notre Dame (Jan. 11). The game in South Bend on Jan. 12 is the first of four straight on the road for Michigan State, continuing with a series in Columbus against Ohio State (Jan. 18-19) and the only game of the season in Ann Arbor against archrival Michigan on Jan. 25. The Wolverines play the first of two games against the Spartans in East Lansing on Jan. 26 to close out the month's action.

Ten games in the regular-season's final 30 days will well-prepare the Spartans for the postseason. Nebraska-Omaha comes to town for a set (Feb. 1-2) to open the slate, followed by a pair at Northern Michigan (Feb. 8-9). The final six games will be contested as home-and-away series, with home games in the Friday night matchups. The first comes against Western Michigan on Feb. 15-16; Michigan follows at Munn on Feb. 22, with the annual game at Joe Louis Arena the following evening (Feb. 23). The regular season concludes with a series against Bowling Green (Feb. 29-March 1).

The CCHA Tournament begins with first-round games March 7-9 on campus sites, with the quarterfinal round being contested the following weekend (March 14-16), also on campus. These first two rounds are best-of-three series. The CCHA Championship weekend will be March 21-22 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit .

The selection show for the 2008 NCAA Tournament will be held on March 23, with the regionals beginning on Friday, March 28. Games in Albany, N.Y. and Colorado Springs, Colo. will be held on March 28-29, while the regionals in Worcester, Mass. , and Madison, Wis. will be March 29-30. The Frozen Four will be contested April 10-12 in Denver, Colo. at the Pepsi Arena. Denver University will serve as host.

Printable schedule

Recruit to join Huskies in December

Casey Pierro-Zabotel was slated to skate for the Michigan Tech Huskies in the fall, but due to being considered a partial qualifier according to NCAA elegibility standards, he will instead join the team in December.

This is a big hit to the team as Pierro-Zabotel, an 18-year-old center from Ashcroft, B.C., was expected to make an impact early in the season.

Jamie Russell, head coach of the Huskies, said his team will work around this adversity.

"I am very proud of Casey for his belief and commitment to earning acollege education," Russell said. "Obviously, he is a great hockey player, but he truly believes in receiving his education. Although this isn't an ideal situation, it could be a great opportunity in the long run. Not only will he be able to combine his education with a Division I hockey career, it will help him move towards achieving his goal of playing in the NHL."

Pierro-Zabotel was a third-round pick, 80th overall, last month at the NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Huskies will have to make it through the early season with out their top recruit, but could welcome him as early as the December 15 game against Northern Michigan.

Information courtesy Michigan Tech Athletics and photo courtesy NHL.

Porter staying for senior season at U-M

Exhale Michigan hockey fans.

Kevin Porter isn't going anywhere.

The rising senior captain won't sign with the Phoenix Coyotes this summer according to the NHL club's official website.

After the early departures of Jack Johnson and Andrew Cogliano earlier this year, rumors circulated that Porter would be the next to jump to the NHL without fulfilling all four years of his eligibility.

Porter announced his intentions while working out at the Coyotes' prospect camp last week. Joining Porter at the camp were Michigan teammates and fellow Phoenix draft picks Chad Kolarik and Chris Summers.

Coming off a junior season in which he set personal bests in goals (24) and assists (34), Porter will have to live up to high expectations. The Northville native will be relied upon to help fill the offensive void created by Cogliano's departure and T.J. Hensick's graduation and lead a young Michigan team through a tough early-season schedule.

Porter is one of two seniors on the Wolverines' roster along with Kolarik.

Article courtesy USCHO

Maroon officially spurns Bulldogs

By MORRIS DALLA COSTA
LONDON FREE PRESS

Patrick Maroon has confirmed what everyone has been speculating about for months: He's coming to London to play this season with the Knights.

Maroon was selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth round (161st overall) in last month's National Hockey League draft. He was London's second pick in the 11th round of the 2004 Ontario Hockey League draft, but opted to play in the United States. He was supposed to play at Ferris State this year, but will come to London instead.

"I'm going to London because that's what's best for my career," Maroon said. "I'm not sure when I'm coming but I'm looking forward to it. I can hardly wait."

Last season, Maroon scored 40 goals and 95 points with 152 penalty minutes and was named MVP of the North American Hockey League. He topped playoff scoring with 10 goals and 23 points in 12 games and led the St. Louis Bandits to the title.

Maroon is a late bloomer who has had issues with his skating and conditioning. But a new dedication to training has seen him drop more than 30 pounds.

"I'm still working on it," he said. "I want to lose a little more. But I feel . . . good. It's made a big difference."

Maroon said the decision on whether to go to Ferris State or come to London was difficult, even though he still needed additional credits before he could get into the university.

"In the end, I just felt that it would be better for me to play in the OHL because I'd heard so much about it and how they get players ready," he said. "Philadelphia (Flyers) gave me some advice, but it was pretty much my own decision."

Maroon is 19 and can play two years in the league. At six-foot-four and 228 pounds, he's a big winger who has the ability to play the off wing.

"We're happy to have him," said Mark Hunter, Knights general manager who's team is looking to get a little bigger than last year. "But it isn't just size. He has good hands, good skills. He can pass the puck. He's a go-to guy."

Hunter said Maroon is a first- or second-line centre.

"He's a difference maker. He can beat guys one-on-one," he said. "There's some things he needs to clean up. He needs to get himself in better shape and then his skating will get better but he's working on it."

Maroon knows exactly what he needs to work on. "Skating," he said. "I skate two times a week right now and I work out every day."

Maroon just got back from the Flyers prospects camp held last week.

JULY 17 - Confirmed by the Knights