Icers earn No. 3 seed, will play Colo. College Friday

Last year, the MSU hockey team found itself within driving distance of East Lansing when it landed in Grand Rapids as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Outside of another No. 3 seed, announced Sunday, things couldn’t be more different this year.

The Spartans will head to Colorado Springs, Colo., to face host Colorado College at 10 p.m. Friday in the West Regional semifinals.

“I’m really happy with our bracket,” senior captain Bryan Lerg said. “It’s one game at a time and I think there are no downfalls to ours.”

Not only will a hostile environment await MSU, the team also will have to deal with playing on an Olympic-size ice sheet and with increased elevation.

Despite all that, MSU head coach Rick Comley is confident.

“We play well against teams that attack,” Comley said. “CC is an attack-oriented team so I think that’s good for us.”

After a strong regular season, the Tigers stumbled in the postseason, finishing fourth in the WCHA Final Five.

Colorado College went into the week ranked No. 2 in the country.

“I haven’t seen them, but everyone says they have a great goaltender, they have speed, they attack, they have skill, they can score goals,” Comley said. “They are coming off a tough tournament, but it’s not that they played poorly. They’re a very dangerous team.”

The Spartans will go into the game without playing two of the three previous weekends.

“Colorado College is a team that’s going to bring a lot of speed,” Lerg said. “It sounds like their goalie is unbelievable. That’s the main concern.”

Both Comley and junior forward Justin Abdelkader cited scoring first as one of the keys to beating the Tigers.

“We can’t get caught in the run-and-gun type hockey,” Abdelkader said.

Along with MSU, three other CCHA teams earned bids into the tournament. Michigan received the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed and will play in the East Regional, while Miami (Ohio) is the No. 1 seed in the Northeast Regional. Notre Dame will play New Hampshire in the West Regional with the winner facing the winner of the game between MSU and Colorado College.

“With the way college hockey has been this year, even though some teams might be favored, I don’t think anybody’s safe,” Comley said. “You’re going to have to play very well.”

Published on Sunday, March 23, 2008