Icers picked to finish in CCHA's lower half

The MSU hockey team was picked to finish ninth in the preseason CCHA coaches poll and eighth by the league’s media.

Michigan was picked to finish first in both polls, the first time the coaches and media have agreed in four years.

The coaches and media also agreed in the top five preseason selections — starting with U-M, followed by Notre Dame, Miami, Ohio State and Northern Michigan rounding out the top five.

Last year, the Spartans finished in a tie for 10th place (of 12 teams) in the CCHA standings, going 10-23-5 overall and 7-17-4 in conference.

During Tuesday’s Media Day, MSU head coach Rick Comley said he expects his team to be better than last year.

“The thing I can tell you, with a pretty good level of confidence, is that we are bigger, stronger, we are better and we are going to be more competitive,” Comley said. “How many wins that translates into, time will tell.”

The Spartans have a practice open to the public at 8 a.m. Saturday at Munn Ice Arena, giving fans an opportunity to watch the team’s first official full practice during the U-M tailgate.

The team’s annual Green and White game will be held Sunday and the Spartans will play their lone exhibition game on against Western Ontario at 7:05 p.m. Monday at Munn Ice Arena.