Injury allows walk-on Schering to see time against Falcons

A new Spartans icer laced up the skates for the first time on Saturday night.

Junior forward Jacob Schering played in his first game for the Green and White after being added to the team just two weeks ago.

Schering dressed due to the bruised ribs sophomore forward Dustin Gazley suffered on Friday night.

With Gazley’s status unknown, Schering might again dress for the Spartans when they take on No. 2 Notre Dame this weekend.

MSU head coach Rick Comley added the Trenton native to the team to combat the injury-ridden lineup and to have more healthy bodies to practice with.

Schering first got the attention of Comley by writing him a letter requesting a tryout to attempt to earn a spot on the team.

Comley’s attention was grabbed when he saw Schering was named a Mr. Hockey candidate by MichiganHockeyOnline.com in his senior season at Trenton High School — an honor shared by fellow teammate Tim Buttery.

Comley said he likes Schering’s work ethic in practice and was impressed by his hard work on Saturday night.

“I had trouble getting him on the ice in the first period,” Comley said. “He went out there and didn’t embarrass himself and gave us some minutes.”

Senior goaltender Jeff Lerg was also impressed with Schering’s performance.

“It was good for him,” Lerg said. “He got in there right away and he got some good ice time. Hopefully there is a future for him if he keeps working hard.”

While Schering only played a handful of shifts for the Spartans, he didn’t look lost or out of position.

However, on his first collegiate shift, he did take a penalty which resulted in a Bowling Green goal.

He was backchecking and marked the Bowling Green forward in front of the Spartans net. But the referee deemed his stick-work to be too aggressive and he was given a two minute penalty for hooking.

Schering was able to draw a penalty later in the second period. But the Spartans didn’t capitalize, as the Green and White went a dismal 1-for-11 on the power play over the course of the weekend.

If Gazley returns this weekend, Schering will likely be a healthy scratch.

But it had to be quite a thrill to get on the ice after having absolutely no affiliation with the team less than a month ago.