Lighting the Lamp

In an online chat forum with the Detroit Free Press and its readers, head coach Tom Anastos said MSU hockey will have new home and away uniforms next season, along with a vintage uniform.

Anastos told the Free Press that renovations to Munn Ice Arena are being discussed, but the final decision will be based on “funding sources.”

MSU will play in next year’s Great Lakes Invitational Tournament, or GLI, outdoors at Comerica Park.

Current Detroit Red Wing and former MSU hockey player Justin Abdelkader will take the ice in a Team USA jersey this weekend for the International Ice Hockey Federation world championship in Finland and Sweden. He will join fellow Red Wing teammate Jimmy Howard.

Abdelkader played for the Spartans from 2005 to 2008 before signing with the Red Wings. During his time at MSU, he scored the game-winning goal in the 2007 NCAA Championship Game and led the team to a NCAA Division 1 National Championship.

The championship will run from May 4-20.

Senior defenseman Brock Shelgren has signed a professional contract with the Alaska Aces of the East Coast Hockey League, the athletics department announced Friday.

During his time at MSU, Shelgren played in 138 career games, compiling eight goals, 21 assists for a total of 29 points. Shelgren also finished his career with a plus-minus rating of plus-18.

In his senior season, Shelgren was named MSU’s CCHA Scholar-Athlete, marking the second time he earned the honor.

Shelgren was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection and was a 2010 Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.

On the Aces, Shelgren will be reunited with former Spartan Brandon Gentile (2005-08), who has tallied 13 points in 35 games for them this season.

As I wrote earlier in the week, junior defenseman Torey Krug decided to forgo his senior season and sign a professional contract with the Boston Bruins. And from early reports out of Boston, it seems like he’s fitting in nicely.

According to the Bruins’ Twitter account (@NHLBruins), the 5-foot-9, 180-pound defenseman participated in the “Cuts for a Cause” charity event with 17 of his new teammates on Wednesday. The event called for members of the Bruins to get their hair cut and heads shaved to raise money for the Boston Bruins Foundation and Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center.

According to a report by Boston.com, the event raised more than $58,000 for charity.

The event is just one of a series in Krug’s assimilation into the Bruins organization since he arrived in Boston on Monday. Krug also has participated in practices and team meetings with his the defending-Stanley Cup champions this week.

“I’m just trying to get my feet wet and get a little experience,” Krug said in a statement released by the Bruins on Monday. “At the same time, I hope I can push the guys in practice and do whatever I can do to help the team win. Obviously, the coaches will make that decision [to play], but I’m here and my goal is to compete and work 100 percent, 100 percent of the time.”

Ah, the classic and entirely cliché “100 percent, 100 percent of the time” mantra. Krug clearly hasn’t forgotten his roots at MSU.

But after a career in which he amassed 26 goals and 57 assists for 83 points in 114 career games and won the 2012 CCHA Player of the Year, his time for the Green and White will be hard to forget.

However, after three years of wearing No. 44, Krug will make the switch to No. 47. Of the switch, Krug told Boston media and Kevin Wilson (@KCWilson) — who initially tweeted it — “I’d like to think it’s a little bit of Bobby Orr and Ray Bourque, a mix of the two.”

Krug also sent out a series of tweets upon his arrival thanking the Spartan fan base for three years of support and expressing excitement for a chance to join his new team.

“To the Spartan fans, thank you for an amazing three years. I was spoiled to be part of the best university in the country,” Krug tweeted on Tuesday. “I will forever be a Spartan. There was no better place on the planet to spend my last three years. Thank you!!! I am excited to be part of the Boston Bruins organization where winning is expected! The opportunity provided to me has been unbelievable. I look forward to watching tonight’s game and learning the system and hearing the Bruins fans at the Garden!!!!!”

Former Spartan and current Elmira Jackals forward Dustin Gazley was named to the ECHL All-Rookie Team, the league announced on Wednesday.

The Novi, Mich. native led the league in points with 81, coming on 23 goals and 58 assists. According to the team’s website, the 23 year old also won ECHL Rookie of the Month award for February and received ECHL Player of the Week honors for the week of January 2nd.

During his time at MSU (2006-10), Gazley tallied 30 goals and 43 assists for 78 points in 153 career games and was a member of the 2007 national championship team that defeated Boston College.

Bridgport, Conn. – A game that seemed like it was as good as over as it entered the third period turned into an overtime nail-biter.

In the Eastern Regional NCAA Tournament game, the No. 3-seed Massachusetts-Lowell hockey team led the No. 2-seed Miami (Ohio) 2-0 heading into the second period, and 3-0 going into the third.

The Miami RedHawks scored two goals 14 seconds apart to narrow down
Massachusetts-Lowell’s lead. About halfway through the period, the
RedHawks struck again to tie up the game.

The two teams went to overtime, where the Massachusetts-Lowell River Hawks dominated Miami and won 4-3. Tomorrow, the River Hawks will face Union, who beat MSU 3-1 earlier in the day. The winner of that game will advance to the Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla.

Bridgeport, Conn. – Nine of MSU hockey’s seniors took the ice for the last time in a green and white Spartan jersey on Friday at Webster Bank Arena.

The senior class consists of defensemen Tim Buttery, Matt Crandell,
Brock Shelgren and A.J. Sturges, forwards Daultan Leveille, Mike
Merrifield, Trevor Nill and Brett Perlini and goaltender Drew Palmisano.

There also has been talk of junior defenseman Torey Krug leaving MSU
to pursue a career in the NHL, but he refused to comment.

Given Krug does not return for his senior year, the Spartans will have lost nine of the 20 players who were in the lineup for MSU’s East Regional NCAA Tournament game against Union – just under 50 percent.

Head coach Tom Anastos said he’s glad the younger players on the team got the experience of an NCAA Tournament early in the college careers and hopefully that will translate over into future seasons.

Bridgeport, Conn. – By being the respective leaders of their teams and prominent faces within the MSU athletics department, it’s hard not to draw comparisons between Torey Krug and Draymond Green.

With a tireless work ethic that captures the attention of fans, quotes that entertain the media and enough awards between them to fill the length of highway between Bridgeport, Conn. and East Lansing, it’s becomes increasingly difficult not to be a fan of the pair. As we found out earlier in the week on Twitter, the two are a fan of one another too.

But as the MSU hockey team fell to Union, 3-1, in the East Regional of the NCAA Tournament at Webster Bank Arena just a day after the MSU basketball team fell to Louisville in its own NCAA Tournament game in Phoenix, the two now have a little bit more in common than they thought.

Despite the disappointment of the loss and simultaneous elimination from the NCAA Tournament, Krug said Green has been a supporter of MSU hockey in its stretch run and he tries to support Green the same way.

“With Draymond Green, he’s an unbelievable representative of Michigan State University and he’s going root for us no matter what,” Krug said. “Maybe he had more of a liking for hockey? He’s going to root for anybody, any team at any given time. We started conversing a little more as of late. We had more to relate to now that we’re in the tournament. But I’ve seen him and I’ve had the upmost respect for him.”

Head coach Tom Anastos said the connection between Krug and Green goes back into the pursuit of knowledge from those who had more NCAA Tournament experience than anybody on his team did.

“Our whole focus was to try and get experience through talking to people who have had experience,” Anastos said. “I was talking to Ron Mason, talking to Tom Izzo. Torey spent time talking to Draymond Green and we were trying to get as much experience as we could coming into this.”

Bridgeport, Conn. – The No. 1-seed Union hockey team came out onto the ice against the No.4-seed MSU in the second period looking to widen their 1-0 lead, and that’s quickly what they did.

Just four minutes into the period, Union forward and leading
scorer Jeremy Welsh scored off a rebound from a shot by teammate forward Kyle Bodie.

A series of penalties occurred as the game neared the end of the
second period, and MSU cut the Union’s lead in half after a power play
goal by freshman forward Matt Berry with 38.7 seconds left in the
period.

Union has outshot MSU 22-13, and they lead 2-1 heading into the third period.

Bridgeport, Conn. – The No. 4-seed MSU hockey team trails the No.
1-seed Union 1-0 after the first period of the East Regional of the
NCAA Tournament game.

About halfway through the period, junior forward Dean Chelios received
a game misconduct after a boarding call. The five minute major was
served by freshman forward Tanner Sorenson.

With a minute left in the penalty, Union forward Daniel
Carr took a minor penalty to make the playing field an even
four-on-four.

Less than 20 seconds after Carr’s penalty, Union rebounded with a goal
scored by freshman forward Max Novak — his ninth of the season.

Following a scramble in front of Union’s net, MSU put the puck in the
net but officials declared it no goal due to a dislodged net, keeping
the score at 1-0 for the rest of the period.