MSU vs. Michigan hockey: Rivalry revival

EAST LANSING - Michigan State is off to a surprisingly good start to the college hockey season.

Michigan? Not so much.

The Spartans have been consistently praised by their coach for their competitiveness, work ethic and solid 7-2-1 record.

The 4-4 Wolverines, however, have been ripped by their coach for playing "like a bunch of spoiled brats" during an undisciplined performance in last Saturday's 5-1 loss to Miami at Yost Arena.

This weekend, MSU and U-M can forget the successes and failures of the first five weeks of the season and concentrate on each other.

The storylines are plentiful as the No. 13 Spartans and No. 6 Wolverines collide for the first time this season - at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Ann Arbor and at 7 p.m. Saturday at Munn Arena.

• First, there's the rivalry.

"Any win is great, but one against Michigan is always that much better,'' MSU senior captain Nick Sucharski said. "We beat them 1-0 at Yost (two years ago). That was a great feeling. I'd like to have that again.''

Some other storylines that will spice up one of the best rivalries in college hockey:

• The highly-publicized Corey Tropp-Steven Kampfer incident from the last time Spartans and Wolverines played - on Jan. 24, 2009 - and it's impact on this CCHA series.

• During their miserable season of 2008-2009, the Spartans went an embarrassing 0-5 against the Wolverines, failing to win at least one game from U-M for the first time since 1994-95.

• Michigan is coming off two frustrating losses against No. 1 Miami, 3-1 and 5-1. It's the first time U-M has been swept in a home series since 2001. In the third period Saturday, the Wolverines were assessed 51 minutes in penalties, including two 10-minute misconducts.

Of course, much of the pre-series talk by fans on Internet sites is about the reception Tropp will get from the Wolverines and Michigan fans in Ann Arbor.

Tropp was suspended for the last 10 games of the regular season and two playoff games for slashing at Kampfer's head while the Wolverine junior defenseman lay on the ice, after being horse-collared MSU freshman Andrew Conboy and thrown to the ice.

The ugly incident occurred late in U-M's 5-3 home victory and just after Kampfer's hard-but-clean open-ice hit on Tropp. Kampfer, who already had suffered head and neck injuries in an early-season, off-ice incident, did not miss any games.

Tropp, now a junior, sat out the rest of the season, rejoined the team in the summer and has gotten off to an excellent start this year. He's tied for the national scoring lead with eight goals and seven assists for 15 points and six minutes in penalties in 10 games.

Conboy also was suspended for the season. He left school and turned pro with the Montreal Canadiens organization and is currently playing with the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League.

Tropp was not available for interviews this week. But earlier this season, he talked briefly about the incident.

"I made it a mistake. That's not the player I am, and learned from it and have moved on,'' Tropp said.

MSU coach Rick Comley said he met with Tropp on Monday about the atmosphere he might expect at Yost Arena "and the importance of dealing with it properly.''

"He's fine,'' Comley said. "I don't think it'll be ugly. I think there will be a lot of verbal things directed at him but not anything more than that. Corey's reacted in a very positive way. Some lessons are tough lessons.

"I'm not concerned about anything other than just going down there and playing well enough to win.''

Michigan assistant coach Billy Powers said his team's focus is on the present.

"The reality is, probably for both teams, that (the incident) was put to bed pretty quickly a couple weeks after it happened,'' Powers said.

"It was unfortunate. There were a lot of things you didn't like about it, but we have moved on. Absolutely, there will be nothing involved this weekend that (comes) from what happened a year ago.''

MSU junior left wing Andrew Rowe said he's expecting only the usual intense, rough-and-tough games from the Wolverines.

"I have a couple friends on Michigan and, from what they say, they're past it. We're past it,'' said Rowe, who, along with MSU's Dustin Gazley, was a junior hockey teammate of Kampfer in 2005-2006 in Sioux City, Iowa, of the USHL.

"Last year is done, and everyone is fine. I'm sure their fans will have something to say.''

Nine Spartan freshmen will be experiencing the MSU-Michigan rivalry for the first time. U-M, mostly a junior-sophomore team, usually plays three rookies.

"I hear it's crazy down there,'' Spartans rookie left wing Derek Grant said. "I'm looking forward to it.''