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Howard is getting most of the starts and has done fine. He has a stinker of a game every once and a while but that's to be expected from a rookie. The AHL is a lot faster than the NCAA and it will take him some time to adjust. Liv started out slow but has a couple of shutouts in his last few games. One thing I will mention is that our old pal Drew MacIntyre is having a great year in Manitoba with a .921 svp, 2.31 gaa, and 2 shutouts. As for attendance, they're averaging 5500 a game. That's 10th in the league. I haven't been to any sellouts but it hasn't been empty either.

No matter how much things change, it's amazing how much things remain the same. As in past seasons, the Griffins are still an incredibly streaky team. They're equally capable of a 7 game losing streak (see November) or a 6 game win streak (see January). Another constant is one of the Miller brothers leads the team in scoring. This year it's Kip. They lost a few of their top players to the Wings and a lot of the new guys haven't stepped up so it's no wonder the team sitting in 4th... Biggest surprise so far is Jonathan Ericsson. He's a rookie but he leads the team in +/1 and is tied for 4th in scoring even though he's a defensemen.

Just ignore them. College hockey has a playoff system to determine a NC so the polls are irrelevant.

The MSU-UM game is at Joe Louis Arena.

MSU swept the weekend series against Alaska but they can't gain any ground against ND. It's starting to look like the best they can hope for is 2nd.

Another shutout by Liv last night to stretch the win streak to six. It was also the team's third straight home shutout.

The Griffins knocked off Philadelphia last night for their fifth straight win. At least one of my hockey teams is winning.

Here is the schedule (subject to change). I noticed they got the coaches scheduled from 2 to 6 a.m. Guess the players need their beauty sleep. SATURDAY, JAN. 13 10-11 p.m. - Griff 11 p.m.-Midnight - Matt Ellis SUNDAY, JAN. 14 Midnight-1 a.m. - Kip Miller 1-2 a.m. - Brad Norton 2-4 a.m. - Greg Ireland 4-6 a.m. - Jim Paek 6-7 a.m. - Jonathan Ericsson 7-8 a.m. - Ryan Keller 8-9 a.m. - Stefan Liv 9-10 a.m. - Jeff Campbell 10-11 a.m. - Josh Langfeld 11 a.m.-Noon - Dan Smith Noon-1 p.m. - Jimmy Howard, Ryan Oulahen 1-2 p.m. - Derek Meech, Kyle Quincey 2-3 p.m. - Darryl Bootland, Brock Radunske 3-4 p.m. - Scott Barney 4-5 p.m. - Eric Himelfarb 5-6 p.m. - Matt Hussey 6-7 p.m. - Jon Insana 7-8 p.m. - Brendan Brooks 8-9 p.m. - Danny Syvret 9-10 p.m. - Evan McGrath

I contacted Randy Cleves, the Griffins Public Relations Director, and he said they will post this information tomorrow on griffinshockey.com.

Here is some info on this year's Great Skate. Look about half way down the page. They will have a raffle, free refreshments, fire pits, and a warming tent. It doesn't say anything about when each player will appear. I'll fire off an e-mail to the Griffins and see if I get a reply.

Comley said the Spartans played their best game of the season against UM and it looks like the Spartan's pp is finally clicking after going 6 for 10 with the man advantage during the tourament. They've got two on the road against #2 Miami this weekend so the schedule's not getting any easier but a couple of wins there would help the Spartans close the gap with one of the league leaders.

The Spartans FINALLY swept a weekend series. On the road no less. It's about effing time. UM also dropped a pair. All in all a pretty satisfying weekend in the CCHA.

MSU-UM Round 3 tonight at Yost. Season series tied 1-1. MSU better start winning some of these road games.

Missing a chunk of your roster doesn't help. Several players were called up to the Red Wings to cover for injuries. Liv, Bootland, McGrath, and Norton were all missing at some point during this losing streak.

This is going to make watching the game tomorrow almost unbearable. I guarantee the broadcasters are going to turn their entire broadcast into one huge Schembechler tribute.

Hate to put a damper on eve of the big game, but ESPN is reporting Bo Schembechler was rushed to the hospital today. There's rumors he's gone. Edit: Looks like I've been scooped. Here's the link anyways... ESPN

I listened to the game on WYBR. No cash to go to the game and no television coverage. I will get to see the ND-MSU game Saturday. It's broadcast live on Comcast Local.

Not to take anything away from Lerg's performance but Ferris was in "chuck everything at the net and hopefully we'll get a lucky bounce" mode. Lots of weak shots from impossible angles. They had very few quality scoring chances. MSU has a big series this weekend aganst a strong Notre Dame team. Man, I thought I'd never make that statement. Until recently ND was the doormat of the CCHA. They've made huge strides with that program this year.

He had a 3 assist game against Philadelphia but besides that he's been almost invisible. However he is a + for the season so I really can't complain as he is just a rookie. I didn't expect him to jump in and lead the team in scoring or anything.

Don't count Ellis out yet. He was not considered any kind of prospect when he came out of majors. He wasn't even drafted. But he worked really hard at Toledo and impresed the coaches so much they sent him to the Griffins. His first year here wasn't much but he elevated his game again and had very good numbers the past two seasons. If he keeps working this hard, I don't see how some NHL team isn't going to give him a shot sooner or later. No one's ever going to confuse him with Sidney Crosby but he's a solid 2-way forward.

Nice win. Add the big 3-goal comeback Friday to force overtime and the Griffins picked up 3 of a possible 4 points on the road. You have to be happy with that.

The Green and White game is tomorrow night. Season starts 10/13 vs Western.

In case anyone is interested, the Griffins training camp starts Monday. All training sessions are open to the public. Training Camp Schedule

Kip may be old, but I wouldn't be surprised if he finished among the top five in scoring on this team.

Looks like Kip Miller is back. The Griffins also added Jeff Hamilton, Ryan Keller, and Mike Walsh. www.griffinshockey.com This is Miller's 4th time with the Griffins. He's a solid ppg guy and a former MSU Spartan so I'm always happy to see him on the team. As for the other guys, Keller and Walsh are prospects and Hamilton is a career minor leaguer who has played a handful of games for the Islanders.