What's Happening in the CCHA (2/24/98).
What's Happening in the CCHA by Eric Abrams (2/24/98).

          Well, after a week or so off (computer broke), I'm back.  And, I can't say
          I'm very happy with the state of the CCHA.  Instead of spending this whole
          article bashing the CCHA refs, I'm going to use this space for another
          pastime, bashing the MooU (Michigan State) Fartans.

          MooU recently won 2 games from my Michigan Wolverines, and moved into first
          place in the CCHA.  Moreover, one of those wins got MooU coach Ron Mason
          his 800th NCAA win.  Why did this have to happen?  Here's my (somewhat) in
          depth look at the Spartans, player by player.

          Mike York - He wears #61 because he idolizes Pat LaFountaine (#16).  Why
          didn't he just wear #16?  The Fox Sports Detroit announcers spent a good
          5-10 minutes describing Mike York's affection for Patty.  York is one of
          the Spartan's leading scorers.  Not because he's a good hockey player mind
          you, but he spends 3/4 of a game cherry-picking at the blue-line.  Never
          plays defense to speak of.

          Chad Alban - Goalie.  Some people say he's a good contender for the Hobey
          Baker award, but I beg to differ.  I say that the only reason he has such a
          low GAA, and such a high save % is the D in front of him.  He's not that
          good of a goalie, but he has a hell of a defense to save him.  If he played
          for Michigan this year, his GAA would be much higher, and his save % would
          be much lower.

          Ron Mason - Coach.  He just recorded 800 wins, and I guess that's pretty
          impressive.  But, that's the only good thing about him.  He is trying to
          degrade College Hockey by using a neutral zone trap.  I, like many other
          people, say that the trap has no place in College Hockey.  I also wonder
          how he manages to stay so tan.  There's not that much sunny weather in East
          Lansing.

          (don't know first name) Gaskins - With his talent for diving, he could win
          an Olympic gold medal.  He got hit in the knee in the Friday game against
          Michigan, and went down.  After watching the replays, it became very
          obvious that the hit wasn't that hard, and that he was faking his injury.

          Rustyn Dolny - For a freshman, he's pretty good.  I think he's the number 3
          scorer on the team.  If he played for Michigan, I'd love him.

          Munn Ice Arena - Munn is a pit.  Or, more appropriatly, a dungy hole
          (Thanks Scott).  Besides having a crappy team call it home, the lighting
          sucks, and the ice is messed up.  I've played there 2 times.  The first
          time the ice was way too soft (practically puddles under my skates), and
          the second time the ice was way too hard (nobody could stop well).  Add to
          that the fact that you have to go through the stands to get to the locker
          rooms, the illegal benches (Munn has the home bench and penalty boxes on
          one side, visitor's bench on the other side) and the fact that they don't
          have a Zamboni (They have an olympia ice resurfacer, and it leaves behind a
          terrible stench) Munn is just an extremely terrible place.

          That does it for this issue of What's New in the CCHA.  Make sure you check
          out my Michigan Hockey page at http://www.quickdesign.com/hockey/       Until
          next time, have a great day, and GO BLUE!

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