With the MSU Invite just over a week away, it’s time to look at the competition for the #6 Spartans.
-#14 Bowling Green (0-3-0) has typically played well against the Spartans in the past, and they usually take the first point from MSU. This could be bad for State, as they are also a slow starting team in tournaments. So when you mix those two facts, it’s very easy to see the Falcons jumping out to a lead next Sunday. BGSU has done poorly against Michigan schools the past three seasons however. They’ve been outscored a combined 41-7 in 9 games against Great Lakes State foes. The most points they’ve scored in a match against Michigan schools is 2 (this year against SVSU). Bowling Green in general is a school that has had a hard time putting points on the board. They’ve only scored 23 points since the start of last season, with highs of 4 (against Depaul and Northwestern State). Part of this may be due to their tough schedule, but it also may be the fact that they’re lacking in power arms and tend to rely more on defense.
-#9(t) Depaul (1-1-0) has played two matches against Moody this season. This will be their first trip outside of Chicago this year, but their fourth straight appearance at the MSU Invite. They’ve had moderate success in East Lansing, last year they were competitive against OSU and Kent, beat Eastern Michigan, and lost to Michigan State, which is a major improvement over their showing in 2010. The Blue Demons are known for their uptempo style play, which leads to them giving up a lot of points but also for them to have the ability to score some points as well. However, Depaul has never won more than 4 games under the new NHL style points format, and out of the schools attending the tournament they’ve only beaten Moody.
-#9(t) Moody (1-1-0) hasn’t left the state of Illinois other than competing at Nationals, so this will be an interesting test for them. The Archers have had success in their first two seasons as a club, but they still need to get a win against a top team. Last year they went 5-7, but their seven losses were against GVSU, SVSU, MSU, Kent State, WKU, CMU, and Kentucky. There is no shame losing to those schools, as they were probably 7 of the top 9 teams in the country last year, but eventually one would like to see Moody take down a top ranked team. With a strong cast of players, and momentum coming from their recent victory over Depaul, this could be the breakthrough that Moody’s been waiting for.
-#8 Central Michigan (2-1-0) got trounced in their first match of the season (7-1 against Grand Valley) but rebounded nicely with victories over BGSU and Miami. The fact that they’re 9-0 in their last 9 games against the Spartans looms large over Michigan State, but even then the point differential cannot be much higher than 11 (we unfortunately do not have the records from the 2009-2010 season, but the battles that season were along the lines of every other season). The Chips have also gone through a drastic change in their roster, losing Captains/All-Stars/All-NCDA performers in Pat Fisher and Eric Sweet. CMU recently beat both Kent State and Moody at Nationals 2012, so they could be favored to advance from their pool. If the Spartans and Chippewas do end up playing, look forward to yet another duel in the nation’s most underrated rivalry.
-#1 Kent State (7-2-0) has had a weird start to the season. As expected, they are #1, but they have put up some very weird scorelines. For a team that used to play very free-flowing and uptempo, they’ve slowed it down and are now focused on ball possession and blocking. They’ve scored 22 points in their first 9 games this season, last year through 9 they scored 24 (take away the 7 point outbursts each year against Towson and their scoring is a lot lower.) This may be attributed to the fact that the league itself is forming into a more defense oriented league after the success of Grand Valley, but it may just be a change in philosophy as well. Is it working for Kent State is the question? They are the only team that’s put up a point on Kentucky’s A-team so far this season, and they were able to beat James Madison without 5 varsity players. However, they were blanked by Michigan State and were forced to OT by a very undermanned SVSU squad. Is the defense and ball possession approach working? Probably. But considering that’s almost every team’s M.O. right now, maybe they would be better to shake things up a little bit.