Michigan State Hockey History

– A Legacy of Stability

The ’s origins trace back to 1922. The scholl has had remarkable stability with the hockey program only employing 5 coaches in its . They played the University of Michigan in the initial game and ended up losing 5-1. It ended up being just over a year before the Spartan hockey team would record its first victory on February 11th, 1923.

The Early Years

The school did not have a coach during the first two years of the program. The first coach was John Kobs who coached the team for 6 years and compiled a 8-18-1 record. After the season ended in 1931, the school did not participate in hockey until Harlod Paulson was hired in 1949. Unfortunately, the team did not do well under Paulson’s tutelage. Paulson struggled in his 2 seasons with a 6-25 record.

Succuss and Longevity with Amo Bessone

Athletic Director Ralph Young force Paulson’s resignation. Ralph Young then hired Amo Bessone. Coach Bessone went on to coach the hockey team for the next 28 years. His first 6 years, he struggled before turning things around in the 7th year.

The 1957-58 team enjoyed the schools first winning record. The following year in 1959, they won the Big Ten Championship and advanced to the final National Championship game. They ended up losing a tough game in overtime to North Dakota.

The 1965-66 hockey team was not a good team statistically but caught fire toward the end of the season winning 12 out of their last 15 games.  This included 2 games in the WCHA playoffs which allowed them to make the . In the national semi finals, they stunned highly favored Boston University 2-1.

In the National Championship game, they dominated Clarkston 6-1 and securing Michigan State’s first National Championship in hockey. It was a stunning achievement for a team that only 16 victories during the regular season. At the end of the 1978-79 season, Amo retired following 3 straight losing campaigns.

Incredible Success with

Ron Mason was hired to replace Amo Bessone and his success at the helm was unprecedented. Under Mason’s guidance, MSU dominated the CCHA. Spartans would win a national hockey title in 1986, seven CCHA regular season titles and 10 CCHA tournament titles. Also, the Spartans made 21 NCAA tournament, seven NCAA Frozen Fours and two National Championship appearances during the Ron Mason era. His record over 23 seasons was 635-270-69.

Inconsistency with Rick Comley

After the 2002 season ended, Ron Mason retired and announced Rick Comley would be the next head coach of the . Comley was hired away from where he developed a solid hockey program. His results at Michigan State have been mixed. When compared to Ron Mason which is difficult for anyone to follow a legend, some have called for Rick Comley’s firing.

He eased the tension when in 2006-07, the team upset number 1 Notre Dame in the tournament regional final and in the National Championship game, defeated Boston College 3-1 with Justin Abdelkader snapped a tie with 18.9 seconds to go giving MSU its first NCAA Hockey Championship since 1986.

Since that championship, the team has slipped back to mediocrity and has missed three years consecutively.

michiganstater.com

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