Inside College Hockey | Seen and Heard in the CCHA

November 20, 2008

By James V. Dowd

Michigan State goalie Jeff Lerg: Too good for his own good?

Michigan State goalie Jeff Lerg: Too good for the Spartans' good?

Playing How You Practice Hurting Michigan State? It’s no secret that Michigan State has struggled to score this season, as their 18 goals in 12 games ranks them in a tie for last in the CCHA and puts them 56th nationally. Defensively, however, the Spartans have played well, allowing 2.17 goals per game and sitting in the national top-20 for that category.

One key to the defense has been the goaltending of the stalwart Jeff Lerg, with impressive spot duty from freshman Drew Palmisano. And while the strong performance in net has kept the Spartans in a lot of games that might have been lost causes without Lerg or Palmisano, perhaps it’s hurting the confidence of Spartan shooters who face them daily in practice.

During his weekly press conference, coach Rick Comley semi-seriously joked that it may be time to bring in reinforcements in practice — ones that his forwards can beat.

“The only approach I can take is to work on basics and build on it, and try to set up situations in practice,” Comley said. “The problem is that our goaltending is so good, so that they don’t score in practice. How much is that hurting us in games, I wonder? Do I have to go get some guy off of the club team who can’t stop a beach ball so that they get some confidence from the guy? I don’t know.”

Spartan Injury Update: As if it wasn’t bad enough already, Michigan State will be shorthanded in this weekend’s roadtrip to Nebraska-Omaha. The Spartans will be without key forwards Andrew Conboy and Nick Sucharski, both of whom are out with shoulder injuries.

Conboy is likely to be back in the coming weeks. Sucharski’s separated shoulder is a more serious affair, as it’s the second time that it popped out, meaning he’ll most likely miss the rest of the season. Comley said he’s not 100-percent sure that Sucharski won’t come back, but it seems like the best option would be to have surgery, costing him this season, but allowing him to apply for a redshirt and come back the following season.

Sucharski is reportedly discussing his options with his family, doctors, family advisers, and the Columbus Blue Jackets, who drafted him in the fifth round of the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Carlson saves the day: Ohio State coach John Markell was happy that, in a season that’s been a little rough on his goaltending trio, he was able to count on sophomore Dustin Carlson yet again in Friday’s 4-0 victory over Robert Morris at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh.

The Buckeyes struggled offensively in the first half of the opening period, but Carlson held strong long enough to let Ohio State turn it around and take a lead.

“Our guys were given enough time to respond, and you want that from your goaltender,” Markell said. “It’s time for us to reciprocate and maybe bury a few pucks and make his job a little bit easier.”

Carlson gives credit for his success against Robert Morris and Michigan State the previous weekend to his defenseman playing strong in front.

“You want to weather the storm for your team and give them a chance to win,” Carlson said. “And they returned the favor in the second and third periods. They’ve been doing their job in front of me. The defense has been strong, they’re working hard down low and getting pucks clear, keeping guys to the outside.”

While many goalies will look to maintain quirky habits during a winning streak like Carlson’s present one, he prefers to just take things as they come and focus on the game.

“I go against superstition,” Carlson said. “They don’t do anything get in your head. I keep to my routine and visualizing, but trimming my beard, cutting my hair or eating something, it doesn’t really matter to me.”