1985–86 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey season

Sports season March 2026 August 2023 color:white; background:#007A53 white white Michigan State Spartans white 1985–86 Michigan State Spartans men CCHA 1st 34–9–2 23–7–2 20–1–2 9–7–0 5–1–0 Ron Mason Terry ChristensenGeorge Gwozdecky Don McSweenMichigan State Spartans 2018-19 Hockey Media Guide https://s3.amazonaws.com/msuspartans.com/documents/2018/10/11/2018_19_Hockey_media_guide_for_WEB.pdf Michigan State Spartans March 18, 2019 January 23, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190123191030/https://s3.amazonaws.com/msuspartans.com/documents/2018/10/11/2018_19_Hockey_media_guide_for_WEB.pdf dead Mitch MessierKevin Miller Munn Ice Arena National champion1986 Great Lakes Invitational champion1986 CCHA Champion 1986 NCAA tournament champion 1984–85 1986–87 color:white; background:#007A53 background:#eeeeee; The 1985–86 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey team represented Michigan State University in college ice hockey. In its 7th year under head coach Ron Mason the team compiled a 34–9–2 record and reached the NCAA tournament for the eighth time in its history. The Spartans defeated Harvard 6–5 in the championship game at the Providence Civic Center in Providence, Rhode Island. Season Michigan State entered the 1985–86 season seeking to overcome previous postseason frustrations. Despite winning four conference tournament titles, the Spartans had failed to advance past the national quarterfinals in three of those instances, leading to public scrutiny regarding Ron Mason's ability to succeed in the NCAA tournament. Although the team lost its top three highest-scoring players from the previous season, they retained the goaltending duo of Bob Essensa and Norm Foster who had helped the Spartans set a new NCAA record with 38 wins. Due to the roster lacking in senior leadership, the captaincy went to junior defenseman Don McSween. To offset the loss of veteran experience, the program recruited a highly touted freshman class featuring top prospect Joe Murphy along with seven other freshmen who would see significant ice time with the Spartans. Early season struggles MSU got off to a good start with a pair of road wins over Ohio State before splitting a home-and-home with a surging Western Michigan squad. After three wins and a tie against lesser programs, the Spartans took on arch-rival Michigan and split another home-and-home series. After a week of exhibition matches against the Canadian National Team MSU again split a weekend series and while their home record was stellar they had dropped to 3–3 on the road. That mark wasn't improved when they split another road series against the normally hapless Illinois–Chicago and then dropped both road games against a good Lake Superior State team. The Spartans were able to recover a bit in the conference standings with a pair of home wins against the Buckeyes and lift their record to 11–6–1 before losing in their first non-conference game of the year to the former CCHA team Northern Michigan, their only home loss of the season. Great Lakes Invitational Michigan State entered the Great Lakes Invitational having won the previous 3 years but the team was in need of a shock to the system to shake it out of its doldrums. They got just that when they were pushed to the limit in the semifinal by WCHA bottom-feeder Michigan Tech, escaping with a 2–1 win in overtime. The next night it was almost as if a different team hit the ice when the Spartans cruised to an 8–3 win in the championship over defending national champions Rensselaer. Don McSween was named MVP of the tournament. Charging up the standings Michigan State had a good deal of ground to make up in the second half of their season and the kicked it off with a sweep of Western Michigan and Miami they were slowed down by Ferris State and Michigan who provided MSU with a tie and loss respectively, but the Spartans were buoyed by playing 7 of their final 8 games at home and they took every game to finish the season at 23–7–2 in CCHA play, one win ahead of both Western Michigan and Bowling Green. The biggest standout for the year was former walk-on Mike Donnelly who had amassed a huge number of goals and was beginning to draw attention from NHL scouts. CCHA tournament The Spartans entered the CCHA tournament against Michigan and while the Wolverines had beaten MSU twice both had been in the Wolverine's arena and with Michigan State playing host the Spartans were able to drop Michigan in both games to take the quarterfinal series. Michigan State headed down the road to Detroit for the championship rounds, and faced stiff competition from lake Superior State but the Spartans edged out the Lakers 3–2 in overtime. In the championship game the following night MSU's offense, which finished second-best in the nation, failed them and they could only manage a single goal against Western Michigan's Bill Horn, ending their 4-year reign as CCHA tournament champion. NCAA tournament Fortunately, the Spartans had played well enough over the course of the season to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They had played so well, in fact, that they were seeded ahead of Western Michigan and would play at home in the quarterfinal round. MSU used the massive home advantage they had to beat Boston College in both games and advance to the Frozen Four. In the semifinal MSU was met by perennial power Minnesota who had upset the top eastern seed Boston University in the quarters. Both teams were built around scoring and that fact shone through the game; Michigan State won the match 6–4 with Norm Foster turning aside 42 shots.Fast finish for the Spartans https://www.si.com/vault/1986/04/07/643900/fast-finish-for-the-spartans Sports Illustrated April 7, 1986 October 18, 2019 With the win Michigan State made its first championship game in 20 years and only had Harvard left to stop them. Before the game had even started, however, MSU gained an advantage over the Crimson; Hobey Baker Award winner Scott Fusco had injured his knee in the other semifinal and couldn't play in the final.N.C.A.A. HOCKEY; MICHIGAN ST. BEATS HARVARD FOR TITLE https://www.nytimes.com/1986/03/30/sports/ncaa-hockey-michigan-st-beats-harvard-for-title.html The New York Times March 30, 1986 October 18, 2019 Despite missing their best player, Harvard got off to a fast start gaining a 2–0 lead by the 8-minute mark. MSU cut the lead in half at the end of the first but Allen Bourbeau scored his second goal of the night to give the Crimson their 2-goal lead back. Harvard's third goal was scored on just their seventh shot of the night and it looked as if the Spartans were outclassed. Not to be deterred, however, Jeff Parker cut the lead back to one with Bourbeau's third of the night coming 10 minutes later. Mike Donnelly scored his 58th goal of the season just before the end of the second to give MSU a fighting change in the final period. Sure enough MSU's offense came through when needed and two freshman found the back of the net before the three-minute mark to give the Spartans their first lead of the night. Harvard responded with the tying goal four minutes later and the two teams fought furiously to regain the lead. with just under three minutes to play Donnelly scored his second of the game to give MSU the lead and the Spartans held on to win the national championship. Awards and honors Mike Donnelly was awarded the Tournament MOP and was joined by Norm Foster, Don McSween and Jeff Parker on the All-Tournament Team. Donnelly was also named to the AHCA All-American West First Team while McSween was named to the Second Team. Donnelly and McSween both made it onto the All-CCHA First Team while Bob Essensa made the Second team. Joe Murphy was awarded the CCHA Rookie of the Year and would become the first college player to be take first overall in the NHL entry draft. Murphy was joined by 12 of his teammates from the 1985–86 Spartans, an astounding number of NHL players for a college team. Mike Donnelly's 59 goals was the highest total scored since the NCAA created Division I in 1973. Only Phil Latreille has scored more in a season, doing so in the early 1960s, before there were any divisions in college ice hockey. Rick Tosto became the first player in NCAA history to win national titles with two separate teams. After winning with Renssealer in 1985 he transferred closer to his home of Dearborn Heights, Michigan and won with the Spartans. Standings MSU Schedule |- !colspan=12 style="color:white; background:#007A53" | Regular season October 11 w yes 1985 men Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State OSU Ice Rink Columbus, Ohio 6–2 1–0 1–0 October 12 w yes 1985 men Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State OSU Ice Rink Columbus, Ohio 5–2 2–0 2–0 October 18 l yes 1985 men Western Michigan Broncos Western Michigan Lawson Arena Kalamazoo, Michigan 1–5 2–1 2–1 October 19 w no 1985 men Western Michigan Broncos Western Michigan Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 4–3 3–1 3–1 October 25 w no 1985 men Miami Redskins Miami Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 5–2 42–1 4–1 October 26 w no 1985 men Miami Redskins Miami Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 7–2 5–1 5–1 November 1 t no 1985 men Ferris State Bulldogs Ferris State Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 5–5 OT 5–1–1 5–1–1 November 2 w yes 1985 men Ferris State Bulldogs Ferris State Ewigleben Arena Big Rapids, Michigan 5–3 6–1–1 6–1–1 November 8 l yes 1985 men Michigan Wolverines Michigan Yost Ice Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan 4–5 6–2–1 6–2–1 November 9 w no 1985 men Michigan Wolverines Michigan Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 6–2 7–2–1 7–2–1 November 15 w no Canadian National Team Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan exhibition 3–5 7–2–1 7–2–1 November 16 w no Canadian National Team Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan exhibition 5–4 OT 7–2–1 7–2–1 November 22 w no 1985 men Bowling Green Falcons Bowling Green Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 4–3 OT 8–2–1 8–2–1 November 23 l yes 1985 men Bowling Green Falcons Bowling Green BGSU Ice Arena Bowling Green, Ohio 5–6 OT 8–3–1 8–3–1 November 28 w yes 1985 men UIC Flames Illinois–Chicago UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois 6–4 9–3–1 9–3–1 November 29 l yes 1985 men UIC Flames Illinois–Chicago UIC Pavilion Chicago, Illinois 2–3 9–4–1 9–4–1 December 6 l yes 1985 men Lake Superior State Lakers Lake Superior State Taffy Abel Arena Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan 3–7 9–5–1 9–5–1 December 7 l yes 1985 men Lake Superior State Lakers Lake Superior State Taffy Abel Arena Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan 5–6 OT 9–6–1 9–6–1 December 14 w no 1985 men Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 6–5 OT 10–6–1 10–6–1 December 15 w no 1985 men Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 8–0 11–6–1 11–6–1 December 19 l yes no 1985 men Northern Michigan Wildcats Northern Michigan Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 2–3 11–7–1 11–6–1 |- !colspan=12 style="color:white; background:#007A53" | #FFFFFF Great Lakes Invitational December 28 w yes yes 1985 men Michigan Tech Huskies Michigan Tech Joe Louis Arena Detroit, Michigan Tournament Semifinal 2–1 OT 12–7–1 11–6–1 December 29 w yes yes 1985 men RPI Engineers Rensselaer Joe Louis Arena Detroit, Michigan Tournament championship 8–3 13–7–1 11–6–1 January 4 w no 1985 men Western Michigan Broncos Western Michigan Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 4–2 14–7–1 12–6–1 January 5 w yes 1985 men Western Michigan Broncos Western Michigan Lawson Arena Kalamazoo, Michigan 8–5 15–7–1 13–6–1 January 10 w yes 1985 men Miami Redskins Miami Goggin Ice Arena Oxford, Ohio 8–3 16–7–1 14–6–1 January 11 w yes 1985 men Miami Redskins Miami Goggin Ice Arena Oxford, Ohio 6–3 17–7–1 15–6–1 January 17 w yes 1985 men Ferris State Bulldogs Ferris State Ewigleben Arena Big Rapids, Michigan 8–6 18–7–1 16–6–1 January 18 t no 1985 men Ferris State Bulldogs Ferris State Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 9–9 OT 18–7–2 16–6–2 January 24 w no 1985 men Michigan Wolverines Michigan Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 7–5 19–7–2 17–6–2 January 25 l yes 1985 men Michigan Wolverines Michigan Yost Ice Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan 3–5 19–8–2 17–7–2 January 31 w yes no 1985 men Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Northern Arizona Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 12–2 20–8–2 17–7–2 February 1 w yes no 1985 men Northern Arizona Lumberjacks Northern Arizona Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 9–3 21–8–2 17–7–2 February 7 w yes 1985 men Bowling Green Falcons Bowling Green BGSU Ice Arena Bowling Green, Ohio 7–4 22–8–2 18–7–2 February 8 w no 1985 men Bowling Green Falcons Bowling Green Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 6–4 23–8–2 19–7–2 February 14 w no 1985 men UIC Flames Illinois–Chicago Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 4–2 24–8–2 20–7–2 February 15 w no 1985 men UIC Flames Illinois–Chicago Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 7–2 25–8–2 21–7–2 February 21 w no 1985 men Lake Superior State Lakers Lake Superior State Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 8–5 26–8–2 22–7–2 February 22 w no 1985 men Lake Superior State Lakers Lake Superior State Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan 5–4 27–8–2 23–7–2 |- !colspan=12 style="color:white; background:#007A53" | #FFFFFF CCHA tournament February 28 w yes no 1985 men Michigan Wolverines Michigan Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan CCHA Quarterfinal game 1 4–3 28–8–2 23–7–2 March 1 w yes no 1985 men Michigan Wolverines Michigan Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan CCHA Quarterfinal game 2 5–2 29–8–2 23–7–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" |colspan=12|Michigan State Wins Series 9-5 March 7 w yes yes 1985 men Lake Superior State Lakers Lake Superior State Joe Louis Arena Detroit, Michigan CCHA Semifinal 3–2 OT 30–8–2 23–7–2 March 8 l yes yes 1985 men Western Michigan Broncos Western Michigan Joe Louis Arena Detroit, Michigan CCHA championship 1–3 30–9–2 23–7–2 |- !colspan=12 style="color:white; background:#007A53" | #FFFFFF NCAA tournament March 22 w yes no 1985 men Boston College Eagles Boston College Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan National Quarterfinal game 1 6–4 31–9–2 23–7–2 March 23 w yes no 1985 men Boston College Eagles Boston College Munn Ice Arena East Lansing, Michigan National Quarterfinal game 2 4–2 32–9–2 23–7–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" |colspan=12|Michigan State Wins Series 10-6 March 27 w yes yes 1985 men Minnesota Golden Gophers Minnesota Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island National Semifinal 6–4 33–9–2 23–7–2 March 29 w yes yes 1985 men Harvard Crimson Harvard Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island National championship 6–5 34–9–2 23–7–2 Source: Michigan State Spartans 2018-19 Hockey Media Guide https://s3.amazonaws.com/msuspartans.com/documents/2018/10/11/2018_19_Hockey_media_guide_for_WEB.pdf Michigan State Spartans March 18, 2019 January 23, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190123191030/https://s3.amazonaws.com/msuspartans.com/documents/2018/10/11/2018_19_Hockey_media_guide_for_WEB.pdf dead Roster and scoring statistics No.Name Year Position Hometown S/P/C Games Goals Assists Pts #FFFFFF PIM 14 Mike Donnelly Senior LW Detroit, MI Michigan 44 59 38 97 65 8 Kevin Miller Kevin Miller (ice hockey) Sophomore RW Lansing, MI Michigan 45 19 52 71 112 12 Mitch Messier Junior RW Regina, SK Saskatchewan 38 24 40 64 36 9 Joe Murphy Joe Murphy (ice hockey) Freshman C London, ON Ontario 35 24 37 61 50 16 Bill Shibicky 1 Junior F Burnaby, BC British Columbia 44 17 39 56 104 27 Brian McReynolds Freshman C Penetanguishene, ON Ontario 45 14 24 38 78 5 Don McSween Junior D Detroit, MI Michigan 45 9 29 38 18 11 Jeff Parker Jeff Parker (ice hockey) Junior RW White Bear Lake, MN Minnesota 41 15 20 35 88 21 Tom Tilley ice hockey Sophomore D Trenton, ON Ontario 42 9 25 34 48 17 Bruce Rendall 1 Freshman LW Thunder Bay, ON Ontario 45 14 18 32 68 7 Danton Cole Freshman RW Pontiac, MI Michigan 43 11 10 21 22 15 Bobby Reynolds Bobby Reynolds (ice hockey) Freshman RW Fenton, MI Michigan 45 9 10 19 26 4 Brad Beck 1 Senior D Vancouver, BC British Columbia 41 3 15 18 40 10 Geir Hoff Freshman LW Bergen, NOR Norway 39 3 11 14 14 3 Brad Hamilton 1 Freshman D Calgary, AB Alberta 43 3 10 13 52 19 Rick Tosto 1 Sophomore F Dearborn Heights, MI Michigan 30 4 8 12 10 22 Sean Clement 1 Sophomore D Nepean, ON Ontario 40 4 7 11 40 6 Chris Luongo Freshman D Detroit, MI Michigan 38 1 5 6 29 25 Dee Rizzo 1 Senior D Pittsburgh, PA Pennsylvania 28 0 5 5 12 28 Rick Fernandez 1 Senior LW Dearborn, MI Michigan 12 0 3 3 6 26 Dave Arkeilpane 1 Junior F Amherst, NY New York 19 2 0 2 14 41 Norm Foster Norm Foster (ice hockey) Junior G Vancouver, BC British Columbia 24 0 1 1 0 33 Bob Essensa Junior G Toronto, ON Ontario 23 0 1 1 2 18 Dave Chiappelli 1 Sophomore F Pontiac, MI Michigan 1 0 0 0 0 Bench - - - - 45 - - - 14 Total 245 406 651 955 Goaltending statistics No.Name GamesMinutesWinsLosses Ties Goals Against Saves Shut Outs #FFFFFF SV % #FFFFFF GAA 33 Bob Essensa 23 1333 17 4 1 74 548 1 .881 3.33 41 Norm Foster Norm Foster (ice hockey) 24 1414 17 5 1 87 620 0 .877 3.69 Total 45 – 34 9 2 161 – 1 – – 1986 championship game (W2) Michigan State vs. (E2) Harvard Michigan State Harvard Providence Civic Center March 29Michigan State 2013-14 Hockey History http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/m-hockey/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/section-6-mg.pdf Michigan State Spartans 2017-02-11 2016-03-22 https://web.archive.org/web/20160322232331/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/msu/sports/m-hockey/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/section-6-mg.pdf dead 6 – 5 1 Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st HARSteve ArmstrongFollows and Ohno 2:15 1–0 HAR HARAllen BourbeauMacDonald and Smith 8:10 2–0 HAR MSUMitch MessierShibicky 17:55 2–1 HAR 2nd HARAllen BourbeauBarakett and Pawlowski 20:53 3–1 HAR MSUJeff ParkerMiller and Tilley 26:48 3–2 HAR HARAllen BourbeauKrayer and Benning 36:09 4–2 HAR MSUMike DonnellyMiller and Messier 38:30 4–3 HAR 3rd MSUBrad HamiltonMessier and Shibicky 41:06 4–4 MSUBrian McReynoldsRendall and Parker 42:15 5–4 MSU HARAndy JanfazaCarone and Chiarelli 46:46 5–5 MSUMike Donnelly – GWMurphy 57:09 6–5 MSU Players drafted into the NHL 1986 NHL entry draft = NHL All-Star team= NHL All-StarPlayers are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star game at any time in their career. = NHL All-Star and NHL All-Star team= Did not play in the NHL RoundPick Player NHL team 1 1 Joe Murphy Detroit Red Wings 2 30 Neil Wilkinson† Minnesota North Stars 3 149 Don Gibson† Vancouver Canucks 6 115 Mike O'Toole† St. Louis Blues † incoming freshman 1986 NHL Entry Draft http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1986e.html Hockey DB August 18, 2019 References 50em Category:Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey seasons Michigan State Michigan State Michigan State Michigan State Michigan State Michigan State