The Worst Seasons in the Past 25 Years Part 33: Michigan State
Welcome to the Worst Season in the Past 25 Years, a series in which r/CollegeHockey reviews the worst season for all 60 Division I teams over the summer to alleviate the crushing boredom known as the off-season and take a horrific tour down memory lane.
If you are interested in writing an entry for your team, please let me know via PM. I’ll be posting entries on weekdays at approximately at 6 pm Eastern time and will be going in alphabetical order. If an entry is not posted at that time, assume that “real life” has gotten in the way and that I am not able to post. If I am aware in advance that I will not post at 6 pm on a particular day, I will announce it in prior posts as a heads up.
And now.../r/CollegeHockey presents the Michigan State Spartans! Michigan State began their program in 1921 and took a nearly twenty break after the 1929-1930 season due to the Great Depression and the Second World War. The Spartans then restarted the team in 1949, going winless in their first season back. Eventually joining the WCHA in 1959, MSU got a national title in 1966. They moved to the CCHA in 1981, becoming an instant success garnering eight conference titles in the first ten seasons. They would have a mini golden age in the late 90s, followed by a mostly barren 2000s (barring a nattie in 2007). Michigan State is now a part of the B1G and has been since 2013.
However, the worst season in recent memory for the Spartans is…
2016-2017 Record: 7-4-24 (W-D-L); B1G: 3-3-14 (W-D-L; wooden spooners)
Wins: Princeton, Michigan Tech, @Ferris State, @North Dakota, @Michigan (x2)*, @Ohio State
Ties: @North Dakota, Michigan (x2)^, @Minnesota
Losses: @Lake Superior St (x2), Denver (x2), Michigan Tech, Ferris State, @Minnesota (x2), Northeastern, Western Michigan-, Michigan-, @Wisconsin (x2), @Penn State (x2), Wisconsin (x2), Ohio State (x2), Penn State (x2), @Ohio State, Minnesota, Penn State+
*Not part of an away series; rather, part of two separate home-and-home series. Notation adopted for simplicity
^ Not part of a home series; two separate games part of a home-and-home series. Second game was played at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, MI. Notation adopted for simplicity.
-Great Lakes Invitational
+B1G play-in game, Joe Louis Arena
Biggest Beatdown: LSSU 6 - MSU 1
Head Coach: Tom Anastos
This was Anastos’ final season in charge of Spartan hockey. Mason Appleton had the most goals (12) and most assists (19). In goal, Edwin Minney had a save percentage of .883 and a GAA of 3.62.
Michigan State’s first match was two-all draw with the University of Toronto. 4 straight defeats would occur (2 away to Lake Superior St. and 2 at home to Denver) before notching their first win of the season (a home game against Princeton). The following weekend was a split series with Michigan Tech. This was followed by a home-and-home series with Ferris State, which was also split. A win and a tie against North Dakota would end the month.
December started with an exhibition against the US U18 squad, winning 5-1. Conference play began with a home series loss to Minnesota. A non-con game against Northeastern also ended in defeat. Then came the Great Lakes Invitational, where the Spartans would drop both games (Western Michigan and Michigan).
The new year began with two series against Wisconsin and Penn State, which added four more losses to the “L” column for Michigan State. A home-and-home with rivals Michigan ended in an away win and a home draw. February kicked off with a home series against the Badgers, which was also a sweep. Another home-and-home series with the Wolverines had similar results: a win and a draw. Two home series with OSU and PSU were sweeps for the Buckeyes and the Nittany Lions. March started with a split away series with OSU. The regular season ended with a loss and a tie with Minnesota away. In the B1G playoff, Ohio State won 6-3 in Detroit.
In the off-season, Anastos resigned as head coach for Michigan State. He was replaced by Danton Cole. On another note, it seemed a bit odd to me that both Michigan and Michigan State had their worst seasons during the 2016-17 season. Does this mean that both programs’ success is dependent on their rival’s? Also, it would be interesting to see if Cole can improve the Spartans’ stature in the B1G. We’ll see.
For Week 7 of this series, we will look at the worst seasons in recent memory for the following school: Michigan Tech. Once again, if you are interested in doing the entry for your favorite school, shoot me a PM. Your school, name, and date will be added at the end of each post to serve as a reminder. So far, the following people have inquired about a spot:
| School | Username | Tentative Date |
|---|---|---|
| Northeastern | u/therevengeance | 8/2 |
| Penn State | u/saucysalesman | 8/8 |
| RPI | u/Nicholas1227 | 8/16 |
| Union | u/azurearmor | 8/22 |
| Vermont | u/LocksTheFox | 8/23 |
Finally, a shoutout to u/saucysalesman who inspired the idea of this series for doing one for football over at r/cfb. Additionally, thanks to r/CollegeBasketball for the idea of the sub-par MS Paint logos for each school.
Previous Entries in the Worst Seasons Series:
Posted Jul 20, 2017, 10:04 PM UTC