'M,' State anticipate rematch

By Arun Gopal

Daily Sports Writer

EAST LANSING - The Roadrunner and the Coyote. The Hatfields and the McCoys. The Wolverines and the Spartans.

On Saturday night, Yost Ice Arena will again host one of college hockey's most bitter rivalries - Michigan versus Michigan State.

And as is so often the case, the stakes are high. Michigan and Michigan State are currently two of the top three teams in the CCHA. The Wolverines enter the game ranked No. 1 in the nation - the Spartans are ranked No. 6.

"I think it's a great rivalry," Michigan State senior captain Rustyn Dolyny said. "It's good for not only the schools, it's good for college hockey."

This year's matchup won't disappoint. Both teams possess four solid lines, strong defensemen and topflight goaltending. As always, Michigan coach Red Berenson and Michigan State coach Ron Mason are two of the most revered coaches in the collegiate game.

"When Red came back from pro hockey and came in the league, it was a real benefit to the CCHA," Mason said. "The fact that the Michigan program established itself as one of the top in the country, when it was floundering, really helped our league."

Participants on both sides know this rivalry is unique in collegiate athletics. Unlike Miami-Florida State, which is confined to football, or Duke-North Carolina, which is restricted to basketball, Michigan-Michigan State transcends the boundaries of any one sport. Regardless of the event, fans know that the determination and effort from both sides will be at maximum levels.

"It's not just the major sports, it's everything," Michigan State senior forward Damon Whitten said. "Volleyball, women's basketball, just everything."

Separated by only 60 miles, Michigan and Michigan State stand as pillars of athletics in the Midwest.

"I think that's a huge part of it," Whitten said. "Coach talks about how Wisconsin and Minnesota have a big rivalry, but they're out of state rivals. This is one of the biggest rivalries anywhere in college. It's in-state and they're only about 40 minutes away."

With any rivalry, there are going to be some nasty incidents, and Michigan-Michigan State is no exception. Fans of the two schools are still talking about the infamous bench-clearing brawl at Munn Ice Arena on Jan. 7, that resulted in multiple suspensions and generated a lot of bad blood between the two programs.

Could it happen again?

"That's happened before," Mason said. "You can always blame anybody you want to blame, but it falls on the emotion of the game. We played after that, and there was no problem. The game we had down there, it was just good hard-nosed hockey."

As the days count down to Saturday night, the intensity can only increase.

"You'll see a lot of skill out there," Mason said. "There's lots of skill on both sides, and because of it you see some great plays. Now, you add to that the emotion of the event - and that's created by our fans - and you can't ask for better hockey."

DAVID MOLOSHOK/Daily

Port Huron native and assistant captain Scott Matzka knows all about the intensity of Michigan-Michigan State intrastate rivalry in all sports.

DAVID KATZ/Daily

Joe Kautz may only be a freshman, but the work that he and the rest of the Wolverines have done so far this season has earned them a No. 1 ranking in the two major polls.