Abdelkader Named AHL Rookie of the Month

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Grand Rapids Griffins center Justin Abdelkader has been named the Reebok Edge/American Hockey League Rookie of the Month for October, the league announced on Monday.

Abdelkader, 21, scored a team-high seven goals and added two assists for nine points in seven games. He tied for the AHL rookie lead in goals and points for the month, while ranking among the league’s overall leaders in goals (T2nd), power play goals (three, T7th) and shooting percentage (0.500, T1st).

Way to go Justin. Only the second Grif to accomplish this feat. It'd be nice if the NHL and NHLPA could get together and dump this garbage salary cap so you could spend some time in Detroit.

The Good, Bad and Ugly

After a late come-from-behind victory against Wisconsin in football I was feeling pretty good. I though we'd head down to Lawson to watch the Icers complete the sweep. I got online, lined up a pair of tickets and before I could pull the trigger, poof. They stopped selling tickets for the game. There was nobody at the ticket office to take my call so we ended up listening to Scott and Woody. The good, we got the sweep(ish). The bad, 0 for 13 on the powerplay. The ugly, the Lawson Lunatics, I'm sure, even though I can't verify it. I can safely say, with confidence, that my life will not be negatively affected if I never see David Brown in an orange stripe ever again. BRUTAL.

Saturday had a slow, penalty filled start. With a great recovery. Conboy picked up 3 penalties solidifying has team lead in that category. Tim Crowder picked up a goal bringing him within 1 point of Daultan Levielle team leading 5. While Kurt Kivisto and Matt Schepke remained perfect in the shoot-out.

Next weekend sees the Spartans travel to lovely Columbus to take on the on-again off-again Ohio State Buckeyes. Before returning home for a weekend against conference leading Miami.

Go Green!

Angry Guy

Angry, not really, frustrated, often. After 30 years in the second row at Munn Ice Arena you tend to get loud and, well, frustrated. Most often the frustration comes from the poor, but difficult, decisions made by the only guys on the ice earning a paycheck. I love college hockey and all (most?) of the people involved. It just seems that the people 3 or 4 feet away should see the play better than those sitting 10 or 12 feet away. Problem is they don't. Probably. Anyway, I'll try to throw up some thoughts on MSU hockey, college hockey, former Spartans and random thoughts on occasion. I may even post some historical shizzle if it seems appropriate.

Stay tuned and stay passionate.