Tom Anastos, the commissioner of the CCHA for 13 seasons, is the first year head coach of Michigan State. He is a former player and assistant coach for the Spartans; he replaced Rick Comley who retired.
Why should Gophers hockey fans care? Well, the Gophers play his Spartans this weekend.
"He called me [Monday] on how the trophy works -- the Bessone-Mariucci Trophy," Gophers coach Don Lucia said on Monday on his weekly radio show. "And I was laughing. 'Well, did you ever think when you were coaching at Michigan-Dearborn and I was at [Alaska]-Fairbanks, we would be playing against each other at Minnesota and Michigan State?' "
Lucia was referring to a time in the late 1980s, early 1990s. ... John Mariucci and Amo Bessone, of course, were legendary coaches at Minnesota and Michigan State, respectively.
"[Anastos] has been around the game all of his life," Lucia said. "He has got a couple good, experienced assistant coaches so. Coaching is coaching whether it is bantams or midgets or high school, college or juniors. He was a junior coach as well, so he has got that background. But being around the game, and watching like he has, it won't be that much of a transition. And they are off to a pretty good start."
The Spartans are 7-5-0 and recently swept then-No. 5 Western Michigan.
"These are important games for the end of the year," Lucia said, referring to the PairWise ratings which ranks team based on how they compare with other top teams. The PairWise ratings mimic the criteria the NCAA uses to fill out its postseason tournament with at-large teams.
"The last six games, they have not given up more than two goals in a game," Lucia said. "So they are playing well defensively. They are playing a little bit more aggressively than what they have done in the past. So it should be a good, entertaining up- and-down weekend."
