The Stache, Rocky and Yanni the Magnificent Lead MSU Hockey with a Packed Munn Ice Arena Over Michigan 3-2

Coming into this big weekend series with archrival Michigan the Spartans of Michigan State were ranked 17th in the nation and on a roll. Michigan came in #4 in

Coming into this big weekend series with archrival Michigan the Spartans of Michigan State were ranked 17th in the nation and on a roll. Michigan came in #4 in all the land and the Spartans were out for points. 

With a packed and loud Munn Ice Arena the Spartans cemented to the Spartan Nation and the nation as a whole that although they are not yet at a national championship level, this program is back. The crowd knew it, Michigan knew it and most of all the Spartans know it.

Sophomore goalie Will Yanakeff (Yanni the Magnificent) lived up to his nickname. Stopping 28 Wolverine shots on goal he kept the Spartans in the game and competitive with yet again another amazing performance.

Former super star MSU goalie and now goalie coach Mike Gilmore was pleased with his young pupil. Beaming ear to ear after the game he said of Yanni’s performance, “This game was a perfect example of how good he can be when he plays his game.” The Spartan great went on to add, “When he just plays with his best technique he makes it look easy.” 

The humble Yanakeff was not as high on himself as those around him, “They (UM) were just throwing pucks anywhere they could to try and get rebounds.” When I told him what Coach Gilmore said of his play, “I’m a big guy (6’3” 200#) when I use my size sometimes it does look easy.” So is he in a zone right now? “I guess you could say that. You get more confident with each game you play. Not just me, the entire team has momentum right now.”

An amazing detail that most people won’t know is that Yanni spent all week sick with the flu and didn’t even skate until Thursday. Coach Anastos told a small group of media gathered with him after his press conference, “I brought him on Thursday to my office. I asked him about Michael Jordan when he was so sick in the playoffs against Utah. He told me, ‘I know who he is’ and I show him that performance on You Tube. He gets done watching it and tells me, ‘I can play coach.’”

Jake Chelios had a great game on defense. He does not get a lot of publicity because he did the things that don’t make the stat sheet swell. I asked him about being able to play defense with a goalie playing as well as Yanni is. “You can take a few more risks with someone who won’t give up a bad goal.” It also makes him a better goaltender with the likes of Jake Chelios and Torey Krug playing in front of him.

The crowd tonight was nothing short of amazing. I was on the bench taking pictures for the second period. As the team went in to the locker room at the end of two I heard Coach Anastos tell his team, “Stay with it boys that crowd will you to a win.”

The Stache, Coach Tom Anastos said of the crowd after the game, “I can feel the buzz coming back. I can feel it in a lot of different ways.”

The Spartans have now killed off 19 straight power plays going back to the second game of the Ferris series. Coming in to the weekend the Spartans were #2 in the nation on the power play kill.

Anastos is an encourager and really believes in his guys. He does a great job of not letting the circumstance dictate his response. Jake Chelios talked about his demeanor on the bench when the Spartans went down 0-2 in the second period. Coach looked like he needed pom-poms the way he was cheerleading. “Especially with our team. We are confidence team. He was still just being positive.”

Super star Torey “ROCKY” Krug had two goals, dominated the game from all facets and played 30+ amazing minutes. He said of this game and this team, “I love playing with these guys. We are playing for Spartans all over the country. We played for them.” Any wonder why we nicknamed him Rocky?

Anastos isn’t a simpleton, but he does have a gift for making things simple. He said after his team’s third straight win this evening, “Obviously I am very pleased with the outcome tonight.”

The Spartans now hold a 16-11-4 record and are third in the CCHA. They lace the skates up again tomorrow night at the famed Joe Louis Arena in Detroit against these same Wolverines.