2014-15 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY HOCKEY 13
MSUSPARTANS.COM HEAD COACH TOM ANASTOS THE ANASTOS FILE... Education: B.A., Michigan State (1987) Collegiate Playing Experience: Four-year letterwinner, Michigan State (1982-85) Collegiate Coaching Experience: Head Coach University of Michigan-Dearborn, 1987-90 Assistant Coach Michigan State University, 1990-92 Head Coach Michigan State University, 2011-pres. Head Coaching Records: University of Michigan-Dearborn Michigan State University 68-37-7 (three seasons) 44-59-14 (three seasons) Tom Anastos, a Michigan State alumnus who has excelled in the sport of hockey as a player, coach, administrator, and visionary, was appointed to the position of head coach of the Michigan State Hockey program on March 23, 2011. Anastos, who previously served as the commissioner of the Central Collegiate Hockey Association for 13 seasons, became just the sixth Michigan State hockey coach in program history and the fourth in the modern era. 2014-15 will mark Anastos fourth season behind the Spartan bench. Anastos first season as head coach (2011-12) featured an experience-laden team with nine seniors and 14 upperclassmen overall. The team finished with a 19-16-4 overall record, a fifth-place finish in the regular-season CCHA standings, and earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Competing with the second-most difficult schedule in the country, the Spartans received the atlarge NCAA berth, its first trip to the national tournament since 2008. Junior and two-time captain Torey Krug led the team with a standout individual effort, earning CCHA Player of the Year, Defensive Defenseman of the Year, and First Team All-CCHA honors. He was also a First Team All-America pick as well as one of 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award. Krug opted to forego his senior season in Green and White, signing with the Boston Bruins and playing in a pair of regular-season games for the NHL club that spring. With a young roster that featured 10 true freshmen in 2012-13, Anastos guided the Spartans to a 2-1 series win over Alaska on the road in the opening round of the CCHA Tournament. After splitting the first two games with the Nanooks, the Spartans clinched the series with a 4-3 win in game three. The Spartans ended the year by pushing the top-seeded Miami RedHawks to a decisive third game in the CCHA quarterfinals. The Spartans rebuilding effort continued in 2013-14 as another young team was guided by a group of seniors. The senior class accounted for nearly 40% of the team s scoring, led by Big Ten Medal of Honor winner Greg Wolfe. The defensive-minded Spartans led the nation in blocked shots per game at 17.67 and ranked 20th nationally in goals allowed per game. Despite his move from commissioner to head coach of a collegiate program, Anastos has continued his leadership within the sport as he was appointed as the Big Ten s representative to the NCAA Hockey Rules committee during his first season at the helm. In June 2012, he was selected as the group s chair. One of the major discussion points that the Anastos-led group has on its current agenda is research and gathering data in regards to NCAA athletes wearing a visor instead of the current full-facial protection worn by the players in college hockey. In addition, Anastos also serves as the Big Ten s representative on the Board of Directors of College Hockey, Inc., an organization that he was part of establishing in 2009, designed to help promote college hockey. Recognized by The Hockey News in five of the past eight years on the list of the 100 most influential and powerful people in the sport (most recently No. 46 in 2011), Anastos has an unrivaled passion for the game and savvy blend of administrative, business and communication skills, a Who s Who list of connections, and has provided progressive vision and dynamic leadership for college hockey. He brings all of that to Michigan State to advance the on-ice success and stature in college hockey of his alma mater, where he will guide the Spartans into their 74th varsity season. 14 SPARTAN HOCKEY 1966, 1986, 2007 NCAA CHAMPIONS
Anastos, who was honored as MSU s Distinguished Spartan by the hockey program in 2004, both played and coached at his alma mater before stepping into an administrative role. He was a four-year letterwinner at Michigan State (1981-85) for former coach Ron Mason, and received his bachelor s degree in construction management in 1987. He was in the first class of Michigan State players to skate exclusively in the CCHA after MSU left the WCHA as he helped the Spartans to three Great Lakes Invitational titles, a regular-season CCHA Championship in 1985, and four consecutive CCHA Tournament titles. His Spartan teams made four NCAA Tournament appearances, finishing fourth in the country in 1984 and losing a heartbreaking quarterfinal series to Providence in 1985. As a senior, he earned second-team all-conference honors and was named to the all-tournament teams at the CCHA Tournament and Great Lakes Invitational. In his career, Anastos skated in 151 games, scored 70 goals and recorded 73 assists for 153 points, and amassed 102 penalty minutes. He still holds the MSU record for short-handed goals in a season (7, scored in 1983-84), and ranks in a tie for fourth in the MSU annals with 10 career short-handed markers. Anastos, a 2000 inductee into his hometown Dearborn (Mich.) Sports Hall of Fame, played junior hockey for the Paddock Pools Saints of the NAHL and was the first player ever drafted from the league by an NHL team when the Montreal Canadiens selected him in 1981. The sixth-round pick of Montreal (124th overall) played one season in the Canadiens organization, then joined the coaching staff at the University of Michigan-Dearborn where he served as head coach of that program from 1987-90, compiling a 68-37-7 record. In the fall of 1990, Anastos returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach under Ron Mason for two years. Those two teams went a combined 43-28-13, and in 1991-92, advanced to the Frozen Four. In his role as CCHA commissioner, he has overseen the growth and changes in the membership over 13 years, and in April 2010, the CCHA played host to the record-breaking 2010 NCAA Men s Frozen Four at Ford Field in Detroit, the first Frozen Four to be held in a non-traditional hockey venue. A crowd of 34,954 watched the semifinal games and 37,592 attended the title game between Boston College and Wisconsin. The individual day attendance marks and the three-game total of 72,546 easily shattered the Frozen Four records, and the title-game attendance figure stands as the North American record for an indoor hockey game. In concert with his role of CCHA commissioner, Anastos has served as the president of the Hockey Commissioner s Association (HCA), a group comprised of the five commissioners from NCAA Division I Hockey. The HCA addresses common issues and concerns at a national level, and the group s efforts include on-going discussions with the NHL s corporate office in New York, sponsorship of the annual Warrior Ice Breaker Tournament and the College Hockey All-Access radio show on NHL Home Ice. COACHING STAFF 2014-15 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY HOCKEY 15
MSUSPARTANS.COM In 2009, in his capacity as president of the HCA, he spearheaded a college hockey delegation which traveled to Florida to meet with the 30 general s of NHL teams. The same year, he was key in the procuring of a grant from the National Hockey League through USA Hockey. The funding was used by the Anastos-led HCA to create College Hockey Inc., an educational and promotional entity charged with raising the profile and help foster the growth of college hockey. Now in its fifth year, College Hockey Inc. is under the direction of Executive Director Mike Snee. Anastos commitment to growing the sport has resulted in an annual statewide celebration known as Hockey Day in Michigan The grass roots initiative, which includes the live broadcast of two CCHA games on FOX Sports Detroit, has been successfully imitated by USA Hockey to encourage fans, players, coaches and officials to unite in their passion for their sport and help introduce others to the game. Television also was a focal point for the CCHA under Anastos. The CCHA was the first hockey conference to sign television agreements with CBS Sports Network (formerly CSTV), Toronto, Canada-based Leafs TV, and the NHL Network. NAHL attracted strong ownership groups and developed into one of the top leagues for college-bound players in the United States. Prior to his appointment at MSU, Anastos was very active in amateur hockey, both as a coach in the Detroit-based Honeybaked hockey program and as an administrator. He had been one of two NCAA representatives on USA Hockey s board of directors and was a long-time member of its International Council and Junior Council which oversaw the activities of the organization s international programs and US junior hockey. Anastos also served on the board of directors for One Goal, a non-profit organization comprised of hockey s North American industry leaders seeking to improve awareness and understanding of hockey, so parents can make informed decisions about involving their families in the game and he currently serves as a member of the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame Advisory Board. Anastos, 51, and his wife Lisa have five children: daughters Lauren, Jenna, Alyssa, and Andie and son Drew. Prior to his appointment with the CCHA, Anastos served as president of the North American Hockey League, a Tier II junior league, for four seasons. During that time, the The Anastos Family: Andie, Drew, Alyssa, Lisa, Tom, Jenna, and Lauren 16 SPARTAN HOCKEY 1966, 1986, 2007 NCAA CHAMPIONS
ASSISTANT COACH KELLY MILLER THE MILLER FILE... Education: B.A., Michigan State (1985) M.B.A., Michigan State (1995) Collegiate Playing Experience: Four-year letterwinner, Michigan State (1982-85) Professional Coaching Experience: Player/Coach Grand Rapids Griffins, 1999-2000 Assistant Coach Anaheim Ducks, 2000-01 Assistant Coach New York Islanders, 2001-03 College Coaching Experience: Assistant Coach Michigan State, 2011-present Spartan Hockey All-American and 15-year NHL professional Kelly Miller is in his fourth season on the coaching staff. Miller, who is part of a family which has been synonymous with Spartan Hockey for decades, brings a background that helps Spartan players not only prepare to succeed in college hockey, but also in the classroom. His extensive experience in hockey at all levels and in the business world enables him to effectively develop student athletes for the professional hockey ranks and for life after hockey. Miller was a classmate of Head Coach Tom Anastos all four seasons at Michigan State, earning four varsity letters (1981-85). The Lansing, Mich., native became the fourth member of his family (out of an eventual 10) to play hockey at Michigan State when he enrolled in the fall of 1981, and he made an immediate impact for the Spartans. During his four-year Spartan career, MSU compiled a 121-43-3 mark and advanced to the NCAA tournament each season, including a fourth-place finish in 1984. The Spartans also captured four straight Great Lakes Invitational titles and four straight CCHA Playoff championships. He closed his career playing in 165 games, posting 82 goals and 82 assists for 164 points. He still ranks tied for 25th on MSU s all-time scoring list and tied for seventh with nine career short-handed tallies. As a senior captain in 1984-85, he tallied 27 goals and 50 points in 43 games, as the Spartans rolled to 38-6 overall mark and a 27-5 first-place CCHA league finish. He was a Hobey Baker Award finalist and earned First- Team All-America honors, in addition to being selected as the team MVP. A champion in the classroom, Miller was a three-time CCHA All-Academic Team honoree, earning first-team honors in 1984 and 1985. In addition, he earned First- Team Academic All-America distinction in 1985. He was honored as the MSU hockey program s Distinguished Spartan in 2003. with the New York Rangers and 12 with the Washington Capitals. He developed into one of the top defensive players in the league, registering 181 goals and 463 points. A Selke Trophy finalist (best defensive forward) in 1989, he helped the Capitals to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998, and served as an Assistant Captain for the franchise for more than a decade. He was also the Vice President of the NHL Players Association from 1990-95. Miller started his coaching career in 1999-2000 when he served as an assistant coach for the Grand Rapids Griffins, leading the squad to the Turner Cup Finals. He then was named head coach and general of the Capital Centre Pride in the North American Hockey League before moving on to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks as an Assistant Coach in 2000-01. He went on to work on the New York Islanders staff as an assistant coach under current Philadelphia Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette from 2001-2003. Miller has extensive international hockey experience with USA Hockey. As a player, he skated for Team USA at the World Junior Championships in 1981, 1982 and 1983. He was captain and team MVP of the 1983 USA squad. He represented the USA in three World Championships (1986, 1989, 1999), and played in the 1987 Canada Cup. As an Assistant Coach, he helped the USA to a gold medal at the Four Nations Cup in 2000. He also served as an Athlete Director and Junior Council Member for USA Hockey from 1995-2001. Miller holds a B.A. in Business Administration and his M.B.A. in Finance from Michigan State University. In addition to a life in hockey, he has spent two years in commercial real estate and several years in the banking industry. He and his wife Shelby have three daughters: Taylor and Chelsey are both graduates of Michigan State, and their youngest, Ashton, is a freshman on the women s soccer team at Duke. COACHING STAFF A ninth-round draft choice of the New York Rangers in 1982, his National Hockey League career spanned more than 1,000 games over 15 seasons, including three years 2014-15 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY HOCKEY 17
MSUSPARTANS.COM ASSISTANT COACH TOM NEWTON THE NEWTON FILE... Education: B.A., Bowling Green (1980) M.A., Bowling Green (1981) Collegiate Playing Experience: Four-year letterwinner, Bowling Green (1976-80) Collegiate Coaching Experience: Graduate Assistant Coach Bowling Green, 1980-81 Head Coach Kent State, 1981-82 Assistant Coach Western Michigan, 1982-86 Associate Coach Western Michigan, 1986-90 Assistant Coach Michigan State, 1990-present Coaching Awards: Terry Flanagan Memorial Award, 2004 Tom Newton enters his 25th year with the Michigan State hockey program. Newton has been a part of more than 400 victories in his time on the Spartan staff, and more than 600 in his collegiate coaching career that has spanned over 30 years. Newton was originally appointed to his position on June 12, 1990. He is directly involved with recruiting and all day-to-day operations of the Spartan hockey program and hockey school. Newton is the longest-tenured assistant at one school in all of college hockey. In his time at MSU, he has been an integral part of three CCHA regular-season championships, four CCHA Tournament championships, 14 teams which advanced to the NCAA Tournament, four Frozen Fours, and the 2007 NCAA title team. He has helped bring 12 All-America selections and eight Hobey Baker Memorial Award finalists, including 2001 winner Ryan Miller, to the East Lansing campus. Newton has also coached over 30 Spartans that have gone on to play in the National Hockey League. He has also made his mark academically on the program, having coached two former players that have gone on to become medical doctors and two that have earned their Ph.D s. Newton arrived at Michigan State after serving as an associate head coach at Western Michigan from 1986-90. Prior to being elevated to the associate position at WMU, Newton served as an assistant for the Broncos from 1982-86. While at WMU, he was responsible for bringing a pair of Hobey Baker runners-up to the Bronco program, and three All-Americans overall. The Uxbridge, Ontario, native earned his first college head coaching job at Kent State in 1981 and promptly led the Golden Flashes to a respectable 12-17-1 record as a Division I independent during the 1981-82 season. He began his coaching career as Bowling Green s graduate assistant coach in 1980-81 and also handled BGSU s club coaching duties. A four-year letterwinner and two-year captain for the Falcons, Newton registered 140 points during his career (1975-80). He skated for three CCHA regular-season and two playoff championship teams for then-bgsu coach Ron Mason. Newton led the Falcons to NCAA Tournament appearances in 1978 (third) and 1979 (fifth). He holds the BGSU records for scoring back-to-back goals in the shortest time span (nine seconds) as well as scoring three goals in the shortest time span (4:39). Newton was an assistant coach for Team USA in the North American College Hockey Championship in 1999. In 1995, he served as an assistant coach for Team West at the Shrine East-West College All-Star Hockey Classic in Minneapolis. The coach runs a highly-successful Pro Camp at Munn Ice Arena every August. The weeklong program not only prepares former Spartans for upcoming training camps in all levels of professional hockey, but also brings some of the program s most recognizable names back to their collegiate venue to renew their bonds with their former teammates and Michigan State roots. Newton holds a bachelor s of science degree in physical education and health from Bowling Green State University (1980) and earned his master of education degree from BGSU one year later. This past summer, he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Uxbridge Secondary School Athletic Hall of Fame. He served on the Board of Governors of the American Hockey Coaches Association as college hockey s Assistant Coaches Representative from 1998-2001. In April 2004, he received the Terry Flanagan Memorial Award, which honors an assistant coach s career body of work. Newton and his wife Eve have two children: Ted and Emma, both MSU graduates. 18 SPARTAN HOCKEY 1966, 1986, 2007 NCAA CHAMPIONS
GOALTENDING COACH MIKE GILMORE THE GILMORE FILE... Education: B.S., Michigan State (1992) M.B.A., Michigan State (1996) Collegiate Playing Experience: Four-year letterwinner, Michigan State (1987-92) Collegiate Coaching Experience: Volunteer Assistant Coach Michigan State, 1994-96 Goaltending Coach Michigan State, 2011-present Former Spartan netminder Mike Gilmore is in his fourth season as a volunteer assistant coach. Gilmore, who previously served at his alma mater in the same role, works primarily with the team s goaltenders. Gilmore epitomized the term student-athlete in his playing career, as he earned Academic All-Big Ten honors three times and CoSIDA First-Team Academic All-America honors as a senior, as well as the Bill Burgess Outstanding Senior Award, the Blue Line President s Award as the team s top scholar-athlete, as well as the Amo Bessone Award for combining athletic and academic achievement with community involvement. He also won the 1992 Chester Brewer Award, awarded to MSU Senior achieving academic and athletic excellence. Gilmore is currently the Director of Investment Strategy at Delta Dental of Michigan and President of Red Cedar Investment Management in East Lansing. He currently serves as a volunteer on several non-profit committees and boards within the community, and coaches his two youngest children in the sport of hockey Gilmore s wife Jennifer is a former team physician for the MSU hockey program and is an assistant professor in the Department of Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine at MSU in addition to continuing in her role as a team physician in the Athletic Department. The couple resides in DeWitt with their children Abigail, a figure skater, and hockey players Ryan and Isabelle. COACHING STAFF On the ice, he played in 64 career games and ranks eighth all-time at MSU with a 2.91 career goals-against average and 10th in career shutouts (4). Gilmore was a part of two CCHA regular-season and tournament championships (1988-89, 1989-90), and three NCAA Tournament teams, which included Frozen Four trips in both 1989 and 1992. He joined the Spartan team as a walk-on, but quickly earned a scholarship and served as an alternate captain as a senior. Gilmore was a member of the US National team in the summer of 1991, earning a gold medal at the US Olympic Sports Festival. A selection of the New York Rangers in the 1990 Supplemental Draft, Gilmore played two seasons of professional hockey with the Erie Panthers (ECHL) and Binghamton Rangers (AHL) after leaving MSU. He served as a volunteer assistant coach at his alma mater from 1994-96, helping lead MSU to a pair of NCAA Tournament bids and a 53-25-4 overall mark. During that time, he earned his M.B.A. from MSU s Eli Broad College of Business. 2014-15 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY HOCKEY 19
MSUSPARTANS.COM HOCKEY ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF senior associate director of athletics shelley appelbaum assistant director of athletic communications jeff barnes certified athletic trainer dave carrier munn ice arena tom campbell faculty athletics representative sue carter hockey operations assistant carolyn eggenberger equipment tom magee director of student-athlete development angela montie team physician dr. robert norris director of hockey operations phil osaer executive secretary kris smith academic coordinator melissa tallant associate strength & conditioning coach mike vorkapich student matt griffin student joe marsalese student sean mulvihill 20 SPARTAN HOCKEY 1966, 1986, 2007 NCAA CHAMPIONS