Intervention Time: Michigan State Hockey Doubles Down On Losing With Anastos

Submitted by stephenrjking on

Michigan State, you're our rival. We love to snipe at each other; we hate losing to each other; we look forward to games between our schools in all sports with a burning fervency. 

You have a proud hockey program. You have won three national titles. You have multiple Hobey Baker Award winners. You had one of the most consistent, dedicated fanbases in the sport. Michigan-Michigan State hockey games were red-letter dates on any sports schedule, capable of selling out not only Joe Louis Arena but also our respective FOOTBALL stadiums. 

Why are you deliberately killing your hockey program? News breaks today that Tom Anastos is being retained as coach for a sixth season. Your AD says, "I feel really good about where we're at."

Really? Your team went 10-23-4 this year. This season's sole accomplishment is successfully avoiding last place in a terrible hockey conference, and the only team you beat just fired its coach and hired a program guy with serious NHL chops. Your once-proud fanbase, which used to sell out literally every game at Munn Ice Arena, is so shattered that even games against your arch-rival Michigan offer plenty of available seats. And those seats are taken by Michigan fans, who watch Michigan win at Munn, a lot.

The worst moment may have been your team getting carved up like a Thanksgiving Turkey by Michigan at Munn, a 9-2 drubbing in which Michigan did basically whatever it wanted. But the score wasn't the worst part of that game. The worst part was the reaction of Michigan fans to the rapidly growing scoreline:

Pity.

Long gone are the days when a positive result at Munn was the highlight of Michigan's season. Now, a winning record against MSU isn't just hoped for--it is taken for granted. I and several other long-time Michigan hockey fans stared at the abyss that was the MSU bench that day, and I felt unmitigated pity for the lifeless husk of a program wearing uniforms that once belonged to a college hockey power.

Your program is so bad that it cannot even elicit distaste from its biggest rival.

Now, I have nothing personally against Tom Anastos. I think he was a decent commissioner of the CCHA, and I have no reason to believe that he is not a decent person. But "decent" does not mean "qualified to coach a major college hockey program." 

Tom Anastos has produced disastrous win totals of 19, 11, 11, 17, and 10 in his five seasons. The only NCAA tournament appearance in that span was a first-round loss in his first season, playing predominantly with players recruited and developed by his predecessor, Rick Comley. The only other significant coaching on Tom's resume is a short, unremarkable stint at UM-Dearborn that ended in 1990. 

There is zero evidence that Tom Anastos is a good hockey coach.

Decent guy? Sure. Able conference administrator? Seems that way. Capable of winning at a level that befits one of the winningest programs in college hockey history? 

No.

Michigan State, something must be done. You cannot seriously believe that Tom Anastos is the answer. And now, you can no longer believe that Mark Hollis has the interests of the hockey program in mind. There must be a change in Michigan State's hockey program. Continued inaction condemns Michigan State Hockey to exile, never to be more than a relic of distant memory.

The greatest shame is not that Michigan State is holding steady with a losing program. It is not that Michigan, in a serious down period, is playing on a a vastly higher level. It is not that Michigan State cannot succeed in a conference in which every single program is either brand new or seriously underachieving.

The greatest shame for Michigan State's hockey program is that Michigan fans feel they have to say something to you. And not for our own pride or satisfaction. Not for our own benefit.

But for yours.

Comments

gwkrlghl

March 30th, 2016 at 3:45 PM ^

I don't know how you look at MSU's program - coming off a national title - and conclude 5 straight sub-20 win seasons is the program heading in the right direction.

We feel the same pity that I know OSU fans felt toward us in the pits of the Richrod and Hoke eras. Like "ok guys. I enjoy beating you but this is not fun and it's a bit embarassing to watch at this point. Get it together"

stephenrjking

March 30th, 2016 at 4:03 PM ^

No reason to make a new post for information that only supplements the thesis of this one, but it seems like a catalogue of reactions might be useful:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

m83econ

March 30th, 2016 at 7:14 PM ^

He's all they can afford. Basketball and Football coaches are very well paid, and when you can't sell out your crappy stadium, this is what happens...

Gr1mlock

March 30th, 2016 at 8:06 PM ^

I'm not convinced of that.  They could literally hire me, a Michigan fan whose hockey experience is largely limited to playing a crapload of NHL 94, 95, and 96 on the Sega Genesis, and I'm not convinced I would do a substantially worse job than Anastos.  Like, I'm not saying I could lead them to the Frozen Four or anything, but I'm pretty sure I could handle "not last place in the B1G".   He is the worst case scenario, the floor for the next hire.  There has to be someone out there with some actual college and/or professional coaching experience who would want this job for the same or less money.  They're not going to pull in an elite coach without opening the coffers, but someone with a pulse and some succesful experience coaching isn't THAT hard to find. 

gholt6633

March 30th, 2016 at 8:21 PM ^

I don't disagree with the notion of enjoying watching MSU suck at hockey.  However, a small part of me remembers the the special feeling of sitting inside Yost 20 years ago and watching the unmatched intensity of two Top Ten programs (and HOF coaches) letting it all hang out. Those nights were special.

UMgradMSUdad

March 30th, 2016 at 11:31 PM ^

I've never understood the accolades some heap upon Hollis.  He has done some nice (many say gimmicky) scheduling of early season basketball games that garners a lot of attention.  But if you listen to Spartan fans (which I do on occasion), the ticket office has been an ongoing clusterfuck for years, they are pissed about the tailgating rules, and there seems to be a willingness to just let sports other than football and basketball wither and die.  

Yard Dog

April 7th, 2016 at 8:42 AM ^

He's done a great job in certain areas and has the football and basketball teams on the men's side locked in.  His management of other sports is marginal.  And could not agree more, the ticket office at MSU is ridiculous.  I have first hand experience with how poorly they are run.  Taligating rules at MSU suck too.

laurajperez

March 31st, 2016 at 4:50 AM ^

my classmate's ex-wife makes $88 /hr on the laptop . She has been out of work for 5 months but last month her check was $15126 just working on the laptop for a few hours. visit the site....

w­w­w­.­c­a­s­h­n­e­w­b­i­e­.­c­o­m

 

 

Blau

March 31st, 2016 at 6:22 AM ^

I'm seeing very similar parallels to when we brought back Hoke for his last year. Everyone around the B1G kinda of rejoiced but also there was an element of sympathy without the hope of progression.

theintegral

March 31st, 2016 at 11:14 AM ^

Look at how well Spartan teams have been doing in the last year.

(This may not be exactly correct)  Last or second to last in Big 10 are:

Men's swimming and diving, indoor track and field, wrestling, tennis, soccer, and hockey.

Women's swimming and diving, indoor track and field, softball, rowing, gymnastics, field hockey, and possibly golf.

Yikes

Rabbit21

April 1st, 2016 at 8:39 AM ^

Let's take care of our coaching issues and get on a solid future path before we start worrying about those mouth breathers getting good again, eh?

I applaud the sentiment, but would prefer that Michigan be in a strong position before wanting the main rival to get good again.