Michigan State hockey will rely on young blueline

Michigan State hockey coach Tom Anastos said there’s a lot of opportunities for the Spartans to establish themselves after a difficult season in 2015-2016.

MSU, 10-23-4 last season, was picked to finish last in the six-team Big Ten preseason poll.

Sophomore forward Mason Appleton is the top returning player. He scored five goals and 17 assists for 22 points in 37 games last season.

“We’re anxious to get going,” Anastos said. “It’s been a long time since the start of school to now. We know the Big Ten will be very difficult.”

Anastos said five of the six non-conference series involve teams that are nationally ranked.

Michigan hockey team is young and skilled, but who will score?

He said he’s most anxious to see what he expects to be an improved defensive corps. Redshirt freshman defenseman Jerad Rosburg missed all of last season with a knee surgery. Other freshmen defensemen include Mitch Eliot (Grosse Pointe), Butrus Ghafari (West Bloomfield), Anthony Scarsella (White Lake) and Damian Chrcek (Marysville).

“This year, we’ve got strength in numbers,” Anastos said. “Rosburg in the preseason stuff, which is very limited, looks real good, actually. He hasn’t played played hockey competitively in quite some time with that injury. Each day, the little that we’ve seen from him, he seems to be making good progress. We’ve got some depth back there.”

The top returning defenseman is sophomore Zach Osburn (Plymouth), who scored six goals and 13 assists for 19 points in 37 games.

“We’re going to have to show some patience,” Anastos said of the inexperience MSU has coming in defensively.

Anastos said the Spartans are working on being a good practice team right now.

“I didn’t think last year we ever found an identity for our team,” Anastos said. “And I thought that was really a challenge for us all season long.”

Michigan picked third, MSU last in Big Ten hockey poll

Contact George Sipple: gsipple@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgesipple.

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