Anastos Steps Down at Michigan State

After six seasons at the Spartan helm, Tom Anastos resigned from his position as head coach at Michigan State University on Tuesday.

Anastos was hired at his alma mater in 2011 after Rick Comley retired. The commissioner of the now-defunct Central Collegiate Hockey Association for 13 years, Anastos was also the former head coach at Michigan-Dearborn.

A Dearborn native, Anastos played four seasons as a forward at MSU for the late Ron Mason. He tallied 70 goals and 151 points in 153 career games in Green and White, and helped the Spartans to four NCAA Tournament appearances, four CCHA Tournament crowns, and three Great Lakes Invitational titles from 1982 to 1985.

After a brief professional career with Sherbrooke (AHL) in Montreal's organization, Anastos entered the coaching ranks and went 68-37-7 in three seasons with UM-Dearborn. He then returned to MSU as an assistant coach under Mason for two years, helping the Spartans to the 1992 NCAA Frozen Four, before later helming first the North American Hockey League and later the CCHA.

MSU went 78-122-24 in all with Anastos as head coach, including the final two years of the CCHA and the first four seasons of the Big Ten Hockey Conference. The Spartans went 19-16-4 overall in his first campaign, and finished 7-24-4 in 2016-17. During his tenure, MSU also made the 2012 NCAA Tournament, but fell to Union in the opening round.

Anastos' youngest daughter, Andie, just completed her own four-year hockey career at Boston College. She tallied 144 points in 156 games, and helped the Eagles to three consecutive Frozen Fours.

MSU is expected to conduct a national search for Anastos' successor. Long-time assistant coach Tom Newton will serve as the Spartans' head coach in the interim.

Michigan State Struggling at Start

Michigan State Football is off to a good start so far in 2011, having just bested rival Michigan for the fourth straight year.

MSU Hockey? Less so, as the Spartans are now 1-3 overall and 0-2 in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (itself in its penultimate campaign) following a two-step sweep at Lake Superior State this past weekend. Both losses were by one goal (5-4, 3-2), the first one coming on a late tally by Domenic Monardo of the host Lakers, who are off to a 4-0 start for the first time in forever (okay, since 1995-96).

MSU returned three of its leading five scorers from last season, including captain and top-scoring blueliner Torey Krug. It did lose its No. 1 point-producer Derek Grant, who left East Lansing after just two college seasons to join Binghamton (AHL) last spring. The Spartans also returned both their netminders from last year in Drew Palmisano and Will Yanakeff.

The Spartan power play has connected three times in nine chances in the first four games this fall, and the penalty-killing unit has surrendered just one goal so far. So why just the one win to date?

It could just be a question of youth, with four freshmen and five sophomores having already skated this season for the Spartans. It could also be the fact that it's a new start for the program, with new systems and a new approach under a new head coach.

Former Spartan skater and CCHA commissioner Tom Anastos picked up his first win as MSU's new head coach with State's 3-2 overtime victory over Air Force at the Ice Breaker Tournament on Oct. 8 in North Dakota, with sophomore forward Lee Reimer scoring the tying and winning goals, and Yanakeff making 26 saves. Anastos will be looking for his first official victory at MSU's Munn Ice Arena this Thursday and Friday as the Spartans try to get back on track against CCHA (and future Big Ten Conference) rival Ohio State (2-2 overall, 1-1 CCHA), which just split a two-game series with Notre Dame.

The Spartans will then finish up the month at home against Robert Morris. Time for MSU to go right through, as its fight song says - or at least, get going with some wins.