MSU, Michigan Tech Win GLI Semifinals

Charlie Stramel scored two goals and assisted on another as third-ranked Michigan State defeated Ferris State, 5-1, in a Great Lakes Invitational semifinal on Sunday at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. Trey Augustine made 20 stops for the Spartans (13-4-0 overall), who are seeking their second consecutive GLI title. Hobie Hedquist stopped 18 of 19 shots in relief for the Bulldogs (4-15-0).

MSU will face Michigan Tech (11-6-2) in the final tonight ( 7 p.m. ET, BiG+). The Huskies defeated Miami, 5-2, in the others semifinal, as Stiven Sardarian scored two goals and set up another, and Owen Bartoszkiewicz stopped 26 shots. Matteo Drobca made 28 saves for the Red Hawks (10-7-2), who will face Ferris in the consolation game.

ADDENDUM: Stramel scored two more goals, including the game-winner, and earned tournament MVP accolades as MSU topped MTU, 4-1, to win its second straight GLI title. Miami won the consolation game over Ferris, 4-2.

Michigan State Wins 2024 GLI

For the first time in 15 years, Michigan State is the Great Lakes Invitational champion. The Spartans defeated Western Michigan, 3-1, on Monday night at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. in the 2024 title game.

Joey Larson scored the game-winning goal, then set up an insurance marker by Isaac Howard in the third period, to lift top-ranked MSU to its first GLI crown since 2009 at the now-demolished Joe Louis Arena in Detroit. GLI MVP Luca Di Pasquo stopped 29 shots for the Spartans, one night after making 16 saves in a 2-0 opening-round victory over Northern Michigan. 

WMU had advanced to this year's championship contest by besting Michigan Tech, 4-3, in overtime on Sunday. MTU then won the consolation game, 4-3 in OT, over NMU yesterday.

MSU has now won 13 GLI titles all-time dating back to the tournament's start in 1965, second behind only former participant Michigan's 17 crowns. Next year's GLI field, the fourth straight that will be played at the VAA in West Michigan, will again feature co-hosts MSU and MTU, plus Ferris State and Miami (Ohio).

Michigan Tech Claims 57th GLI

Michigan Tech claimed the 2023 Great Lakes Invitational last night with a 4-3 win over seventh-ranked Michigan State in Grand Rapids, Mich. The game goes down as an official 3-3 tie for NCAA tournament purposes, but the Huskies won the 57th GLI in a shootout. 

Jack Works tallied a hat trick in regulation for MTU, and also earned tournament MVP accolades. Ryland Mosley notched the only goal in the extra session after a scoreless overtime period, while Blake Pietila stopped a career-high 54 shots for the Huskies

Alaska Fairbanks won the consolation game, 3-2, over Ferris State earlier yesterday. In the preliminary round on Thursday at Van Andel Arena, MTU edged UAF, 3-2, in overtime while MSU upended Ferris, 4-1.

The GLI, which originated in Detroit, will play in Grand Rapids through 2026. Next year's edition will feature MSU, MTU, Northern Michigan and Western Michigan.

GLI to Remain in Grand Rapids Through 2026

The venerable Great Lakes Invitational has found a new regular home, at least for the next few seasons.

It was announced last week that the GLI will continue to be played at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., where it was contested last year after more than a half-century of being played largely in the Detroit area. The new agreement runs through 2026, with the tournament to be played in the month of December. 

Next year's field will include Ferris State, Michigan Tech, Western Michigan and first-time participant Alaska (Fairbanks). Last year's participants included Ferris State, Michigan State, Michigan Tech, and Western Michigan, with WMU winning the tournament.

The GLI fields for the following three seasons are as follows:

2024 - Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan, Western Michigan

2025 - Ferris State, Miami, Michigan State, Michigan Tech

2026 - Michigan State, Michigan Tech, Notre Dame, Western Michigan

Michigan, which holds the record with 17 GLI championships, is not scheduled to participate in any of the upcoming years, after also sitting out last season for the first time since 1973.

Home of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins since its opening in 1996, the VAA seats 10,834 spectators for hockey. It has also hosted several NCAA men's hockey regionals in its existence, along with several non-tournament college contests.

Western Michigan Wins 2022 GLI

The first Great Lakes Invitational held outside Detroit is done.

18th-ranked Western Michigan took home the crown earlier this week by winning both of its games, 8-1 over No. 17 Michigan Tech in the first round, and 8-2 over Ferris State in the championship contest. MTU finished in third place by edging 11th-ranked Michigan State, 3-2, in the consolation game. FSU had beaten MSU, 4-2, in the first round.

WMU senior forward Jason Polin scored three goals in each game for the Broncos (10-9-1 overall), giving him five hat tricks on the 2022-23 season, and a nation-leading 19 goals through 22 games. His scoring efforts also garnered him the Jack Tompkins Trophy as this year's GLI MVP. Cameron Rowe stopped 52 of 56 shots over two games for the Broncos, who also got five assists in all from Ryan McAllister, the top scorer in NCAA Division I with 28 assists and 38 points through 22 outings..

The victory was WMU's fourth GLI title in six appearances, the last coming in 2016. WMU also won the GLI in 2013 and 1986.

All four games this year were held at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., home of the AHL's Griffins. It was the first time the tournament had been held since 2019, with the 2020 version being canceled due to COVID-19, and last year's version being played on campus sites in what was a non-traditional, non-championship format. The GLI began in 1965 at the old Olympia, before later being played at now-demolished Joe Louis Arena, Comerica Park (outdoors) and Little Caesar's Arena, all in Detroit.

GLI Moving to Grand Rapids for 2022

The Great Lakes Invitational is moving west.

For the first time ever, the annual holiday college hockey tournament will be played outside Detroit, as the 2022 version will be contested on Dec. 27-28 at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., home of the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins. 

The semifinals for the 57th incarnation of the GLI will feature Michigan Tech against Western Michigan, and Michigan State versus Ferris State, with the winners meeting on the second day for the title. Longtime GLI participant Michigan, which holds the tournament record with 17 championships, will not be a part of the field for the first time since 1973. 

The GLI began in 1965 at the Olympia in Detroit, before moving to Joe Louis Arena in 1979 and then Little Caesars Arena in 2017. The 2018 version was contested outdoors at Comerica Park, home of Major League Baseball's Detroit Tigers, while the 2020 edition was canceled due to COVID-19. Last year's tournament was held on campus sites, with MSU hosting Western and Tech, and Michigan hosting MTU before the Wolverines bowed out the next night against WMU due to extenuating circumstances. 

MTU won the last regular GLI title in 2019, defeating Michigan in the final.

Van Andel Arena has previously hosted a number of college hockey games, including Ferris State-Michigan State and Michigan-Western Michigan regular-season contests in its first season of operation (1996-97). The facility has also hosted NCAA men's hockey regionals in 1997, 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2009 and 2013. 

Berenson Retires as Longtime Michigan Coach

Legendary University of Michigan head coach Gordon “Red” Berenson has announced his retirement after 33 years at the Wolverine helm.

Berenson, 77, fashioned an 848-426-92 overall mark at his alma mater from 1984 to 2017, including NCAA titles in 1996 and 1998, while coming within an overtime goal of a third in 2011. He also led the Wolverines to 10 Central Collegiate Hockey Association regular-season championships and nine CCHA Tournament crowns, plus a record 22 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths from 1991 to 2012. Michigan also won the 2015-16 Big Ten regular-season and conference crowns under his watch, plus a total of 15 Great Lakes Invitational championships, including nine straight GLI titles between 1988 and 1996.

A native of Regina, Sask., who holds both bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Michigan, Berenson skated for the Wolverines from 1959 to 1962 before turning pro right after, one of the first college-trained players to do so. He played almost 20 seasons in the NHL with Montreal, St. Louis, the New York Rangers and Detroit, recording 261 goals and 397 assists for 658 points in 987 regular-season outings.

Western Michigan Wins GLI

The Western Michigan University Broncos claimed their first Great Lakes Invitational title since 1986 with a 1-0 overtime victory over the defending champion Michigan Tech Huskies, on Saturday evening at Comerica Park in Detroit.

Justin Kovacs scored the game's only goal 2:01 into the extra session when he jammed a puck past MTU netminder Pheonix Copley at the left post after Copley had deflected a shot away to his right. Copley had posted a 4-0 shutout in the GLI title game over WMU last year at Joe Louis Arena when the Huskies claimed their first GLI crown since 1980.

2013 Tournament MVP Lukas Hafner made 33 saves in his second straight appearance in the Broncos net, after stopping 30 shots against  No. 3 Michigan in a 3-2 OT triumph on Friday. MTU survived Michigan State, 3-2, that same day in a shootout, while MSU then blanked rival Michigan, 3-0, in yesterday's consolation contest as Jake Hildebrand made 29 saves for the Spartans.

The tournament returns to Joe Louis Arena next December, with Ferris State slated to join the regular field of MTU , MSU and Michigan.

GLI Going Outdoors in 2012

The Detroit Red Wings facing off against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2013 NHL Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor isn't the only outdoor hockey news for next season.

The Great Lakes Invitational, which has always been held indoors since 1965 in Detroit, first at the now-demolished Olympia and now at its current home of Joe Louis Arena, will also move outdoors when it is contested at Comerica Park in Detroit in late December. The 2012 field at the home of MLB's Detroit Tigers will include regulars Michigan, winner of the last two GLIs, Michigan Tech, and Michigan State, along with Western Michigan.

Look for a host of ancillary hockey events to also be held at both Michigan venues, from mites to minor leagues, much like with Fenway Park in Boston this year. That, and pass the hot chocolate.

Happy Holidays

With only a pair of Russian Red Stars games at Vermont and Yale, respectively, next week in upcoming NCAA Division I men's action, it's a quiet time in college hockey. At least until the holiday tournaments like the GLI start.

Congrats to Minnesota-Duluth (Men's Division I), Wisconsin (Women's Division I), Norwich (Men's Division III) and RIT (Women's Division III) for currently being top-ranked in their respective USCHO.com polls. We'll see how things shake out as spring approaches, and who will ultimately be left standing in March and April.

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy New Year!