Spartan Icers Tangle With Buckeyes in Weekend Set

1/17/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

Jan. 17, 2008

Michigan State continues its four-game road swing with a two-game set at Ohio State. MSU is unbeaten in 2008 and is 6-0-2 in its last eight CCHA games. Ohio State has rebounded from a tough 11-game winless streak early in the season, and is 6-5-1 in its last dozen contests.

Live Statistics: Live Stats will be available on OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Audio: WJIM 1240 AM/ msuspartans.com
Scott Moore (PBP) and Rob Woodward `00 (Analysis)
Television: (Fri.) Big Ten Network; (Sat.) FSN Detroit
Live Video Webstream: Ohio State will webstream Saturday's game on OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Download MSU Hockey Notes (PDF)

series history
The Spartans own a commanding lead in the all-time series (75-20-7), and are 26-12-5 all-time in Columbus. The teams split last year's series in East Lansing, each recording a 4-1 victory.
Ohio State has won four of the last six games between the squads; Michigan State has won just six of the previous 16 (6-8-2) meetings.
scouting report
Ohio State, under the guidance of 13-year bench boss John Markell, owns a season record of 7-15-2, is 3-10-1 in CCHA play, and currently occupies tenth place in the conference standings. The Buckeyes most recently split with Alaska (2-4, 5-2) at home, and had only an exhibition last weekend with the USNTDP U-18 squad (W, 3-2).
Seven Buckeyes have 10 or more points this season, and every OSU skater who has played this season, along with goalie Joseph Palmer, has posted at least one point this year, with 17 scoring at least one goal. Seniors Tommy Goebel and Tom Fritsche lead the scoring attack - Goebel has 19 points on the season (11-8-19), and is two points away from the 100th point of his collegiate career. He has 23 goals, 22 assists and 45 points at Ohio State and had a 21-32-53 line at MSU in two seasons before transferring. Fritsche leads the team in assists (10) and has added four goals.
Palmer has returned from his stint at the World Junior Championships, and will likely get the starts for the Buckeyes in net. He owns a 3.22 GAA and .887 save percentage in 19 games this season.
last time out
MSU is coming off a three-point weekend in a home-and-home with sixth-ranked Notre Dame. MSU got a late game-winning goal from Justin Abdelkader on Friday, while the Irish got late-game heroics on Sunday with a tally in the final minute of regulation to forge a 1-1 tie.
On Friday, the teams traded second-period goals, and entered the final two minutes of the game tied at one. Deep in the MSU zone, Michael Ratchuk's shot from the bottom of the right circle was saved by ND goalie Jordan Pearce, but the rebound went straight up in the air. Both Ratchuk and Justin Abdelkader tried to swipe at the puck in midair, but missed - the puck fell to the ice in front of the goaltender, and Abdelkader was able to find his way through the scrum in front to poke the puck past Pearce for the game-winner. Nick Sucharski iced the victory with an empty-net tally, and Jeff Lerg made 30 saves.
On Sunday in South Bend, it was Notre Dame's chance for late-game heroics. With Pearce on the bench in favor of an extra attacker, a blast from the left point by Brett Blatchford bounced off two defenders near the right post and rung the upper right corner and fell into the back of the net for the equalizing tally. Jeff Lerg made 34 saves, including eight in overtime, as the teams settled on a tie.
honors
Jeff Lerg earned his second consecutive CCHA Goaltender of the Week honor (and fourth of the season) on Monday, Jan. 14. Lerg stopped 64 of 66 shots on the weekend against Notre Dame, and helped MSU to three points against the sixth-ranked Irish. He made 34 stops in Sunday's 1-1 tie (including eight in overtime), with the lone Notre Dame goal scored with an extra attacker.
Lerg has been the first star in each of MSU's last three games. Over the last two series, the Spartans are undefeated (2-0-2), and Lerg has posted a 1.73 GAA and .948 save percentage.
bonus hockey
The Spartans are undefeated in their last 19 overtime games (6-0-13), and have not dropped an overtime contest since Nov. 12, 2005 against Nebraska-Omaha (3-2).
Michigan State is 0-0-4 in overtime games this season, and has played to ties in back-to-back weekends (Jan. 5 vs. Lake Superior and Jan. 13 vs. Notre Dame). MSU also played to a pair of ties in the College Hockey Showcase against Minnesota and Wisconsin (Nov. 23-24).
the race is on
MSU sits in fourth place in the CCHA standings, three points out of the tie for first between Michigan and Miami and just one point behind third-place Notre Dame. MSU has played two fewer conference games than all the Irish or RedHawks, and has four games remaining against Michigan (two at home, one on the road, one at Joe Louis Arena). In addition, the Wolverines play Notre Dame this weekend and still have to face Miami.
The Spartans have the second-fewest losses in conference play after last weekend, however - Michigan leads the pack with just one, while Miami has three and Notre Dame four.
strong second halves
During the Rick Comley era, the Spartans have traditionally been a second-half team. The first three months (October, November, December) of his first five seasons (2002-07), the Spartans were a combined 48-43-8 (52.5%), then compiled a 69-33-10 mark in the second half (66.1%).
The 2007-08 Spartans had their best first-half record under Comley (12-5-2, 68.4%).
roadies
The Spartans have played 14 of their 23 games at home this season, but own a 5-1-1 mark in six road contests. All five victories and the tie have come as part of CCHA sweeps - at Alaska and Lake Superior, and in a home-and-home with Ferris State. The Spartans earned a tie at Notre Dame on Jan. 13.
quite the cluster
MSU has played half of its cluster games, and is 5-0-1 with sweeps at home against Northern Michigan (5-4, 3-2), at Lake Superior (3-2, 5-2) and a three-point home effort against the Lakers (8-2, 3-3). Michigan has also swept both upper peninsula schools, and Northern Michigan swept Lake Superior in a home-and-home.
law of averages
MSU's roster averages: 6-0, 188 lbs., and the average age is 20 years, 11 months.
high-yield returns
Michigan State is one of four teams in the CCHA that returned 20 letterwinners this season, the highest number in the CCHA. The Spartans returned 83.9 percent of their goal scoring from a year ago (115 goals), tops in the league. MSU returned 73.9 percent (263) of its points from a year ago, which ranks second in the CCHA behind Miami (81.5%). The Spartans returned five of their top six forwards: seniors Bryan Lerg and Chris Mueller and juniors Tim Kennedy, Justin Abdelkader, and Tim Crowder.
if it was baseball, they'd win the cy young
MSU has won 20+ games in 15 consecutive seasons.
let's end this streak
The Spartans will look to snap a rather inauspicious streak: neither of the last two NCAA titleists made the tournament the year after they won the championship: both the Denver Pioneers (2005 champions) and Wisconsin Badgers (2006 titleists) failed to qualify for the 16-team field.
home sweet home
In 2007-08, MSU will play 20 regular-season games at Munn Arena, compared to 15 a year ago. Fourteen of the 20 will be televised.
the number ones
The opening-game loss to North Dakota snapped a two-game winning streak for the Spartans against teams ranked No. 1 in the national polls. In last year's NCAA Tournament, the Spartans defeated both Notre Dame (2-1) and Boston College (3-1) when they held the top ranking.
Michigan State has five losses this season, and three were to teams which held the No. 1 ranking at the time of the game.
streaking
Michigan State owns an eight-game unbeaten streak in CCHA contests (6-0-2).
highs and lows
The Spartans allowed nine goals in the two games at the Great Lakes Invitational (two were empty-net tallies). It was the most goals allowed by the Spartans in a weekend this season.
The Spartans put together their best team defensive effort two weeks later in a series with Notre Dame (Jan. 11-13), allowing just two goals to the Irish in the series.
strong starts
MSU has scored the first goal of the game in nine of its last 11 games. The Spartans own a 12-1-2 record when scoring the game's opening tally, and are 2-4-2 when letting its opponent get on the board first.
MSU's only loss when netting the first goal of the game came against Providence in the GLI (Dec. 29).
home cooking?
With a 4-1 victory over Ferris State on Dec. 8, MSU snapped a four-game winless streak at home (0-2-2), its longest streak at Munn since an 0-3-2 streak in November of 2005. The Spartans are now unbeaten in their last six at Munn (2-0-3).
specialties
The MSU power play ranks sixth nationally (27/119, 22.7 percent). The power play rebounded from a 1-for-17 performance over its previous four games to post a 4-for-11 ledger against LSSU (Jan. 4-5) and was 1-for-6 against Notre Dame (Jan. 11-13).
Michigan State has not allowed a power play goal in its last five games, extinguishing all 10 chances against in the Notre Dame series and extending its streak to 19 consecutive successful kills dating back to the Providence game (12/29). The penalty kill is now at 82.8 percent for the season (82/99).
high yield
In its first nine games, MSU scored nearly half (15 of 34) of goals on the power play. That pace has slowed somewhat, as 12 of its last 45 have come with a man advantage.
its hot when we win
MSU has converted 23 of 73 chances on the power play (31.5%) in its 14 victories, while scoring just once in 25 opportunities (4%) in its five losses.
The penalty kill is at 83.1 percent (54-of-65) in victories, and just 14-of-20 (70%) in losses.
In its four ties, MSU's power play has connected three times in 21 chances (14.3%) - but has gone 14-for-14 on the penalty kill.
peppered ...
Michigan State's 52 shots on net against Mercyhurst (Nov. 10) was the most since a 52-shot effort against Wayne State in a 7-2 victory on Nov. 21, 2003. The Spartans had their second-highest shot output of the season on Dec. 1 at LSSU (41 shots).
and not ...
On Jan. 13 at Notre Dame, the Spartans had their fewest shots on net (15) since a 1-0 victory over Michigan on Nov. 4, 2000 in which they had 13 shots.
peppered, part II
Rick Comley has noted that he feels the Spartans have been giving up too many shots in recent games. The Spartans have allowed 36.4 shots per game over its last five contests, which included three of its six highest shots-against totals this season. On the year, the Spartans are allowing an average of 30.5 shots per game.
Since the Dec. 7 game against Ferris State, the Spartans have twice given up 40+ shots (including a season-high of 45 to Providence).
In its first nine games of the season (8-1-0), MSU allowed 25.5 shots per game - in the 14 games since (6-4-4), the Spartans have allowed 32.6 shots per contest. The fewest shots it has surrendered in a game over the last 14 contests is 22, to Minnesota (Nov. 23).
fast starts, tough thirds ...
The third period is the only one in which MSU does not hold a scoring advantage - the Spartans hold a 31-16 edge in the first period and 23-17 in the middle frame, but have been outscored 27-25 in the final frame.
MSU has allowed multiple third-period goals on five occasions. The Spartans allowed a season-high four goals to Providence in the third period on Dec. 29.
that said ...
If Michigan State holds a lead entering the final period, its a good bet to finish off the game. The Spartans are 12-0-0 if they lead at the second intermission, and are 2-2-2 when tied entering the final frame.
choir boys?
Only five times this season, including twice this past weekend against Notre Dame, has MSU been assessed more penalty minutes in a game than its opponent. The other occasions were the Nov. 3 game at Alaska and the Nov. 30 and Jan 4. games against Lake Superior State -
MSU was whistled for its season-high in penalties (11) on Jan. 13 at Notre Dame, and its season high for penalty minutes (28) was in the Nov. 16 game against Miami.
class system
Which class is the most productive for the Spartans? The eight-member junior class has an average of 0.71 points per game. The overall breakdown:

 Class (no.)    GP  G-A-P   PPG Freshmen (6)   85  12-26-38    0.44 Sophomores (4) 67  6-20-26 0.39 Juniors (8)    153 44-65-109   0.71 Seniors (5)    109 17-32-49    0.45

juniors hot in january
The junior class has accounted for more than half of the team's scoring since the calendar turned to 2008. In four games, the juniors have 23 of MSU's 42 points 55%) and have eight of the 15 goals scored. Junior netminder Jeff Lerg has posted a 1.73 GAA and .948 save percentage.
hot hands
Tim Kennedy extended his point-scoring streak to four games (0-4-4) with an assist in each Notre Dame game, the current longest streak on the team. Michael Ratchuk has a 4-3-7 scoring line, while Justin Abdelkader has 2-3-5 in the last four contests, as does Matt Schepke.
hands looking to get hotter
Tim Kennedy has a four-game point-scoring streak, but has not scored a goal in his last five games. That is his longest goal-less streak of the season.
offensive outburst
Tim Kennedy is among national scoring leaders in several categories: he ranks second in game-winning goals (5), sixth in power-play tallies (7), tied for eighth in shorthanded goals (2), and ranks 23rd in goals per game (0.68).
Kennedy has more than a third of the Spartans' game-winning goals (five of 14), and more than a quarter (7) of MSU's total power play tallies (27).
to the winners go the spoils
Tim Kennedy has scored five of MSU's game-winners, has assisted on two others, and has been on the ice for nine of 14 game-winners this season. Daniel Vukovic has been on the ice for 10 of 13 winners, and has had a hand in scoring six of them (1g, 5a).
Kennedy has also been on the ice for both of MSU's game-tying goals this season, and had a hand in scoring both - he netted the tying goal against Minnesota (Nov. 23), and assisted on Michael Ratchuk's equalizer in the Lake Superior State deadlock (Jan. 5).
offensive defensemen
Michigan State owns one of the top-scoring defensive units in the country, ranking third. MSU's blueliners average 2.70 points per game (10-52-62).
The Spartans boast two of the nation's top-scoring defensemen - Michael Ratchuk ranks sixth (0.83 ppg, 19 points) and Daniel Vukovic ranks 21st (0.63, 15 points).
multiplicity
Matt Schepke leads the Spartans with seven multiple-point outings this season, followed by Tim Kennedy and Michael Ratchuk (6), Bryan Lerg, Justin Abdelkader, and Tim Crowder with five.
Danie Vukovic entered his senior campaign with two career multiple-point games, which he has already surpassed this year. Ratchuk had two as a freshman, and surpassed that total in 15 games.
tight squeezes
Jeff Lerg is now 5-0 this season in one-goal games - the most recent when he posted a 4-3 win at Ferris State in Big Rapids on Dec. 7, while making 37 saves.
Lerg already has four ties on his ledger this season as well.
once again, a workhorse
Jeff Lerg leads all collegiate goaltenders in minutes played, entering the weekend with 1329:05. He is third in percentage of team minutes played, (94.9%), trailing Peter Mannino of Denver (1287:14, 97.5%) and Jean-Philippe Lamoureux of North Dakota (1227:30, 99.0%).
In 2006-07, Lerg logged 96.9% of available minutes for MSU, (2465:06), which ranked second only to Boston College's Cory Schneider.

after the seventh game, he rested
Jeff Lerg recently set the school record for consecutive goaltender appearances and games started, (63). The previous mark was held by Joe Selinger from Jan. 15, 1957-March 14, 1959. Lerg's streak ranks second all-time in the NCAA annals for consecutive starts and third in consecutive games played.
Lerg played in the first seven games of the year, and made his 63rd consecutive start on Nov. 9 against Mercyhurst. The next night, Lerg was relegated to door duty as sophomore Bobby Jarosz got his first collegiate start, and made 24 saves.

    NCAA - Consecutive Games Played
    Player, Team    Years   Cons. G
    David McKee, Cornell     2004-06    102
    Brant Nicklin, Duluth   1996-98 76
    Jeff Lerg, MSU  2005-07 62

NCAA - Consecutive Games Started
Player, Team Years Cons. St.
Brant Nicklin, Duluth 1996-98 76
Jeff Lerg, MSU 2005-07 62
Blair Allison, Maine 1994-95 51

in the annals
Jeff Lerg has moved into the top 10 in several netminding categories at Michigan State: Career wins (56), eighth; career games played (95), seventh; career GAA (2.29), third; career save percentage (.918), third; career shutouts (6), T-fifth; Wins in a season (26), T-fifth; games played, season (42), T-first; saves, season (1,042), fourth.
stopper
Jeff Lerg stopped a second-period penalty shot on an attempt by Colgate's Tyler Burton (Oct. 20) to preserve a 2-1 MSU lead that held up as the final. It was the first time an MSU goalie had stopped a penalty shot since Chad Alban denied Brendan Concannon of UMass-Lowell in the 1996 NCAA West Regional.
milestones
Nick Sucharski skated in his 100th career game at Notre Dame last weekend, the third junior this season to reach that milestone. Justin Abdelkader hit 100 against Michigan Tech (Dec. 28), and had an assist on a Tim Kennedy goal. Tim Crowder skated in his 100th career game on Dec. 1 against LSSU, and celebrated with a goal and an assist, which snapped a five-game scoreless streak.
Several Spartans are closing in on 100 career games: senior Jeff Dunne (95 GP), and juniors, Jeff Lerg (95), and Tim Kennedy (94).
at the dot
MSU benefits from a deep corps of quality centermen. On the year, Chris Mueller has won 162 of 186, for a team-best 56.6 percent. Justin Abdelkader has won 259 of 480 (54.0%), Zak McClellan is at 55.8 percent (77 of 138), and Nick Sucharski is at 52.3 percent (116 of 222). Bryan Lerg is also over 50% (160 of 218, 50.3%).
schep-ping up
Matt Schepke has already bettered his sophomore-year point total (2-3-5) with his 9-13-22 scoring line through 22 games. He has had two, two-goal games this season and had a career-best four-point night against LSSU on Jan. 4 (1g, 3a). He has multiple-point efforts in five of his last 11 games, is a team-best +11, shares the team lead in assists, and ranks third in goal scoring.
career years
Five veterans have already surpassed their single-season bests through the midpoint of the season. In addition to Schepke, senior blueliner Daniel Vukovic, who recorded a 7-5-12 stat line in what was a breakout junior season has two goals and 13 assists for 14 points - the 13 assists betters his career total of nine coming into the season.
Sophomore Michael Ratchuk has bettered his 12 points he recorded as a freshman (6-13-19), while classmate Ryan Turek and junior Brandon Gentile are also already ahead of their totals from a year ago. Turek has four assists this season after just two as a freshman, while Gentile's seven helpers betters his total of four last year.
collegiate debuts
The freshman class has found ways to make an impact through the first half of the season. Five of the six MSU freshmen have recorded their first collegiate goal, with blueliners Jeff Petry and AJ Sturges getting their first on Nov. 10 against Mercyhurst. Petry, a regular on the MSU power play, currently has a 1-12-13 line. Dustin Gazley had an impressive home debut, netting a pair of goals in his first home game (Oct. 19 vs. Colgate) and currently has three goals and eight assists. Corey Tropp leads freshmen in goal scoring (5-6-11) and is third in freshmen points. Andrew Rowe played in his first game in green and white on Oct. 26 against Northern Michigan, and has a pair of goals on the season. Forward Joey Shean has played in five games, and still looks for his first collegiate tally - but has played well in his role when called upon.
firsts
Sophomore Justin Johnston has appeared in five of the last six games for the Spartans, and has steadily shown growth and improvement this season. He recorded his first collegiate point against Providence (Dec. 29), a blast from the left point that set up Dustin Gazley's first-period goal.
double dips
MSU has boasted two, two-goal scorers three times this season, the most recent Michael Ratchuk and Tim Crowder against Lake Superior State on Jan. 4.
Dustin Gazley and Matt Schepke each had two-goal outings on Oct. 19, a 6-2 victory over Colgate, and Schepke and Bryan Lerg completed the feat again against Wisconsin (Nov. 23) in a 4-4 tie.
an even dozen
A total of 12 former Spartans are currently on NHL rosters: David Booth (Florida), Rod Brind'Amour (Carolina), Adam Hall (Pittsburgh), Shawn Horcoff (Edmonton), Duncan Keith (Chicago), John-Michael Liles (Colorado), Drew Miller (Anaheim), Ryan Miller (Buffalo), Jim Slater (Atlanta), Bryan Smolinski (Montreal), Mike Weaver (Vancouver) and Mike York (Phoenix).
up next
Michigan State concludes a four-game road swing next Friday at Michigan, then will host the Wolverines on Saturday in East Lansing. Both games will be televised by FSN Detroit.