Spartans Kick Off Stretch Run, Host UNO

Defensemen Jeff Petry and Daniel Vukovic

1/31/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

Jan. 31, 2008

Michigan State will wrap up a three-game homestand when it hosts Nebraska-Omaha this weekend in East Lansing. The Spartans are coming off a three-point weekend against then-top-ranked Michigan and are 17-5-5 on the season, and are 13-2-3 in CCHA play. The Mavericks were idle last weekend after sweeping Alaska om Jan. 18-19, and own an 11-12-3 overall mark and are 8-9-3 in conference action.

Date Feb. 1-2, 2008; East Lansing, Mich.
Gametimes Friday: 7:05 p.m.; Sat. 4:05 p.m..
Tickets: A limited number of tickets remain. Purchase Tickets

Live Statistics: |
Audio: WJIM 1240 AM (Fri.) / WVFN 730 AM (Sat.)/ msuspartans.com
Scott Moore (PBP) and Rob Woodward `00 (Analysis)
Television: (Sat.) FSN Detroit
Live Video Webstream: All-Access Subscription required Watch
Download MSU Hockey Notes (PDF)

series history
The Spartans own a 17-8-1 all-time mark against the Mavericks, which includes a 9-5-0 ledger in games played at Munn Arena. The teams met four times last season - MSU earned three points in Omaha in February, then swept the Mavericks out of the CCHA quarterfinal round with 4-2, 4-1 victories.
scheduling quirks
This will be the last two-game series of the regular season for the Spartans at Munn Arena, and next weekend will be the final two-game road series. Each of MSU's final three regular-season weekends will have games contested at different sites - the Spartans will have a home-and-home with both Western Michigan and Bowling Green, and will tangle with archrival Michigan at home and then at Joe Louis Arena. All remaining home games will be played at home on Friday nights.
MSU's game against Michigan at Joe Louis Arena has been changed to a 7:05 p.m. start time.
scouting report
Nebraska-Omaha, coached by 11th-year mentor Mike Kemp, owns a 4-2-0 record in 2008, with sweeps at Alaska and Western Michgian and two losses to top-ranked Miami. The scoring efforts are led by senior captain Bryan Marshall, who ranks third nationally with 38 points (1.46 ppg), on 11 goals and 27 assists. Classmate Mick Lawrence leads the squad in goal scoring with 15, (11 on the power play) and Brandon Scero rounds out the double-figure goal scorers with 10 and 21 points.
Goaltending duties have fallen to junior Jerad Kaufman over the last six games, and he has started 17 of UNO's 26 games this season. He owns a 2.83 GAA and .888 save percentage.
last time out
Michigan State took three points with a road win and home tie against then-No. 1 Michigan last weekend. The Spartans posted a 1-0 victory on Friday at Yost Ice Arena in Ann Arbor, then skated to a 2-2 tie with the Wolverines the next night in East Lansing.
On Friday. MSU made a first-period power-play tally by senior captain Bryan Lerg hold up, in great part thanks to Jeff Lerg's 26-save shutout, as the Spartans posted the road victory. Michigan State picked up its first victory at Yost since Feb. 28, 2003, and shut out the Wolverines for the second time in three seasons.
The power play tally came at 16:33 of the opening frame. Nick Sucharski threw the puck low from his spot in the high crease, and Chris Mueller had the first whack at it from his station at the left post. Mueller's offering was saved by goalie Billy Sauer, but the rebound fell tantalizingly into the crease, where Bryan Lerg poked it home to give the visitors all they would need on the night, as Jeff Lerg picked up his second consecutive and eighth career shutout.
On Saturday, the Wolverines drew first blood at 6:38 in the second frame on the power play, but were whistled for infractions 27 seconds apart midway through the period. The Spartans potted two power play goals in a 46-second span to turn a one-goal deficit into a 2-1 lead - Daniel Vukovic got the five-on-three tally with a blast from the blueline, and Tim Crowder followed suit from the left circle for the go-ahead goal.
Michigan got the game-tying tally with 1:38 to play in the game, when an MSU defender inadvertently gloved the puck past Jeff Lerg. The tie did not diminish the outstanding play of MSU's junior netminder, who made 29 saves and finished as the game's first star.
sister-kissers
MSU has five ties this season, tied for the third-most all-time in the Spartan annals. The school record of eight was set in 1991-92 and tied in 2005-06.
blankings
With the Jan. 19 4-0 win at Ohio State and last Friday's 1-0 victory at Michigan, MSU recorded consecutive shutouts for the first time since Feb. 20-21 2004, (vs. Nebraska-Omaha, (3-0, 5-0).
bonus hockey
The Spartans are now undefeated in their last 20 overtime games (6-0-14), and have not dropped an overtime contest since Nov. 12, 2005 against Nebraska-Omaha (3-2).
Michigan State is 0-0-5 in overtime games this season, and has played to ties in three of their last four series (Jan. 5 vs. Lake Superior, Jan. 13 at Notre Dame, and Jan. 26 vs. Michigan). MSU also played to a pair of ties in the College Hockey Showcase against Minnesota and Wisconsin (Nov. 23-24).
honors
Spartan goaltender Jeff Lerg picked up two big awards this week - he earned his fourth consecutive CCHA Goaltender of the Week kudos and sixth of the 2007-08 season, then later was named the RBC Financial CCHA Player of the Month.
Lerg is the first goaltender to win the Goaltender of the Week honor four consecutive weeks since the CCHA began a dedicated weekly honor for its netminders in the 2004-05 season, and the first goaltender to win a weekly honor four consecutive weeks since Ferris State's Mike Brown captured four straight Defensive Player of the Week awards from Oct. 14-Nov. 4, 2002.
Lerg was spectacular in both games last weekend against top-ranked Michigan, which came into the weekend with the nation's second-ranked offense (4.12 goals per game). He twice earned first-star honors as he stopped 55 of 57 shots (.965) on the weekend, with a 0.96 GAA in two games. Lerg posted his second consecutive shutout on Friday and made 26 saves in a 1-0 victory, backstopping MSU to its first win (and shutout) at Yost since 2003. He had his shutout streak, which dated back to last weekend's Ohio State series in Columbus, snapped at 190:54 when MSU allowed a second-period power play tally on Saturday, and was victimized by a late own-goal as the Spartans settled on a 2-2 tie at home.
In a 5-0-3 month for the Spartans, Lerg boasted a .959 save percentage and 1.23 goals against average, which included two road shutouts.
the race is on
MSU's three points last weekend against the Wolverines gave Miami (which swept at Alaska) sole possession of first place in the CCHA standings. Michgian holds second, three points behind, followed by Michigan State, who now trails Miami by five points and Michigan by two. The Spartans have two games in hand on Miami and have two more games on the slate against Michgian - Feb. 22 at Munn Arena, and Feb. 23 at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
january gems
The Spartans finished the month of January unbeaten (5-0-3) - their first unbeaten regular-season month since February of 2006 (6-0-1). MSU was also unbeaten in April 2007 (2-0).
superlatives
MSU, along with Michigan, owns the fewest losses in CCHA play (2) and is tied for second nationally for the fewest losses (5) with Boston College - Michigan and Miami lead the nation with three.
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%), and are 5-0-3 since the start of 2008 (81.2%).
roadies
The Spartans have played 15 of their 27 games at home this season, but own a 8-1-1 mark in ten road contests. Seven of the eight victories have come as part of CCHA sweeps - at Alaska, Lake Superior, and Ohio State and in a home-and-home with Ferris State. The Spartans earned their road tie at Notre Dame (Jan. 13), and defeated Michigan at Yost in a three-point weekend. The Spartans went 0-2 in their only two neutral-site games, at the GLI.
quite the cluster
MSU is the only undefeated team in its cluster (Michgian, Lake Superior, and Northern Michigan), and owns a 6-0-2 record with sweeps at home against Northern Michigan (5-4, 3-2), at Lake Superior (3-2, 5-2) a three-point home effort against the Lakers (8-2, 3-3), and a three-point effort in a home-and-home with Michigan. 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
MSU took three points from then-No. 1 Michigan last weekend, snapping a three-game losing streak to 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 (North Dakota, and twice against Miami).
streaking
Michigan State owns a 12-game unbeaten streak in CCHA contests (9-0-3), best in the league.
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.
In the last six games, Jeff Lerg and the Spartan offense has allowed just five goals, and posted two road shutouts (at Ohio State and Michigan)
strong starts
MSU has scored the first goal of the game in 12 of its last 15 games. The Spartans own a 15-1-2 record when scoring the game's opening tally, and are 2-4-3 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 (4-0-3).
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 18 of its last 56 have come with a man advantage.
specialties
Michigan State has allowed just one power play goal in its last nine games, snapping a streak of 32 consecutive kills when Michigan scored an extra-man tally in the second period of the Jan. 26 game in East Lansing. In those nine games, the Spartans have killed 34 of 35 chances aggainst, dating back to the Providence game (Dec. 29). The penalty kill is now at 84.3 percent for the season (97/115).
The MSU power play ranks fourth nationally (33/139 23.7 percent). Since Jan. 1, the power play has operated at a 29.7 percent success rate (11/37).
its hot when we win
MSU has converted 27 of 88 chances on the power play (30.67%) in its 17 victories, while scoring just once in 25 (4%) in its five losses.
The penalty kill is at 85.5 percent (65/76) in victories, and just 14-of-20 (70%) in losses.
In its five ties, MSU's power play has connected five times in 26 chances (19.2%) - but has gone 18-for-19 on the penalty kill (94.7%).
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 had noted that he felt the Spartans have been giving up too many shots. The Spartans have allowed 31.9 shots per game over its last ten contests, which included three of its six highest shots-against totals this season. On the year, the Spartans are allowing an average of 29.4 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 (8-1-0), MSU allowed 25.5 shots per game - in the 16 since (7-4-5), the Spartans have allowed 32.1 shots per contest. The fewest shots it has surrendered in a game over the last 14 contests is 22, to Minnesota (Nov. 23).
In recent games, however, MSU has kept the shot totals against low - over the last four games, MSU has averaged 27.0 shots against.
>fast starts, tough thirds ...
The third period is the only one in which MSU does not hold a significant scoring advantage - the Spartans hold a 35-17 (+18) edge in the first and 26-18 (+8) in the middle frame, but but hold only a 29-28 advantage in the third (+2).
MSU has allowed multiple third-period goals on eight occasions. The Spartans allowed a season-high four goals to Providence in the third period on Dec. 29, and twice allowed three (Oct. 13 at North Dakota, and Oct. 26 vs. Northern Michigan).
that said ...
If Michigan State holds a lead entering the final period, its a good bet to finish off the game. The Spartans are 15-0-2 if they lead at the second intermission, and are 2-2-2 when tied entering the final frame.
choir boys?
Only six times this season, including three times in the last four games, has MSU been assessed more penalty minutes in a game than its opponent. MSU was whistled for its season-high in penalties (11) on Jan. 13 at Notre Dame and on Jan. 26 agaisnt Michigan, and its season high for penalty minutes (31) was in the Jan. 19 game against Ohio State.

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 eight games, the juniors have 39 of MSU's 69 points (57 percent) and have 15 of the 26 goals scored (58 percent). Junior netminder Jeff Lerg has posted a 1.23 GAA and .959 save percentage.
Since Jan. 1, Tim Crowder leads the team in scoring with four goals and five assists for nine points, followerd by Justin Abdelkader (5-3-8). Senior Bryan Lerg shares the goal-scoring lead with Crowder and has four assists for eight points.
hot hands
Bryan Lerg owns the teams current point streak (four games), with 2-3-5 in that span. He and Nick Sucharski (0-2-2) are the only skaters to record points in the low-scoring Michigan series.
hands looking to get hotter
Tim Kennedy was held without a point in both Michigan games, matching his longest point-less streak of the season - he did not have points in either of the first two games of the season (North Dakota, Colgate), but after that ran off an eight-game scoring streak in which he had 10 goals and five assists.
Kennedy has not had a goal in nine games - his longest streak since his freshman season, when he was held off the board in 11 consecutive games.
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 17 game-winners this season. Daniel Vukovic has been on the ice for 12 of 17 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 fifth. MSU's blueliners average 2.44 points per game (11-55-66).
The Spartans boast some of the nation's top-scoring defensemen - Michael Ratchuk ranks tenth (0.74 ppg, 20 points) and Daniel Vukovic ranks 27th (0.59, 16 points).
multiplicity
Tim Kennedy and Matt Schepke lead the Spartans with seven multiple-point outings this season, followed by Bryan Lerg, Tim Crowder, Justin Abdelkader and Michael Ratchuk (6).
tight squeezes
Jeff Lerg is now 6-0 this season in one-goal games - the most recent his 1-0 gem at Michigan on Jan. 25. Lerg already has five ties on his ledger this season as well.
In his career (99 GP), Lerg has eight shutouts, and 26 games in which he has allowed a single goal. He has allowed just two goals on another 27 occasions - a grand total of 61 of 99 games that he has allowed two goals or fewer.
whitewashes
Jeff Lerg posted back-to-back shutouts of Ohio State (Jan. 19) and Michigan (Jan. 25), and ran his shutout streak to 190:54 through all or part of 11 periods of hockey. The streak was snapped with a second-period power play tally last Saturday by the Wolverines. In his career, Lerg has two shutouts against Michigan and has twice posted a 1-0 victory - the first was in the 2006 NCAA East Regional against New Hampshire. Both of Lerg's shutouts this season have come on the road.
what have you done for me lateley?
Jeff Lerg has been an intregal part of MSU's eight-game unbeaten streak. He's allowed just 10 goals in the eight contests, (1.23 GAA) and sports a .959 save percentage. In the last three series (No. 6 Notre Dame, Ohio State, No. 1 Michigan), Lerg's numbers are beyond outstanding - he boasts a .971 save percentage, and 0.86 GAA.
death, taxes, and Jeff Lerg
Jeff Lerg leads all collegiate goaltenders in minutes played, entering the weekend with 1574:05. He is fifth in percentage of team minutes played, (95.7 percent).
In 2006-07, Lerg logged 96.9% of available minutes for MSU, (2465:06), which ranked second only to Boston College's Cory Schneider.
shooting gallery
Jeff Lerg leads all Division I goaltenders in saves (705) and faces an average of 27.1 shots per game, the third-most of any CCHA netminder and 15th nationally. His 705 saves in 26 games is 97 more than Billy Sauer of Michigan, who ranks second in that category in the CCHA; Beau Erickson of Connecticut ranks second nationally behind Lerg with 691 saves on the season.
in the annals
Jeff Lerg has moved into the top 10 in several netminding categories at Michigan State: Career wins (59), eighth; career games played (99), seventh; career GAA (2.20), third; career save percentage (.921), third; career saves (2,525), seventh; career shutouts (8), fourth; 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 on Jan. 13, 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.
Three Spartans will likely reach 100 career games against UNO this wekeend: senior Jeff Dunne (99 GP), and juniors Jeff Lerg (99), and Tim Kennedy (98).
at the dot
MSU benefits from a deep corps of quality centermen who excel on faceoffs - the Spartans won 84 of 145 in the two-game set with Michigan, (59%). On the year, Chris Mueller has won 203 of 344 faceoffs, for a team-best 59.0 percent. Justin Abdelkader has won 305 of 566 (53.9%), Zak McClellan is at 55.8 percent (91 of 163), and Nick Sucharski is at 50.8 percent (120 of 236). Bryan Lerg is also over 50% (197 of 389, 50.6%).
schep-ping up
Matt Schepke has already bettered his sophomore-year point total (2-3-5) with his 10-14-24 scoring line through 27 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 13 games, is a team-best +10, 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 three goals and 13 assists for 16 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 (6-14-20), 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 nine helpers betters his total of four last year.
<.br>
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 (5-7-12) and is second 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.
earning his role
Sophomore Justin Johnston has appeared in 11 of the last 13 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. Johnston's emergence has not only added another dimension to the defensive corps, but the Spartans have recently employed to a seven-defenseman lineup as they did during the 2007 National Championship run.
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.
double dips, part II
In 42 games last season, there were 15 occasions where an MSU skater recorded two goals in a game. Through 27 games this year, it has already happened 12 times.
scholarships
Senior Jeff Dunne has been honored with a Charles E. and Frances M. Osterman Scholarship. Robert Osterman, past president of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, provided this scholarship to the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences in memory of his parents. Dunne, a crop and soil science major has a cumulative grade point average of 3.771.
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 hits the road next weekend for its final two-game road trip of the season, and will take on clustermate Northern Michigan in Marquette. Game time each evening is 7:35 p.m.