Michigan State University Athletics
Michigan State and Boston College Renew Series Friday at Munn
11/13/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
| Game 9: No. 8/8 Boston College (4-5) vs. Michigan State (3-5) | |
| Date , Time | Fri., Nov. 14 - 7 p.m. |
| Location | East Lansing, Mich. | Munn Ice Arena (6,470) |
| Tickets | MSUSpartans.com |
| Live Stats | |
| Radio | Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) | WFVN 730-AM |
| Radio (Mobile) | Broadcast available on Spartan Sports Network Mobile App: iPhone/iPad | Android |
| Promotions | 4 Seats, 4 Treats |
| Game Notes | BC | Michigan State |
| Social Media | @MSU_Hockey  | Facebook  |
On The Fly...
• Michigan State welcomes Boston College to Munn Ice Arena for the first time since Nov. 16-17, 1990, when the teams split a pair of games ... The teams have split the last four meetings and MSU leads the all-time series, 16-7-1.
• Friday's game against BC will be MSU's fifth against a ranked opponent ... MSU is 1-3 vs. ranked opponents this season with all three losses coming by one goal.
• Senior forward Matt Berry (5-3-8) and sophomore winger Mackenzie MacEachern (4-4-8) lead MSU in points ... After scoring three times last weekend at UNH, junior Michael Ferrantino is tied for second on the team with four goals.• Ferrantino was named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week on Tuesday for his three-goal effort last weekend ... The honor was the first of his career.
• Mackenzie MacEachern (3-1-4) and junior defenseman Travis Walsh (2-1-3) both bring team-high three-game point streaks into Friday's game ... MacEachern's streak is one game short of his career long, while Walsh's is the longest of his career ... Walsh's five points (2g, 3a) are two shy of his 2013-14 season total (7a).• The Spartans have allowed two goals or fewer in four of their eight games and are currently tied for 26th in the nation in goals against per game at 2.50.
• The Spartans extinguished 6-of-7 UNH power plays last weekend and continue to boast one of the nation's top penalty-kill units with a .906 penalty-kill percentage, which ranks 10th nationally and tops in the conference.• The Spartan power play is 3-for-12 over the last three games, having registered a goal in all three contests ... MSU's longest power-play goal streak last year was four games (March 7-15, 6-for-9).
• MSU ranks 14th in the nation in face-off win percentage at .531 (260-230) ... Junior Michael Ferrantino leads MSU in face-offs taken (169) and win percentage (.598) ... His 101 face-off wins lead the Big Ten and rank 19th nationally.• The Spartans led the country in blocked shots per game per game (17.67) in 2013-14 and are back up near the top this season, currently averaging 15.25 blocks per game which ranks second in the Big Ten and 14th nationally.
• MSU has outshot its opponents in six of eight games this season and by a total count of 228-217 ... MSU has a 76-56 advantage over opponents in the second period.• The Spartans' three unassisted goals are tied for sixth nationally.
• Michigan State is 3-0 when leading after the first and second periods this season ... MSU is also 3-0 when scoring first.About Boston College
The eighth-ranked Boston College Eagles are coming off a 6-3 loss at home to Harvard on Tuesday night, extending their losing streak to four games ... MSU and BC share three common opponents in UMass-Lowell and Boston University, both of which defeated the Spartans and Eagles, and UMass, which BC topped, 4-1 ... The Eagles are averaging 3.00 goals (22nd nationally) and 29.0 shots on goal per game ... The Eagle power play went 0-for-7 vs. Harvard and is 5-for-46 (.109), while the penalty kill has erased 38-of-43 opponent power plays ... Sophomore forward Ryan Fitzgerald leads the Eagles with seven goals ... Junior defenseman Teddy Doherty's seven assists lead the Eagles.
Michigan State leads the all-time series with the Eagles, 16-7-1. The last meeting between the teams was Oct. 7, 2011 - a 5-2 Eagle win in Tom Anastos' first game as head coach. The Spartans and Eagles have met 10 times in the NCAA Tournament, with MSU going 8-2. The last NCAA Tournament meeting came in the 2007 title game where the Spartans won, 3-1, to capture their third national crown.
Michael Ferrantino led the Spartans with three goals ... Joe Cox had three assists - his first three points of the season ... Mackenzie MacEachern scored the team's first short-handed goal of the season in the 4-3 win and added another unassisted goal the following night ... MSU scored two first-period goals in the 4-3 win for the third time in a game this season.
PK Improvement
MSU's penalty kill unit has made significant improvement over last season and enters the weekend 10th in the nation in penalty kill percentage at .906, having extinguished 29-of-32 opponent power plays. The Spartans have killed 17 of the last 18 opponent power plays and has yet to allow a goal on the man advantage in the second period (6-of-6).
Through eight games in 2013-14, the Spartans allowed nine power-play goals and had a .743 penalty kill percentage.
...Power Play, Too
After generating just one goal on the man advantage in the first five games, the Spartans have scored one in each of the last three contests, going 3-for-12 over the span. Michael Ferrantino leads the team with two power-play goals, both of which came in the series vs. UNH.
Tino Earns B1G Honor
In being named the Big Ten Third Star of the week on Nov. 11, junior captain Michael Ferrantino earned the first weekly conference honor of his career. Ferrantino had a career-high two goals in the 4-3 win at UNH on Nov. 7 and added another the following night. Two of his three goals came on the power play.
• The Spartans are 1-3 and have allowed a combined five goals.
• MSU is averaging 31.5 shots on goal per game, while allowing an average of 24.8, and has an overall shots on goal advantage of 126-99 in the four contests.
• The Spartans have killed 17-of-18 (.944) opponent power plays.
• Jake Hildebrand has a 1.28 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.
• The Spartans held BU to one goal after the Terriers scored eight in their previous game and limited UMass-Lowell, now the nation's highest-scoring team (4.22 goals per game), to two goals a night after the River Hawks scored four.
Watch Tom
Player Notes
• Junior goaltender Jake Hildebrand's 42 saves in the 4-3 win at UNH win were a career high in a road game and his most since Feb. 8, 2014 when he made 48 in a 2-2 tie with Ohio State.
• Hildebrand's 2.40 GAA and .912 save percentage both rank third among Big Ten goalies that have played at least eight games.
• Redshirt sophomore Connor Wood made his collegiate debut on Nov. 7 at UNH ... After being limited to just five games in 2013-14 due to season-ending surgery, redshirt sophomore David Bondra was in the lineup on Nov. 7 for the first time since Dec. 1, 2014.
• Matt Berry (5-3-8) and Mackenzie MacEachern (4-4-8) are tied for seventh in the Big Ten in points ... Travis Walsh (2-3-5) is tied for third among Big Ten defensemen in points.
• Mackenzie MacEachern had two unassisted goals last weekend, becoming the first Spartan to have two unassisted goals in a season since Brent Darnell had a pair in 2012-13.
• Senior defenseman Ron Boyd continues to lead MSU in plus/minus at plus-3.
A total of 13 Spartans were on NHL opening night rosters and 12 have seen action so far this season:
• Torey Krug (Boston Bruins)
• Corey Potter (Calgary Flames)
• John-Michael Liles (Carolina Hurricanes)
• Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks)
• Corey Tropp (Columbus Blue Jackets)
• Shawn Horcoff (Dallas Stars)
• Justin Abdelkader (Detroit Red Wings)
• Drew Miller (Detroit Red Wings)
• Jeff Petry (Edmonton Oilers)
• Mike Weaver (Montreal Canadiens)
• Chris Mueller (New York Rangers)
• David Booth (Toronto Maple Leafs)
