Neil's Notebook: Spartans in Search of Sweep
11/27/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSU Spartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING - Three times this season Michigan State has won the first game of a two-game series and had its sights set on a coveted sweep.
But the Spartans came up short the next night and came away disappointed, settling for a series split.
They did it at home against Massachusetts the first weekend of the season, at New Hampshire three weeks ago and last weekend at Ohio State.
For MSU coach Tom Anastos, however, there's nothing linking the three second-game defeats.
"I don't see a common thread, other than the obvious that we didn't score enough goals,'' he said. "All three losses were a little different.''
After defeating UMass, 5-3, MSU lost to the Minutemen, 4-3, squandering a 3-2 lead in the third period and losing on a power-play goal with 10 seconds left.
The Spartans won 4-3 at New Hampshire in the series opener, and held a 2-1 lead midway through the second period in the second game. But two quick goals by the Wildcats led to a 5-2 win over MSU.
"I thought we played a better game the second night at New Hampshire than we did in the first,'' Anastos said. "We were just unable to score on our really good chances. We got ahead but couldn't put it away.''
Last Thursday, Michigan State scored three highly skilled goals, got some standout saves from goalie Jake Hildebrand and earned a 3-1 victory at Ohio State. The next night, the puck was going in and the Buckeyes were the ones finishing around the net, en route to a 3-0 victory.
The Spartans (4-7 overall, 1-1 Big Ten) resume their quest for their first sweep this weekend (Friday, Saturday, 7 p.m.) in a nonconference series at Princeton (1-6-1, 1-5-0 ECAC), a program in a rebuilding mode under new coach Ron Fogarty, a former successful Division III coach at Adrian College.
The Tigers, coming off back-to-back shutout losses at St. Lawrence (3-0) and Clarkson (4-0), have scored only eight goals in eight games.
Establishing consistency from shift-to-shift, period-to-period and game-to-game is critical, Anastos said, if his team is to lift its record above .500.
"We can't have ups and downs. We need everybody going every night,'' he said. "Because our margin for error is so tight, we can't have one line not bring it. Three lines won't carry us. That's been a real focus.
"That's part of your maturation as a player and maturation as a team, and where we want to be as a program.
"I've been pretty happy with our effort every night, but our execution needs to continue to get better, especially against the better teams that we play, where the pace is that much higher and you're under more pressure.''
Michigan State has split four series, lost two games during a weekend vs. two different teams, and lost one single-game weekend.
If two of those splits had been sweeps, the Spartans' record would be 6-5-1.
"We need to start better. Last weekend, Ohio State took it to us the second night,'' senior right wing Brett Darnell said. "It's hard in college hockey to get two wins on a weekend. But we need that killer instinct where we want to beat those teams so badly that we get on them early and don't give them a chance.''
Mike Ferrantino, MSU's captain and junior center, said his team, after a series-opening win, needs to be more focused on the second game, and not be relaxed and satisfied with success of game one.
"Part of it is putting the first game behind us and coming out with a new mindset and not thinking about what happened the night before,'' he said. "We need to come out with the same energy we had in the first one.
"But in a few of the games we lost, I thought we played better the second night than we did the first. It's a weird game. It's hard to sweep on the road. The other team is coming out with a lot of desperation.
"At Ohio State, I think we were missing a little jam, the extra juice that we needed, for some reason. You have to respond and ground yourself after you win the first night. The second game is tougher to get. I think we can find a way by just getting better and better.''
After the Princeton series, three games remain before the two-week Christmas break. MSU plays host to No. 3 Minnesota Dec. 5-6 and is home for one game against Clarkson on Dec. 14.
TIGER TALES: Princeton's only victory came at home against Cornell - a 2-1 decision on Nov. 7. Sophomore goalie Colton Phinney made 40 saves.
The Tigers opened the season with a 2-2 tie against Yale in a tournament game. They've lost to Merrimack in a tournament, Colgate at home, at Rensselaer, at Union, at St. Lawrence and at Clarkson.
Princeton has played seven freshmen and seven sophomores on a regular basis, but only three seniors and three juniors. Despite the presence of so many freshmen and sophomores, the Tigers have only three players who are younger than 20-years-old - all 19-year-olds.
"They're a team in transition. I know their coach (from his time at Adrian) and he's a good coach,'' Anastos said. "They'll be geared up to play us. We have lots of respect as to how they'll approach playing us.
"(Fogarty) did a great job at Adrian over the last several years, and I'm sure he'll use the same formula there to build that program.''
MSU is 5-0 all-time against the Tigers, including a pair of victories last season over Thanksgiving weekend - 4-1 and 8-2 at Munn Arena. This is the Spartans' first visit to Princeton, and the first time a Big Ten teams has played at Princeton since 1950, when the Tigers hosted Michigan.
"One of the reasons we schedule these schools is to get an opportunity to be on a campus like Princeton - for the guys to experience playing in an Ivy League environment,'' Anastos said. "Their rink (Hobey Baker Rink) is a historic building.
"I think it's a big deal for their program to have a team like Michigan State in their building with all the traditions we have,'' Anastos said. "They'll be fired up.''
The Tigers roster is made of 28 players from 10 states and three provinces. There's five players from New Jersey, five from Minnesota and three from California. There are no players from Michigan.
"I remember Princeton came in here last year and played hard. They were very physical,'' Ferrantino said. "They tried to body us and beat us up a little. We expect that going in.
"It's a great opportunity for us to go out there (and get a sweep) but we've got to get the first one. For us, it's take it period-by-period and keep it going.''
GOALTENDING UPDATE: After a tough outing against Boston College in a 3-2 loss two weeks ago, junior goalie Jake Hildebrand bounced back with two strong games at Ohio State. He was a huge factor in MSU winning the series opener (34 saves) and was solid in the second-game loss (25 saves).
"He was right on his game. He was seeing the puck, tracing the puck really well,'' Anastos said. "He had a tough night against BC and you always look at goalies as to how they respond coming out of games like that. He's in a good place right now.''
Anastos said there are no set plans to split the goaltending duties this weekend in the nonconference series.
Freshman Ed Minney has not made an appearance in MSU's first 11 games, with Hildebrand starting and finishing every contest.
"I haven't given it that much thought,'' Anastos said of the chances of Minney playing in one of games. "We'll approach it as it comes. On Friday, we'll go with Hildy and reassess things afterward for Saturday.
"Ed has had a couple of good weeks of practice, and he's making progress in his game, so that's a positive thing. He's been very good. He has a good attitude, very good work habits. So all the things we thought he would be, he has been.''
Hildebrand has a 2.40 goals-against average and a .917 saves percentage. In four games, he's given up one goal, and in one game, he's allowed two.
"In the big picture, we're trying to win as many games as we possibly can, and we put the guys on the ice that give you the best chance to win,'' Anastos said. "You want to put guys in and give them experience when you're certain they're ready, when the dynamics give them the best chance to have success.
"As our team gets better, it creates more flexibility, and as you become less reliant on your goalie or another player, that changes the dynamics.''
SPARTAN POTPOURRI: Senior right wing Matt Berry and junior center Mike Ferrantino share the scoring lead with 10 points apiece. Berry, who had a goal and an assist at OSU, has six goals and four assists, while Ferrantino has five goals and five assists. . . Sophomore left wing Mackenzie MacEachern is third in scoring with four goals and five assists for nine points.
Ferrantino leads in points on the road with five (2-3). . . MSU ranks 10th in the nation in penalty-killing efficiency (90 percent). Over the last eight games, the Spartans have killed 24 of 26 opponents' power plays. . . MSU has generated more shots on goal than its opponent in seven of 11 games. The Spartans have been at their best in the second period, outshooting the opposition, 106-85. . . MacEachern's nine points are just three shy of his 12-point (8-4) output last year as a freshman. He's the only Spartan with a shorthanded goal and power-play goal. He enters the weekend with three goals and two assists for five points over the last six games.
IN THE BIG TEN: Five teams are involved in nonconference games this weekend, with Penn State (7-3-2, 1-1) idle.
Michigan (5-6, 1-1), coming off a split against Penn State, plays host to Rensselear (6-7-1) on Friday and Saturday. Minnesota (7-3, 0-0), idle last weekend, goes out East to play at No. 3 Boston College (7-5) on Friday and Northeastern (2-9-1) on Saturday.
Wisconsin (0-8, 0-0), coming off losses at Colorado College and Denver, is home against Ferris State (7-6) on Friday and Saturday. Ohio State (4-7, 1-1) is playing Western Michigan (3-8-1) on Friday in the Shillelagh Tournament in South Bend. On Saturday, the Buckeyes play the winner or loser of Friday's Notre Dame (6-6-2) vs. Union (6-5-1) semifinal.
