Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Resume Big Ten Play at Penn State
1/14/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
| Games 19-20: Michigan State (7-10-1, 1-2-1-1 B1G) at Penn State (10-7-2, 4-2 B1G) | |
| Dates | Times | Fri., Jan. 16 - 7 p.m. | Sat., Jan. 17 - 5 p.m. |
| Location | University Park, Pa. | Pegula Ice Arena (5,782) |
| TV | Sat. - ESPNU, TSN2 (Canada) |
| Video Stream | Fri. - BTN Plus | Sat. - Watch ESPN |
| Gametracker | | |
| Radio | Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) | Fri. - WJIM 1240-AM | Sat. - WFVN 730-AM |
| Radio (Mobile) | Broadcast available on Spartan Sports Network Mobile App: iPhone/iPad | Android |
| Game Notes | Michigan State | Penn State |
| Social Media | @MSU_Hockey  | Facebook  |
On The Fly...
• The Spartans are coming off a 4-1 exhibition game victory over the USNTDP Under-18 team on Jan. 9 at Munn Arena.
• Friday's game will be Michigan State's first regular-season contest since Dec. 29 - a span of 17 days without a regular-season game ... It's the longest break between regular-season games for MSU since an 18-day stretch between Dec. 10 (3-3 T vs. Michigan) and Dec. 29 (3-1 W vs. Michigan Tech) in 2011.
• This weekend will be the first of four meetings between MSU and PSU ... Penn State makes the return trip to East Lansing Feb. 13-14.
• Michigan State's last regular-season contest was the 50th Great Lakes Invitational title game on Dec. 29 ... The Spartans topped Ferris State, 2-0, in the semifinals and then fell to Michigan in the championship game, 2-1.
• Brent Darnell extended his season-long point streak to four games with a goal and an assist in the GLI, earning Big Ten Third Star of the Week (Dec. 31) honors for the first time in his career.
• Goaltender Jake Hildebrand yielded a total of just two goals in the GLI, which was his lowest two consecutive game total since also allowing two goals in a series split with Ferris State, Oct. 31-Nov. 1.
• Hildebrand's 31-save performance in the 2-0 win over Ferris State in the GLI gave him his fifth career shutout ... Hildebrand is now tied with Joe Blackburn (1998-01) for ninth on MSU's all-time shutout list ... He leads the league in saves (452) and shots faced (497).
• Rhett Holland scored his first-career goal in the loss to Michigan ... The day before, Holland registered his first assist of the season, giving him points in consecutive games for the second time in his career.
• Sophomore Joe Cox has five points (2g, 3a) over the last four games ... Six of his 10 points this season have come in the last six games.
• MSU leads the Big Ten in penalty kill percentage at .841 ... The Spartans have killed their opponents' last seven power-play attempts.
• MSU has played with a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen over the last four regular-season games, going 2-1-1.
• The Spartans are averaging 14.8 blocked shots per game, which ranks 12th in the nation and fourth in the Big Ten ... Travis Walsh leads the Spartans with 35 blocks (1.94 per game).
• MSU's .512 faceoff win percentage is 19th best nationally and fourth highest in the Big Ten.
• The Spartans have generated 30 or more shots on goal in five of the last seven games and rank fourth in the Big Ten and 26th nationally in shots on goal per game at 30.5.
• MSU has generated more shots on goal than its opponents in 12 of 18 games this season after doing so in just 14 of 36 contests last year.
• MSU leading scorer Michael Ferrantino (8-6-14) has a team-high five multi-point games.
From the USNTDP U-18 Exhibition Game
The Spartans got goals from four different players in a 4-1 exhibition win over the USNTDP U-18 team on Jan. 9 at Munn Arena ... Ryan Keller, Matt DeBlouw (empty-netter), Joe Cox (empty-netter) and USNTDP alum Dylan Pavelek scored for MSU, while Mackenzie MacEachern and Carson Gatt both had two assists ... Jake Hildebrand stopped all eight shots he saw in the first period and USNTDP alum Ed Minney took over for the final two periods, turning away 12 of the 13 shots he faced ... The Spartans outshot the U-18s by a count of 35-21 in the game, including a 30-13 mark over the final two periods.
From the GLI
The Spartans appeared in their 26th GLI title game ... The Spartans topped Ferris State, 2-0, in the semifinals in the third game between the teams this season ... Jake Hildebrand's 31-save shutout win over FSU marked his second straight shutout in the GLI as he blanked Michigan with 29 saves in a 3-0 victory in the consolation game in 2013 ... Brent Darnell (1-1-2) and Rhett Holland (1-1-2) had points in both games ... Holland was named to the GLI All-Tournament team ... MSU killed all five penalties in the tournament.
Last Year vs. Penn State
The Spartans went 3-0-1 against Penn State last season ... The Spartans swept the Nittany Lions, 3-0 and 3-2, in the first series of the season in East Lansing (Jan. 17-18) ... Following a 2-2 tie at Pegula Ice Arena in the series opener at Penn State (Feb. 14), Brent Darnell scored the only goal of a seven-round shootout to give MSU the extra point ... The Spartans won the next afternoon, 2-1, on a late goal by Matt Berry ... Michael Ferrantino is the Spartans' leading returner in points against PSU last season as he had two goals and two assists ... Jake Hildebrand started all four games in goal against the Nittany Lions, posting a 1.22 goals-against average and .963 save percentage.
Darnell Rolls Into 2015
Brent Darnell's game-winning goal vs. Ferris State and assist the following night against Michigan ran his point streak to four games - tying Michael Ferrantino for the longest by a Spartan this season. His effort earned him recognition from the conference as he was named the Big Ten Third Star of the Week - the first such honor of his career.
Darnell has three goals and three assists over the last four games. The senior from Canton has 49 points (22g, 27a) in a team high 122-career games.
Holland Shines in GLI
Redshirt sophomore defenseman Rhett Holland had perhaps his best two-game stretch of the season in the GLI. The defenseman got his first assist of the year on Brent Darnell's game-winning goal vs. Ferris State and then got his first-career goal in the title game vs. Michigan.
Holland has appeared in all 18 games this season and has six points in 52-career games.
Hildebrand in the Record Books
Jake Hildebrand's first shutout of the season in the Dec. 28 win over Ferris State was the fifth of his career, tying him with Joe Blackburn (1998-01) for ninth place on MSU's all-time shutout list. Hildebrand's next shutout would move him into a four-way tie for sixth place on MSU's career-shutout list.
Hildebrand's 2,226-career saves are the 10th most in MSU history. He moved past Drew Palmisano (2008-12) and is now 181 stops away from tying Norm Foster (1984-87, 2,407 saves) for ninth place.
PK Gets Back on Track
After allowing five power-play goals in a two-game set against Minnesota, the Spartans have rebounded to kill the last seven opponent power plays and are back atop the Big Ten with a .841 penalty kill percentage. Earlier this season, the Spartans ranked as high as 10th in the county with a penalty kill percentage over .900.
Munn Unveils New HD Video and LED Ribbon Boards
As part of the ongoing upgrades and forthcoming renovation to Munn Ice Arena, a new high definition center-hung video board and LED ribbon boards were installed in the final weeks of 2014. Work on the new LED ribbon boards began in early December, while the center-hung video board was installed the week before Christmas.
Each high definition video board over center ice measures approximately 16 feet wide and 9 feet high. The LED fascia boards running along the north and south sides are 180 feet in length.
Additionally, four new scoreboards were installed in each corner of the rink above the concourse level.
Watch Tom
Three the Magic Number
Under head coach Tom Anastos, the Spartans are 45-6-5 (.848) when scoring three or more goals, including a 6-1-1 mark this season. Here's a breakdown of how the Spartans have fared when scoring at least three goals during Anastos' tenure:
2011-12 - 18-3-3
2012-13 - 11-0-1
2013-14 - 10-2-0
2014-15 - 6-1-1
Growing List of Contributors
After combining for just three goals through the first 12 games, Joe Cox, Matt DeBlouw, Brent Darnell and Ryan Keller have accounted for half of the team's 16 goals and 43% of the Spartans' points over the last six contests. Darnell (3g, 3a) and Cox (2g, 4a) lead MSU over the six-game span with six points each. DeBlouw has four points (2g, 2a) and Keller three (1g, 2a) in the last six games.
Walsh Providing Offense
Junior defenseman Travis Walsh has stepped up his offensive production this season as his 10 points (2g, 8a) rank fourth among Big Ten defensemen and are tied for fourth on the team. The 10 points are one shy of tying his best single-season point total as he had 11 as a freshman. Walsh has assists in two of the last four games.
Spartans in the NHL
A total of 13 Spartans have seen action in the NHL so far this season:
• 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)
