Neil's Notebook: Hildebrand Hitting His Stride
1/29/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING - This season was supposed to be The Year of the Goaltender in the Big Ten.
Surprisingly, it hasn't worked out that way.
The conference, at the moment, is known more for scoring goals than goalie's making big saves and stealing games.
Most of the goaltenders expected to perform at a high level and make a major impact for their teams have struggled thus far this season.
Two goalies that have stood out include Michigan State's Jake Hildebrand and Minnesota's Adam Wilcox. And yet Wilcox, an NCAA West All-America first team selection last season, has experienced some difficult games during the Gophers' recent slide.
So, is Hildebrand the best goalie in the Big Ten?
"I definitely think he's been the best overall. He's really stepped it up over the last month,'' said senior right wing Matt Berry, the Spartans' leading scorer. He competes hard and does a great job at stopping pucks and keeping us in games.''
Early in the season, Hildebrand had to fight through some inconsistent weekends. One night, he'd be outstanding, the next game, his level of play over 60 minutes was not up to his high standards.
But ever since late November, and especially after the holiday break, Hildebrand has been a force for the Spartans, helping his team to its best stretch of the season.
Hildebrand, a 6-foot, 187-pound junior from Butler, Pa., has played every minute of MSU's 22 games. He has a 2.41 goals-against average and a .918 saves percentage, both tops in the Big Ten in overall games.
"Jake is playing as well as he's played since he's been here,'' MSU coach Tom Anastos said. "I would put him right there as the best in the Big Ten, or at least one of the best at this state of the season.
"I really haven't seen a lot of Minnesota and I think a lot of (Wilcox).''
Anastos has seen a lot of Hildebrand and he's liked what he's witnessed since the Christmas break.
"I didn't think his first half, on a consistency basis, was at the standard that he's established,'' he said. "There were some games that dipped below his potential, but not too many.''
The Spartans (9-11-2 overall, 3-3-2-2 Big Ten) will look to Hildebrand, along with strong team defense, when it faces the highest-scoring team in the nation - No. 13 Michigan (15-7-0, 7-1) - at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Joe Louis Arena. The Wolverines, who've won seven games in a row and have scored 34 goals over their last five contests.
"Since the break, Jake has been right on his game. He's practicing very well, he's tracking the puck and he really wants to own the net,'' Anastos said.
Hildebrand said he got refreshed and refocused when he went home for the holiday break by just getting away from hockey and relaxing. When he returned, he quickly got his game back on a high level.
"I don't think I was playing to my potential and I've taken good strides and feel the best is yet to come,'' he said. "Our team has been good defensively as of late. Last weekend, (in a sweep of Ohio State) our forwards did a good job of creating scoring chances and our defense limited their chances.''
Hildebrand had two excellent games in the Great Lakes Invitational - a 2-0 win over Ferris State in the semifinals and a 2-1 loss to Michigan in the championship game.
Two weeks ago, Hildebrand made 48 saves, tying a career high, in a 2-2 tie and shootout win against Penn State. In the second game, Hildebrand got little help from his teammates and gave up five goals in a 5-2 defeat.
Hildebrand was alert and sharp last weekend, giving up just one goal in the 4-1 and 2-0 sweep of Ohio State.
"He looks more comfortable. He's found his game again," junior forward and captain Mike Ferrantino said. "Nobody knows how it works for him but it does, and we're happy about that.
"I think he's the best in the Big Ten and maybe the best in the country.''
Hildebrand said he strives to be the best he can but doesn't think about being the best in the conference or nation.
"I don't compare myself to other goalies. I just want to win games,'' he said. "I compare our teams to other teams. As an athlete, you strive to be the best you can be and you compete as hard as you can.
"But getting to play all the good goalies in the Big Ten every weekend is a challenge.''
Hildebrand likely won't have the numbers to win any national awards but there's no doubt that he's the Spartans' major weapon.
"He gives our team confidence,'' Anastos said. "Right now, he's playing with as much confidence as he's ever had since he's been here.''
Hildebrand ranks 39th in the nation with his 2.41 goals-against average and 36th with a .918 saves percentage.
Wilcox, whose team is 4-8-2 since Nov. 9, has a 2.51 GAA and a .907 saves percentage to rank second in the Big Ten.
Michigan's goalies - Zack Nagelvoort (2.55 GAA, .908 saves percentage) and Steve Racine (3.64, .898) - have been up and down all season. Racine gave up two goals in the GLI and was named tourney MVP, but he was pulled in three-straight games, after a 4-3 win over Minnesota. Penn State has used three goaltenders this season - Matthew Skoff (2.70, .907); Eamon McAdam (2.91, .913), and PJ Muscio (4 games, 2.37, .913).
Ohio State's goalies rank seventh and eighth in the conference in goals against - Christian Fry (3.32, .908) and Matt Tomkins (3.33, .878).
Meanwhile, Wisconsin's Joel Rumpel, a second-team NCAA West All-American last season, is paying the price for the Badgers' major rebuilding project. Wisconsin (2-15-3 overall, 0-5-1-1 Big Ten) has allowed 78 goals in 20 games, and Rumpel has a 3.61 average and .898 saves percentage.
The top two goalies in the nation with the lowest goals-against average:
1. Mitch Gillam, Cornell, 1.46; 2. Mike Santaguida, Vermont, 1.51.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES: Since scoring only two goals in each game in the Great Lakes Invitational - 2-1 and 2-1 vs. Michigan Tech and MSU - Michigan exploded for 34 goals in its next five games.
The Wolverines swept Minnesota, 4-3 and 7-5, routed OSU 10-6 in a single game in Columbus, and won twice at Wisconsin, 7-4 and 6-0. U-M is now the highest-scoring team in the nation, averaging 4.36 goals (96 goals, 22 games).
Michigan's top five scorers have combined for 55 goals, which is 19 more than Wisconsin has scored all season. Senior Zach Hyman has 16 goals and 19 assist for 35 points, which ranks fourth nationally.
Freshman Dylan Larkin is second in team scoring with nine goals and 20 assists for 29 points, and he's followed by junior captain Andrew Copp (12-11-23), and sophomores Tyler Motte (7-16-23) and Alex Kile (11-9-20).
The Wolverines' next five scorers have 22 goals.
Inconsistent goaltending and defense have been issues, but Michigan has played over them during the last month.
"Their team happens to be playing probably as well as it has all season and maybe the last couple seasons,'' MSU coach Tom Anastos said. "They have a lot of depth up front. They're scoring at an incredible pace.''
So what do the Spartans have to do to give them the best chance to come away with a coveted victory?
"We've got to make sure we do a lot with our defensive game to deal with (U-M's offense),'' Anastos said. "It's not like they have one line. They have three good lines.
"For our team to be a good team, no matter who we play, we have to be a good defensive team. It starts in goal and then our commitment to playing good defense helps stimulate our ability to create offense. Scoring is a different matter, but creating scoring chances comes from good defense.''
The Spartans-Wolverines matchup on Friday is the first of at least four meetings between the teams. They collide again on Feb. 7 in Chicago in an outdoor game at Soldier Field.
On the final weekend of the season, MSU and U-M play a home-and-home series - at Munn Arena on March 13 and at Yost Arena on March 14. And then there's a chance for these teams to play for the sixth time - in the Big Ten Tournament at Joe Louis Arena, March 19-21.
OFFENSE MORE BALANCED: Brent Darnell isn't the only forward that's boosted his production on offense. Ryan Keller has been playing well on a line with center Thomas Ebbing and Darnell, and he's been rewarded by going to the net consistently. Keller has three goals in his last four games.
He had one goal at Penn State and one in each victory against Ohio State. Meanwhile, Darnell has been sizzling with five goals and six assists in the last eight games.
"It's nice to see Ryan Keller getting rewarded and building some confidence, and it's nice to Brent Darnell putting together a little streak and playing with as much confidence as he's had since he came here,'' Anastos said. "Matt Berry is back and if we can get his line (with Matt DeBlouw and Mackenzie MacEachern) and Mike Ferrantino's line (with Joe Cox and Villiam Haag) going (consistently), we can develop some good depth of our own.
"For us to elevate our game, our execution has to be better. We need to make more plays under pressure. We have to finish. In the first period on Friday (against OSU), we had three open nets and missed. It should have been 3-0, but we came out of the period at 0-0.''
MSU-MICHIGAN POTPOURRI: Friday's game is the 301st between the two schools, with the Wolverines holding a 153-128-19 edge. That gives the Wolverines 25 more victories in the series.
But a huge chuck of U-M wins came early in the rivalry. From 1922-30, the Wolverines dominated, winning 14 of 16.The Spartan program was dropped in 1930 and when it started up again as a varsity sport, U-M was flourishing, and it continued to dominate, going 27-0-1 from 1950 to 1957. The undefeated run extended the Wolverines' edge in victories to 52.
So, since January, 1958, Michigan State has held the edge, winning 27 more games to reduce U-M's edge in the rivalry to 25 more wins.
Over the last 10 seasons, Michigan leads the series 15-25-6.
IN THE BIG TEN: For the second time in the last three weekends, Minnesota and Wisconsin meet in another border battle, this time in Madison - on Friday and Saturday nights.
Two weekends ago, the Gophers and Badgers tied 2-2 in the series opener, with Wisconsin winning the shootout, and Minnesota rolling to a 5-2 win in the second game.
Penn State is away from Big Ten play for the second consecutive weekend. The Nittany Lions, who won 5-4 and tied Northern Michigan 4-4 last weekend, play Vermont in the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Ohio State has the weekend off.
