Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Host USNTDP Under-18 Team in Exhibition
1/7/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
| USNTDP (22-9-2) vs. Michigan State (7-10-1) | |
| Date , Time | Fri., Jan. 9 - 7 p.m. |
| Location | East Lansing, Mich. | Munn Ice Arena (6,470) |
| Tickets | MSUSpartans.com |
| Live Stats | |
| TV | Fox Sports Detroit Plus |
| Video Stream | BTN2Go.com |
| Promotions | Free Admission for MSU Students |
| Game Notes | Michigan State |
| Social Media | @MSU_Hockey  | Facebook  |
On The Fly...
• The Spartans will take on the USNTDP U-18 team in their second and final exhibition game of the season.
• Michigan State is coming off an appearance in 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 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.
• 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.
• Michigan State has played with a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen over the last four games, going 2-1-1.
• The Spartans are averaging 14.8 blocked shots per game, which ranks 12th in the nation and third in the Big Ten ... Travis Walsh leads the Spartans with 35 blocks (1.94).
• 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 third in the Big Ten and 29th 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.
• Travis Walsh's 10 points and eight assists both rank third among defensemen in the Big Ten.
• Jake Hildebrand's 18 starts between the pipes are more than any other goaltender in the conference ... He leads the league in saves (452) and shots faced (497).
Munn Debuts HD New Video and LED Ribbon Boards
As part of the ongoing upgrades and forthcoming renovation to Munn Ice Arena, a new 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, there are four new scoreboards located in each corner of the rink, above the concourse level.
About the USNTDP U-18 Team
The USNTDP U-18 team is 3-5-2 against NCAA Division I programs this season ... The team has an overall mark of 22-9-2 on the year ... Auston Matthews leads the team in goals (24) and points (49) ... Jeremy Bracco is the team leader in assists with 35 ... The team is averaging 4.76 goals per game ... Goaltenders Luke Opilka (19 GP, 3.15 GAA, .879 Sv. %) and Michael Lackey (17 GP, 3.08 GAA, .881 Sv. %) have split time in net.
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.
Darnell Rolls
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.
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 third 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.
Three the Magic Number
Under head coach Tom Anastos, the Spartans are 45-6-5 (.848) when scoring three or more goals. MSU is 6-1-1 when scoring at least three goals this season and was 10-2 when scoring at least a trio of goals last season.
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)
