Neil's Notebook: Rookie Defenseman Provides Spark
10/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING â€" Michigan State freshman Zach Osburn was eager to make a good impression in his first college hockey game last weekend in Maine.
"I wanted to play good, sound defense and keep it simple and still try to play my game and contribute offensively as well,'' the 5-10, 184-pound defenseman from Plymouth said in assessing his Spartan debut.
"I think I accomplished that. I got some shots through and I jumped into the play and tried to lock it down defensively.''
Osburn's first game was a roaring success.
Known for his offensive skills, the 18-year-old rookie scored two power-play goals in last Friday's 3-3 tie in the season opener against Maine in the Ice Breaker Tournament in Portland, Maine. His second goal came with 1:09 left and tied the game, 3-3.
"That was easily the most fun game I've played in my life,'' said Osburn, the Spartans' youngest player. "I wasn't too nervous. I was more excited. I had a lot of opportunities to shoot the puck.''
Osburn had a lot of fun in his second game, too.
He assisted on MSU's first goal â€" by captain Mike Ferrantino â€" and the Spartans went on to a 4-1 victory over Lake Superior State.
In his first weekend, Osburn had two goals, one assist and an amazing 14 shots on goal, seven coming on MSU power plays.
"It was really exciting. My parents were there and it was great that they got to see it,'' Osburn said. "I tried to put the puck in a lane where it has a chance to get to the net and end up in a rebound. Maybe it hits the goalie's pad and there's someone there to bang it home.''
Or maybe the puck just goes into the net off his shot.
"Fortunately, on my second goal, Ebbs (Thomas Ebbing) was screening the goalie, and on the first one, it was Joe Cox (screening) in front,'' Osburn said.
Defensively, there were the usual adjustments to the speed of the college game and mistakes were made, Osburn said.
"The key to being responsible defensively is not to force things,'' he said. "It's just to play smart defense and when everything gets done, I know the offense will come. It's about being patient.''
Osburn and his teammates are expecting a tougher challenge this weekend when the Spartans face No. 5/8 Denver in a two-game, non-conference series at 9:30 p.m. Friday and 9 p.m. Saturday at Magness Arena in Denver.
MSU coach Tom Anastos was encouraged by Osburn's debut.
"I thought he played really well. For the most part, his decision-making was good and he defended well,'' Anastos said. "The obvious thing was what he brought offensively. And not just in the goals but his puck movement was good, he got pucks through to the net and he didn't force things.
"He has the ability to go back and get the puck and break it out or move it out on his own. I think he approached it in a very simplistic way, and when you do that, it helps your performance. The key will be to maintain that and be able to do it on a night in and night out basis. For the first weekend, he made a strong impact.''
Ferrantino has been watching Osburn since mid-summer during volunteer practices at Munn Arena several times a week, and he liked what he saw. And he was really liked impressed by his skills in Maine.
"I was giving him a hard time, saying ‘you're going to have tough time following up on these two games,''' Ferrantino laughed. "But it was good to see. He's such a good kid and works so hard. For him to make an impact like that, it was awesome.
Ferrantino said what separates Osburn from other players is his skating.
"His first three steps are unbelievable. He goes from a standstill to top speed in a split second,'' the MSU captain said. "It allows him to take more chances, and if he makes a mistake, his skating can get him out of it pretty quick.''
Anastos has known the Osburn family for almost 30 years. Zach's father, Rick, played hockey at Northern Michigan and then transferred to Michigan-Dearborn, where Anastos was a volunteer assistant in 1986-87. Anastos later coached Zach in bantams in suburban Detroit, and Zach's father also coached him in minor hockey for several years.
"Everything I've learned about the game, I've learned from dad,'' he said.
Zach isn't the only high-level athlete in his family. His sister, Katie, played softball at Miami (Ohio) and is married to former Miami baseball player, Adam Eaton, now an outfielder with the Chicago White Sox.
Anastos says Zach Osburn's upbeat outlook on hockey and life reminds him of Ferrantino, who's most always smiling and happy to be in a hockey arena with teammates several hours each day.
"We always joke about Zack O because he's always smiling, just like Ferrantino's been ever since he's been here,'' Anastos said. "Zach is like a puppy. His tail is always wagging, he's always happy to see people and be with his teammates.
"I can say that about our freshmen group across the board. They express themselves in different ways but that have those key characteristics in what we're trying to do, and they've been embraced by the rest of the team.
Anastos believes Osburn will play a key role in the Spartan defense creating more offense through puck movement, jumping up in the play, making solid passes to set up forwards, getting pucks through to the net and scoring goals.
Last season, Michigan State defensemen scored only five goals and had 41 assists in 35 games.
"We need to get more activation out of our defense,'' Anastos said. "Not necessarily point productivity but more participation in our offense, and we got that last weekend. One of (Mackenzie) MacEachern's goals game off a shot from (senior defenseman) John Draeger and obviously Zach had two goals.
"Their ability to move the puck out of our zone, move up with the play and be involved with the forecheck when necessary â€" I thought all the guys on the blue line did a good job. You saw Travis Walsh get up in the rush, Carson Gatt and Chris Knudson got up in the rush.
"Those are things we're going to have to do at the right time and do well to help contribute to our offense.''
STENGLEIN THRIVES: Junior left wing JT Stenglein had his best weekend as a Spartan with a four-point series against Maine and LSSU. He had two assists in the opener against the Black Bears and a goal and an assist vs. the Lakers.
In 38 games in his first two seasons, the 6-foot, 200-pounder from Greece, N.Y., near Rochester, had three goals and two assists for five points.
He played sparingly as a freshman, scoring one goal in 15 games. Last season, he appeared in 23 games and had two goals and two assists.
"As a team, it felt like we had a good weekend, and playing with Joe Cox and Thomas Ebbing, we just seemed to click and we were able to produce a bit,'' Stenglein said. "The best thing for me was just to be able to get back to playing hockey and contributing. The points were kind of a bonus.''
Stenglein leads MSU in scoring entering the Denver series. Ebbing (0-3) and Osburn (2-1) are tied for second with three points.
In junior hockey in the U.S. Hockey League, Stenglein was top goal scorer. He scored 31 goals and had 20 assists for 51 points for Youngstown in 2011-12. The next season, he had 24 goals and 55 points while playing for three teams.
"JT had a very good weekend,'' Anastos said. "We said coming into the season that if he could ever emerge and bring us a game that we feel good about and he could feel good about, that would be great.
"We know he has the potential to score. This is something to build on.''
INJURIES PILE UP: In the second period of Saturday's 4-1 win over Lake Superior State, MSU was without four regular forwards due to injuries. At the time, the Spartans and Lakers were tied 1-1.
But somehow, with several players getting an inordinate amount of minutes, MSU found a way to win, scoring a late goal in the middle period to take a 2-1 lead, and then adding two goals in the third to secure its first win of the season.
Junior Villiam Haag missed both games with an injury, junior Ryan Keller suffered a lower body injury in the first period on Friday and basically missed both games, and sophomore Dylan Pavelek got cut by a skate on his leg in Friday's game and returned to play sparingly, but was scratched for Saturday.
Senior Mike Ferrantino suffered an upper body injury in the second period on Saturday vs. LSSU.
For this weekend, Keller and Pavelek will not play and Haag and Ferrantino are questionable.
Anastos said he's never had so many injuries this early in the season in his four-plus seasons at MSU.
"This is a first. I hope it's not a sign of things to come,'' he said.
The Spartan coaches spent a big part of both games mixing forward line combinations and giving lots of players, including the three freshmen forwards, a lot of ice time.
"We faced a lot of adversity and I was pleased how our guys responded to it. They did whatever was asked of them and did it to the best of their ability,'' Anastos said. "We were moving guys around on the fly. A number of players played a ton on minutes. That wasn't the plan.''
FRESHMEN PLAY KEY ROLE: In addition to defenseman Zach Osburn, the Spartans' three other freshmen made a positive impact in their collegiate debuts.
Forwards Mason Appleton, Cody Milan and Brennan Sanford contributed in various ways.
On MSU's tying goal against Maine, with 1:09 left in the third period, three freshmen teamed up to send the game into overtime. Osburn scored the goal with Appleton and Milan assisting.
Appleton had two assists and seven shots on goal in the two games. Milan had one assist and one shot on goal, while Sanford didn't collect his first point but he had two shots on net.
"I thought they all played well. They're very coachable and they're like sponges. They absorb everything,'' Anastos said. "They're committed and they compete hard.
"When I came here and took on this role, one of the simple things I focused on was commitment level and compete level. We want to have a high commitment level and compete relentlessly in everything we do.
"And these guys have that in their DNA. They're Spartans. And the part that I like as well is they're all rink rats. They like being around the rink. They don't get here late and they're not in a hurry to get out of here. They love being around this environment.''
Anastos praised the veteran players in the way they've welcomed the freshmen and made them feel at home, starting in the summer and especially when school started in the fall.
"Our guys have been phenomenal in embracing the freshmen. I give them a lot of credit and I give the freshmen credit, too,'' Anastos said. "They came in and worked hard to integrate themselves into the team. As a group, the freshmen are in great shape. It's hard not to notice how strong they are and how hard they work. They're willing to dig in and compete and that's earned the upperclassmen's respect.''
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS: Denver is coming off a non-conference series split against Air Force last weekend. The Falcons upset the Pioneers 5-4 in overtime last Friday in Colorado Springs, but DU rebounded for a 3-1 home win on Saturday.
Denver was ranked No. 2 behind Minnesota-Duluth in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference coaches' preseason poll. Last season, the Pioneers finished fourth in the NCHC (13-10-1-1, 24-14-2 overall) and earned a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The Pioneers' top players include potential All-American forwards Trevor Moore, a junior, and Danton Heinen, a sophomore. Moore had 22 goals and 44 points last season and was selected as the NCHC Forward of the Year. Heinen had 16 goals and 29 assists for a team-leading 45 points in 2014-15. He was voted NCHA Rookie of the Year.
Denver has one of the best goaltending tandems in the nation in sophomore Tanner Jaillet (15-8-0, 2.35 goals-against average, .917 saves percentage) and junior Evan Cowley (9-6-2, 2.15, .924).
The Pioneers, who won national titles in 2004 and 2005, have made eight consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Jim Montgomery is in his third season at Denver after replacing longtime Pioneer coach George Gwozdecky, a former Spartan assistant, in 2013-14.
Montgomery was a high-scoring forward at Maine and, along with Paul Kariya and several other top players, helped lead the Black Bears to the 1993 NCAA championship. Montgomery played four seasons for Coach Shawn Walsh, father of MSU senior defenseman Travis Walsh.
Montgomery coached at Notre Dame, Rensselaer and in the USHL before taking over in Denver.
Senior defenseman Nolan Zajac is a former teammate of MSU captain Mike Ferrantino with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL. Zajac's father, Tom, played at Denver from 1973-76.
Zajac's three brothers all played college and pro hockey. Travis played at North Dakota and is in his 10th season with the New Jersey Devils. Kelly (Union College) and Darcy (North Dakota) all played in New Jersey's minor league system.
The Zajac family is from Winnipeg.
THE LAST TIME: The Spartans and Pioneers haven't played against each other since the opening game of the 2002-03 season. In Rick Comley's debut as MSU coach, Denver blanked the Spartans 5-0 in a tournament in Omaha.
The last time MSU and DU played in Denver was on Nov. 14-15, 1980. The Pioneers swept the Spartans, 7-1, 6-4, in Ron Mason's second season as MSU coach.
Denver holds a 54-16-2 edge in the series.
IN THE BIG TEN: No. 11 Michigan makes its regular-season debut this weekend with Friday and Sunday home games against Mercyhurst (3-1). Penn State (1-0) plays host to Notre Dame (0-0) on Friday and Saturday.
No. 15/13 Minnesota plays a home-and-home series against No. 7 Minnesota-Duluth â€" Friday in Minneapolis and Saturday in Duluth. Ohio State plays host to No. 18 Miami on Friday and visits the RedHawks on Saturday.
Wisconsin (0-0-2) has a huge challenge on its hands as it travels to Boston to play No. 4/3 Boston College (1-1) on Friday and No. 6 Boston University (0-1) on Saturday.
