Spartans Hit the Road to Face Wisconsin

Feb. 18, 2015

Games 27-28: Michigan State (12-12-2, 6-4-2-2 B1G) at Wisconsin (3-19-4, 1-9-2-2 B1G)
Dates \| Times	Fri., Feb. 20 - 9 p.m. ET \| Sat., Feb. 21 - 8 p.m. ET
Location	Madison, Wisconsin \| Kohl Center (15,359)
TV	Fri. - BTN
Video Stream	BTN Plus
Gametracker	\|
Radio	Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) \| WJIM 1240-AM
Radio (Mobile)	Broadcast available on Spartan Sports Network Mobile App: iPhone/iPad \| Android
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Wisconsin
Social Media	@MSU_Hockey \| Facebook

On The Fly...

• The Spartans are coming off a sweep of Penn State and will now play their next four games on the road, beginning this Friday and Saturday at Wisconsin ... MSU is 3-6-1 overall on the road including a 1-2-1 mark in league play.

• The Spartans are currently tied with Penn State for third place in the Big Ten with 22 points - two points behind conference leaders Minnesota and Michigan ... All four teams have eight games remaining in league play.

• Michigan State is 7-3-2 - with two shootout wins - over its last 12 games, including 5-1 in its last six.

• Linemates Mackenzie MacEachern (5-3-8), Matt Berry (1-7-8) and Matt DeBlouw (3-2-5) are the Spartans' leading scorers over the last six games ... All three players enter this weekend on point streaks: DeBlouw (4 games, 3-1-4), Berry (3 games, 0-5-5), MacEachern (3 games, 4-2-6).

• MacEachern's hat trick in the 3-2 win over Penn State and five points (4g, 1a) on the weekend helped him earn both NCAA and Big Ten First Star of the Week honors for the first time in his career ... His hat trick was the first by a Spartan since Matt Berry scored three in a 7-2 win over Michigan on Nov. 10, 2012.

• MacEachern leads the team in goals (10), while Berry leads in both points (21) and assists (13).

• Goaltender Jake Hildebrand continues to lead the Big Ten in goals-against average (2.27) and save percentage (.924) ... His three shutouts are second most.

• Hildebrand has allowed two or fewer goals in 14 of 26 games this season, including five of the last six and eight of the last 10.

• With a combined 68 saves last weekend, Hildebrand bumped his career total of 2,494, surpassing Ron Clark (1972-75) to move into eighth place on MSU's all-time saves list ... Hildebrand is 107 saves away from moving ahead of Ryan Miller (1999-2002) for seventh on the all-time list.

• Hildebrand's seven-career shutouts are tied with Bob Essensa (1983-87) for fifth in program history.

• MSU leads the Big Ten in goals against per game at 2.35, which ranks 17th nationally.

• Michigan State's penalty kill remains tops in the Big Ten at .867 ... Since Dec. 14, the Spartans lead the nation with a .941 penalty kill percentage, having extinguished 32 of the last 34 opponent power plays over the 11-game span.

• Michigan State leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation in blocked shots per game at 16.42 ... Junior defenseman Travis Walsh leads the Spartans with 56 blocks and his average of 2.15 per game ranks second in the Big Ten.

• The Spartans are 11-1-2 when scoring first and 11-0-2 when leading after two periods.

• Under head coach Tom Anastos, the Spartans are 48-7-5, including 9-1-1 this season, when scoring three or more goals.

• Berry (3-0-3, 4 games) and Villiam Haag (2-1-3, 4 games) are the Spartans' active leaders in points vs. Wisconsin.

Last Weekend vs. Penn State
The Spartans got their second straight home sweep, topping Penn State 3-0 and 3-2 ... Goaltender Jake Hildebrand turned away all 28 shots he faced in the opener to notch his third shutout of the season and seventh of his career ... Mackenzie MacEachern led the way with four goals and an assist, including his first-collegiate hat trick in Saturday's 3-2 win ... Matt Berry had a pair of assists in both games and Matt DeBlouw extended his point streak to four games with a goal on Friday and an assist the next night ... MSU posted a .587 winning percentage in the faceoff circle and killed 6-of-7 PSU power plays.

About Wisconsin
The Badgers are 3-19-4 overall and 1-9-2-2 in Big Ten play ... Wisconsin picked up its first Big Ten win with a 3-2 victory at Ohio State its last time out ... This weekend's series will the Badgers first and only home series of the month ... UW is 2-9-3 at home ... Sophomore Grant Besse leads the Badgers' with 20 points (10g, 10a) ... Senior Joseph LaBate and sophomore Morgan Zulinick both have nine assists ... Senior goaltender Joel Rumpel has started 24 of 26 games and has a 3.67 goals-against average and .899 save percentage.

In Going 5-1 Over The Last Six Games...
• MSU has allowed just eight goals - the fewest of any team in the nation since Jan. 23.
• Linemates Mackenzie MacEachern (5-3-8), Matt Berry (1-7-8) and Matt DeBlouw (3-2-5) are the Spartans' leading scorers over the last six games ... Berry and DeBlouw both have at least a point in five of the games.
• Goaltender Jake Hildebrand has two shutouts, a 1.17 goals-against average and .964 save percentage.
• MSU is 4-for-20 on the man advantage and has extinguished 17 of 19 opponent power plays.
• MSU is .528 in the faceoff circle.
• Defensive partners Ron Boyd and John Draeger are both plus-4.
• The Spartans have scored at least one goal in the third period of all six games.

Penalty Kill Leads the Big Ten
Michigan State's .867 penalty kill percentage leads the Big Ten and ranks 11th in the nation. The 12 power play goals MSU has allowed this season are the fewest in the Big Ten and fifth-fewest in the country.

Since Dec. 14, Michigan State has the country's top penalty killing unit, boasting a .941 penalty kill percentage and allowing just two power-play goals, both of which lead the nation over the span. Over the 11-game stretch, the Spartans have extinguished 32 of the last 34 opponent power plays.

After allowing five power-play goals in consecutive games against Minnesota, the Spartans rebounded to kill 21 consecutive opponent power plays over a seven-game stretch. That streak came to an end Jan. 30 vs. Michigan as the Wolverines scored on their first power-play try.

The Spartans' 21 consecutive penalty kills was their longest stretch since Nov. 10 - Dec. 7, 2012, when they also killed 21 straight over a six-game span.

Watch Tom

Hildebrand Leading the B1G; Moving up in the Record Books
Jake Hildebrand has been a workhorse in goal for the Spartans this season, having started all 26 games. The heavy workload has only seemed to strengthen his play as he leads the Big Ten in goals-against average (2.27) and save percentage (.924). The native of Butler, Pennsylvania, has yielded two or fewer goals in 14 of 26 games this season, including eight of the last 10.

Hildebrand recorded his third shutout of the season last weekend in the 3-0 win over Penn State. His seven-career shutouts are tied with Bob Essensa (1983-87) for the fifth most in school history.

Hildebrand's 2,494-career saves are the eighth most in MSU history and he needs 107 to surpass Ryan Miller (1999-2002) to move into seventh in program history. Jeff Lerg (2005-09) is the Spartans' all-time saves leader with 3,996.

Mac's Big Weekend
After his four-goal weekend vs. Penn State, sophomore forward Mackenzie MacEachern earned both NCAA and Big Ten First Star of the Week honors and now leads the Spartans in goals with 10. His 20 points this season are a career high and he leads the team with three game-winning goals.

MacEachern has been one of the Spartans' most consistent players at both ends of the rink this season, serving as a key component on both special teams units. He leads the team with four power-play goals and he is the only Spartan with a shorthanded and power-play goal so far this season.

Sacrificing The Body
For the second consecutive season, Michigan State is among the nation's top teams in shot blocking. After blocking a total of 49 shots last weekend, the Spartans rank third nationally and lead the league in blocked shots per game at 16.42. Defensive partners Travis Walsh (56) and Josh Jacobs (50) lead MSU in blocks.

Last year, MSU led the nation in blocked shots per game with an average of 17.67 and led all Big Ten teams in total blocked shots with 636, ranking fifth nationally. Walsh tied for first in the Big Ten and ninth in the nation in blocks last season with 85.

In Big Ten Play...
• Mackenzine MacEachern leads MSU in goals (6) and points (11) ... Three of his six goals have come on the power play
• Matt Berry leads the team in assists with eight
• The Spartans have allowed two goals or fewer in seven of 12 games
• Defenseman Ron Boyd is a team-best plus-6
• Jake Hildebrand has a .935 save percentage and a 2.14 goals-against average

Turning the Corner in Early December
The Spartans' 3-3 tie and shootout win over Minnesota on Dec. 6 started solid, 12-game stretch. Including that game, MSU has since gone 7-3-2 (two shootout wins), including a 5-2-2 in the Big Ten.

Here's a look at some key statistics over the 12-game span:

• Seven players have at least six points, led by Mackenzie MacEachern (6g, 5a) and Brent Darnell (5g, 6a).
• Five different players have game-winning goals.
• Jake Hildebrand has three shutouts, a 1.89 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage.
• MSU is 9-for-42 (.214) on the power play and has extinguished 32-of-36 (.889) opponent opportunities.
• The Spartans have allowed two or fewer goals in eight of the 12 games ... The 2.0 goals-against per game over the stretch leads the Big Ten and is sixth nationally.
• MSU is 5-0-1 at home.

Three is the Magic Number
Under head coach Tom Anastos, the Spartans are 48-7-5 (.842) when scoring three or more goals, including a 9-1-1 mark this season.

Spartans in the NHL
A total of 13 Spartans have seen action in the NHL so far this season:

• Torey Krug (Boston Bruins)

• 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)