Spartans End Regular Season With Rivalry Showdown

March 11, 2015

Games 33 & 34: No. 19 Michigan (19-13-0, 11-7-0-0 B1G) vs. Michigan State (16-14-2, 10-6-2-2 B1G)
Dates \| Times	Fri., March 13 - 7 p.m. \| Sat., March 14 - 5 p.m.
Locations	Fri. - East Lansing \| Munn Ice Arena (6,470) Sat. - Ann Arbor \| Yost Ice Arena (5,800)
TV	Fri. & Sat. - Fox Sports Detroit
Video Stream	BTN2Go
Gametracker	\|
Radio	Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) \| WVFN 730-AM
Radio (Mobile)	Broadcast available on Spartan Sports Network Mobile App: iPhone/iPad \| Android
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Michigan \| Big Ten
Social Media	@MSU_Hockey \| Facebook

*Friday's senior night recognition will begin at approximately 6:45 p.m.*

On The Fly...
• The Spartans enter the final weekend of conference play in first place in the Big Ten with 34 points - one point ahead of Michigan and Minnesota and three ahead of Penn State ... MSU can clinch at least a share of the regular season title with a win on Friday and a Penn State win or tie and shootout win at Minnesota.

• MSU is 9-3 over its last 12 games and has won each of its last seven home games in posting a 9-4-1 mark at Munn this season.

• In going 9-3 over the last 12 games, the Spartans have outscored the opposition 32-17 and posted five shutouts ... The power play has gone 10-for-40 (.250) and the penalty kill has extinguished 35 of 40 (.875) opponent opportunities.

• Matt Berry (4-10-14), Mackenzie MacEachern (6-6-12) and Ryan Keller (6-4-10) lead MSU in scoring over the last 12 games ... Keller's 10 points over the last 12 games eclipse his totals from both of the previous two seasons.

• Mike Richter Award nominee Jake Hildebrand is tied for the national lead with six shutouts ... His .930 save percentage and 2.10 goals-against average both lead the Big Ten.

• Since Jan. 1, Hildebrand leads the nation in save percentage (.952) and shutouts (5) and is fourth in goals-against average (1.57) ... Hildebrand has allowed two or fewer goals in 19 of 32 games this year, including 11 of the last 14 and 13 of the last 16.

• Hildebrand (First Star) and Berry (Third Star) were both honored by the Big Ten this week.

• The 2014-15 squad is the sixth team in program history to post at least six shutouts ... The last time an MSU team had at least six shutouts in a season was 2003-04 (8).

• The Spartans lead the league and rank ninth in the nation in goals-against per game at 2.19 ... MSU ranks third in the nation and second in the Big Ten in blocked shots per game at 16.28.

• Ryan Keller enters Friday's game with a team season-high six-game point streak, having produced a 4-4-8 line over the span ... Matt Berry (3-3-6) and Mackenzie MacEachern (1-3-4) are both currently on three-game point streaks.

• Berry leads MSU in points (27) and assists (16), while he, Ferrantino and MacEachern are tied for the team lead in goals (11) ... The Spartans have 10 players with at least 10 points this season.

• The Spartans have yielded just 36 goals in league play - 16 fewer than Minnesota, which has allowed the second-fewest goals (52).

• Michigan State will honor its five seniors prior to Friday's game ... The class includes Matt Berry, Ron Boyd, Zack Cisek, Brent Darnell and Tanner Sorenson.

• The Spartans continue to lead the Big Ten in penalty kill percentage to .865, which is 17th best nationally.• MSU has scored at least one power play goal in a season-high four consecutive games ... The Spartans have scored at least one goal on the man-advantage in six of their last seven games, going 8-for-27 (.296) over the span.

• The Spartans are 15-2-2 when scoring first and 15-0-2 when leading after two periods.

• Under coach Tom Anastos, the Spartans are 52-8-5, including 13-2-1 this season, when scoring three or more goals.

Last Weekend Against Wisconsin
The Spartans won both games, 3-0, posting shutouts in consecutive games for the first time since Jan. 19 (4-0 vs. OSU) and Jan. 25 (1-0 vs. Michigan), 2008 ... It marked the first time since Feb. 20-21, 2004 when Dominic Vicari shut out UNO (3-0 and 5-0) that MSU posted consecutive shutouts in the same weekend ... Jake Hildebrand stopped all 59 shots he faced ... Offensively, Matt Berry led MSU with four points, scoring twice on the power play in game one and adding an unassisted tally in game two ... Ryan Keller (1-1-2) and Mackenzie MacEachern (1-2-3) also picked up points in both games ... MSU was 3-for-10 on the power play and skated off all eight UW chances on the man advantage ... The sweep was the Spartans' first over the Badgers since March 1976.

All About Hildy
• Mike Richter Award-candidate Jake Hildebrand is tied for the national lead with six shutouts this season ... The six shutouts tie Chad Alban (1997-98) for the fifth most by a Spartan goaltender in a season, while his five shutouts in conference play tie Ryan Miller (1999-2000) and Matt Migliaccio (2002-03) for the fourth most by an MSU goaltender in league play in a season.
• He has been named the Big Ten First Star of the Week four times this season - most recently this week after posting back-to-back shutouts.
• Hildebrand's 10-career shutouts are fifth most in MSU history - two behind Chad Alban (1994-98) and Jeff Lerg (2005-09) for third place ... Ryan Miller is the NCAA's all-time shutout leader with 26.
• Hildebrand's .930 save percentage leads the Big Ten and ranks 11th in the nation ... His 2.10 goals-against average also leads the league and is 18th best in the country ... He has played 99.2% of his team's total minutes this season - the most of any goaltender nationally.
• Since Jan. 1, Hildebrand leads the nation in save percentage (.952) and shutouts (5) and is fourth in goals-against average (1.57) ... MSU has gone 9-4-1 over the span.
• Enters Friday's game with a shutout streak of 124:24.
• Hildebrand has a total of 2,659-career saves, which is good for the seventh most in MSU history ... He is 76 saves away from tying Chad Alban (1994-98) for sixth on MSU's all-time saves list.

Watch Tom

Getting Defensive
• The Spartans lead the Big Ten and rank ninth in the country in goals-against per game at 2.19.
• Since Jan. 1, MSU has allowed the fewest goals in the nation (24) and ranks fourth in goals-against per game (1.71).
• The Spartans have allowed two goals or fewer in 13 of the last 16 games (since the GLI) and seven of the last eight.
• MSU ranks third in the nation and second in the Big Ten in blocks per game at 16.28.

In Going 9-3 Over the Last 12 Games...
• MSU has allowed 17 goals - second fewest of any team in the nation since Jan. 23.
• The Spartans received votes (two) for the first time this season in the most recent USCHO poll.
• The Spartans have scored at least one goal in the third period of 11 of the 12 games, outscoring opponents by a count of 14-5 in the final stanza.
• Two lines have combined to produce at least 25 points: Mackenzie MacEachern (6-6-12), Matt Berry (4-10-14) and Matt DeBlouw (3-3-6) have produced 32 points ... Ryan Keller (6-4-10), Joe Cox (3-5-8) and Michael Ferrantino (2-5-7) have put up 25 points.
• Ryan Keller surpassed his career total entering 2013-14 with six goals ... Brent Darnell has chipped in six points (3g, 4a) despite missing two games with an injury.
• Goaltender Jake Hildebrand has three shutouts, a 1.26 goals-against average and .959 save percentage.
• Defensive partners Ron Boyd and John Draeger are plus-9 and plus-8, respectively.

Against Michigan This Season (1-2)
The Spartans have held Michigan, the nation's highest-scoring team (3.94 goals per game), to seven total goals in the three meetings this season ... The Spartans are 0-for-5 on the power play and have killed 6-of-7 Michigan power plays ... Matt DeBlouw scored in each of the last two meetings, including the game-winner at Joe Louis Arena on Jan. 30 ... Jake Hildebrand has a 2.02 goals-against average and .937 save percentage.

Swept Away
The Spartans have swept each of the last three home sets (vs. OSU, PSU, UW), marking the first time they have swept three consecutive league opponents since 2007 (vs. Alaska, Jan. 12-13; vs. LSSU, Jan. 19-20; vs. UNO, March 9-10 - CCHA Tournament).

Thank You, Seniors
Michigan State will honor its senior class prior to Friday night's game. The five-member class of Matt Berry, Ron Boyd, Zack Cisek, Brent Darnell and Tanner Sorenson has combined to appear in over 470 games, collectively producing 212 points, and helped the Spartans to a berth in the 2012 NCAA Tournament.

Berry leads MSU in points this season with 27, while Darnell has chipped in seven goals and nine assists. Boyd has been solid on the blue line all season and leads MSU with a plus-12 rating.

In Big Ten Play...
• Mackenzine MacEachern and Ryan Keller lead MSU in goals (7) ... Matt Berry (5-11-16) leads in assists and points
• The Spartans have allowed two goals or fewer in 12 of 18 games
• Defenseman Ron Boyd is a team-best plus-11
• Jake Hildebrand has a league-leading .940 save percentage and a 1.88 goals-against average
• MSU has allowed a league-low 36 goals - 16 fewer than the next closest team, Minnesota

Penalty Kill Leads the Big Ten
Michigan State's .865 penalty kill percentage leads the Big Ten and ranks 17th in the nation. The 15 power play goals MSU has allowed this season are the fewest in the Big Ten and fourth-fewest in the country.

Since Dec. 14, Michigan State has extinguished 50 of the last 55 opponent power plays (.909).

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 21 consecutive penalty kills was MSU's longest streak since 2012.

Sacrificing The Body
For the second consecutive season, Michigan State is among the nation's top teams in shot blocking, currently ranking third in the country and second in the league in blocks per game at 16.28. Defensemen Josh Jacobs (64) and the injured Travis Walsh (63) lead MSU in blocks and rank second and third, respectively, in the Big Ten.

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.

Three is the Magic Number
Under head coach Tom Anastos, the Spartans are 52-8-5 (.838) when scoring three or more goals, including a 13-2-1 mark this season.

Spartans in the NHL

A total of 14 Spartans have seen action in the NHL so far this season:

• Torey Krug (Boston Bruins)

• Corey Potter (Calgary Flames)

• 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 (Montreal Canadiens)

• Mike Weaver (Montreal Canadiens)

• Chris Mueller (New York Rangers)

• David Booth (Toronto Maple Leafs)

• Ryan Miller (Vancouver Canucks)

• Jim Slater (Winnipeg Jets)

Up Next
The Big Ten Tournament begins Thursday at Joe Louis Arena with the quarterfinals. The top-two seeds will earn byes to the semifinals, which will be played on Friday.