Spartans Begin Big Ten Tournament Friday at Joe Louis Arena

March 18, 2015

Michigan State (17-15-2, 11-7-2-2 B1G) - Big Ten Tournament Semifinals
Date \| Time	Fri., March 20 \| 8 p.m.
Location	Detroit \| Joe Louis Arena (20,066)
Tickets	Olympia Entertainment
TV	BTN
Video Stream	BTN2Go
Live Stats	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 \| Big Ten
Social Media	@MSU_Hockey \| Facebook

On the Fly...

• Michigan State enters the 2015 Big Ten Tournament as the No. 2 seed, having posted an 11-7-2-2 record in Big Ten play and finishing with 37 points ... The Spartans will take on the winner of the quarterfinal matchup between No. 3 Michigan and No. 6 Wisconsin on Friday at 8 p.m. in the semifinals.

• The Spartans closed the season by going 4-1 in their last five games and 7-3 over their last 10.

• Four Spartans earned All-Big Ten honors, led by Jake Hildebrand who was named the Big Ten Player of the Year and Big Ten Goaltender of the Year ... Hildebrand earned a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team while defenseman Travis Walsh was named Second-Team All-Big Ten, forward Matt Berry garnered Honorable Mention All-Big Ten and defenseman Josh Jacobs was voted to the All-Freshman Team.

• Hildebrand, a Mike Richter Award nominee, is the eighth Spartan in program history to have been named a conference player of the year, becoming the first since Torey Krug in 2012 and first goaltender since Ryan Miller in 2002.

• Hildebrand and the Spartans lead the Big Ten and rank 12th nationally in goals-against per game at 2.24 ... MSU surrendered two or fewer goals in 13 of 20 league games, including eight of the last 10.

• Hildebrand, a junior, leads the Big Ten in goals-against average (2.12), save percentage (.930) and shutouts (six) ... In Big Ten games, he was even better, posting a 1.94 goals-against average and .940 save percentage.

• Since Jan. 1, Hildebrand leads the nation in save percentage (.950), ranks sixth in goals-against average (1.55) and has posted five shutouts - second most in the country - over the 16-game stretch.

• In going 10-4 over its last 14 games, the Spartans have outscored the opposition, 37-23, and posted five shutouts.

• Matt Berry (4-11-15), Ryan Keller (9-4-13) and Mackenzie MacEachern (6-7-13) lead MSU in scoring over the last 14 games ... Keller's 13 points over the last 14 games eclipse his career total (12) entering 2014-15.

• The line of Keller, Ferrantino and Joe Cox, which has been playing together for the last 10 games (since Feb. 13 vs. Penn State), has combined for 28 points (13g, 15a) over the last eight contests ... Keller had a team season-high seven-game point streak come to an end in the regular-season finale at Michigan after which he produced a 7-4-11 scoring line.

• 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).

• Berry leads MSU in points (28) and assists (17), while Ferrantino leads in goals (12) ... The Spartans have 10 players with at least 10 points this season.

• The Spartans lead the Big Ten and rank second in the nation in blocked shots with an average of 18.5 per game ... MSU, which blocked a season-high 30 the last time out, ranks second in total blocks with 259.

• The Spartans yielded just 42 goals in league play - 12 fewer than Minnesota, which has allowed the second-fewest (54).

• Despite facing two of the nation's top-three power play units in four the last six games of the season, the Spartans continue to lead the Big Ten in penalty kill percentage at .860, which is 18th best nationally ... MSU has skated off 29 of the last 34 opponent power plays over the last 11 games.

• The Spartans are 16-2-2 when scoring first and 15-0-2 when leading after two periods.

• Under coach Tom Anastos, the Spartans are 52-9-5, including 13-3-1 this season, when scoring three or more goals.

In Going 10-4 Over the Last 14 Games...
• MSU has allowed 23 goals - fifth fewest of any team in the nation since Jan. 23.
• The Spartans have scored at least one goal in the third period of 12 of the 14 games, outscoring opponents by a count of 16-7 in the final stanza.
• Two lines have combined to produce at least 30 points: Mackenzie MacEachern (6-7-13), Matt Berry (4-11-15) and Matt DeBlouw (4-3-7) have produced 35 points ... Ryan Keller (9-4-13), Joe Cox (3-7-10) and Michael Ferrantino (3-5-8) have put up 31 points.
• Ryan Keller surpassed his career total entering 2013-14 with nine goals.
• Goaltender Jake Hildebrand has three shutouts, a 1.44 goals-against average and .955 save percentage.
• Defensive partners Ron Boyd and John Draeger are plus-10 and plus-8, respectively.

All About Hildy
• Jake Hildebrand became the eighth Spartan in MSU history to be named a conference player of the year ... Torey Krug was the last Spartan to earn player of the year (CCHA) honors in 2012, while Ryan Miller was the last goaltender to earn the distinction in 2002 ... Prior to Hildebrand, Dominic Vicari was the last MSU netminder to be named conference goaltender of the year (CCHA) in 2004.
• Hildebrand is tied for second in the nation 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 a league-high four times this season.
• 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 ninth in the nation ... His 2.12 goals-against average also leads the league and is 25th best in the country ... He has played 99.2% of his team's total minutes this season - the most of any goaltender nationally.
• He has played 10 games against three of the current top-five offenses in the nation (1. Michigan-5 games; 2. Boston University-1 game; 5. Minnesota-4 games), posting a .922 save percentage and 2.60 goals-against average in the 10 contests.
• Since Jan. 1, Hildebrand leads the nation in save percentage (.950), ranks sixth in goals-against average (1.55) and has posted five shutouts - second most in the country - over the 16-game stretch ... MSU has gone 10-5-1 over the span.
• Hildebrand has a total of 2,735-career saves, which ties Chad Alban (1994-98) for sixth on MSU's all-time saves list ... He is 102 away from surpassing Mike Buzak (1991-95).

All-B1G
In addition to Jake Hildebrand's first-team selection, three other Spartans garnered All-Big Ten honors - junior defenseman Travis Walsh (second team), senior forward Matt Berry (honorable mention) and rookie defenseman Josh Jacobs (All-Freshman Team). It marked the most all-conference selections for MSU since 2010 when Drew Palmisano, Jeff Petry and Corey Tropp garnered All-CCHA Second-Team accolades, and Torey Krug and Derek Grand were voted to the All-Rookie Team.

Walsh produced a career-high 14 points from the blue line this season. He garnered all-league accolades despite missing the final five games of the season after suffering a broken jaw on a blocked shot Feb. 26 at Minnesota. His 63 blocked shots are still second on the team this year.

Berry averaged a point per game as he led MSU with 28 points (11g, 17a) this season. In conference games, Berry produced 17 points (5g, 12a) in the 17 contests in which he appeared. Since returning to the lineup on Jan. 23, Berry has put up 15 points (4g, 11a) in 14 games.

Jacobs has appeared in all 34 games in his rookie campaign and leads MSU in blocked shots with 69, which ranks second in the league. Offensively, he has produced eight assists - second among MSU defensemen.

Watch Tom

Getting Defensive
• The Spartans lead the Big Ten and rank 12th nationally in goals-against per game at 2.24.
• Since Jan. 1, MSU has allowed the fewest goals in the nation (30) and rank seventh in goals-against per game (1.88).
• The Spartans have allowed two goals or fewer in 14 of the last 18 games (since and including the GLI) and eight of the last 10.
• The Spartans lead the Big Ten and rank second in the nation in blocked shots with an average of 18.5 per game ... MSU, which blocked a season-high 30 the last time out, ranks second in total blocks with 259.

In The Big Ten...
• Ryan Keller led MSU in goals (10) ... Matt Berry (5-12-17) led in assists and points.
• MSU surrendered two or fewer goals in 13 of 20 league games, including eight of the last 10.
• Defenseman Ron Boyd is a team-best plus-12.
• Jake Hildebrand has a league-leading .940 save percentage and a 1.94 goals-against average.
• MSU has allowed a league-low 42 goals - 12 fewer than Minnesota, which has allowed the second-fewest (54).

Penalty Kill Leads the Big Ten
Michigan State's .860 penalty kill percentage leads the Big Ten and ranks 18th in the nation. The 16 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 52 of the last 58 opponent power plays (.897).

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 second in the country and first in the league in blocks per game at 18.5. Defensemen Josh Jacobs (69) and the injured Travis Walsh (63) lead MSU in blocks and rank second and third, respectively, in the Big Ten, while John Draeger ranks fifth (52).

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.

Spartans Rank Eighth in Attendance
The Spartans finished the year ranked eighth nationally in attendance average at 5,773 fans per game. The Spartans ranked 10th last season and eighth in 2012-13.

MSU has been a part of the top-four attended college hockey games this season, led by the Hockey City Classic at Soldier Field (22,751) and a sellout (20,027) at Joe Louis Arena in a win over Michigan on Jan. 30.

Three is the Magic Number
Under head coach Tom Anastos, the Spartans are 52-9-5 (.826) when scoring three or more goals, including a 13-3-1 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)