Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Continue Road Swing at Penn State
1/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
| Games 19-20: Michigan State (4-13-1, 0-4 B1G) vs. No. 4/4 Penn State (14-2-1, 3-1 B1G) | |
| Dates | Times | Friday, Jan. 13 -- 7 p.m. | Saturday, Jan. 7 -- 7 p.m. |
| Location | University Park, Pa. | Pegula Ice Arena (5,782) |
| TV (Sat.) | BTN |
| Video Stream | BTN Plus (Fri.) | BTN2Go (Sat.) |
| Live Stats | | |
| 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 | Penn State | Big Ten |
| Social Media | @MSU_Hockey  | Facebook  | Instragram  |
On The Fly...
• Michigan State continues its five-game road trip with a pair of games at Penn State this weekend.
• Sophomore Mason Appleton leads the Spartans in goals (8), assists (9) and points (17) ... He has five points (3g, 2a) over the last five games and has been held off the scoresheet just twice in the past seven games.
• Six of Appleton's goals have come on the power play, tied for ninth most in the nation.
• Sophomore defenseman Zach Osburn leads all Spartan blueliners in points (9) and assists (7) ... His 50 shots on goal are second most on the team, five fewer than team-leader Mason Appleton.
• Freshman Taro Hirose leads the Spartan rookies with 11 points and ranks second in assists with eight.
• Linemates Joe Cox and Thomas Ebbing have never missed a game in their Spartan careers, both appearing in 126 consecutive contests ... The last Spartan to have appeared in more consecutive games was Jake Chelios, who dressed in 153 straight from 2010-14.
• Junior goaltender Ed Minney has made 30 or more saves in six of his last nine starts.
• The Spartans have recorded a power-play goal in four of the last five games.
• Junior defenseman Carson Gatt has two goals in the last three games and has three on the season, tied with freshman Jerad Rosburg for the most among Spartan blueliners.
• Michigan State has had at least seven freshmen in the lineup in all 18 games, including eight on Jan. 6 at Wisconsin ... Seven MSU rookies have accounted for 36% of the team's points so far this season.
• Freshmen and sophomores have accounted for 62% of the Spartans' points over the last five games.
• The Spartans have scored at least three goals in their four wins this season and are 4-2 when doing so in 2016-17 ... Under head coach Tom Anastos the Spartans are 65-15-7 (.787) when scoring three or more goals.
About Penn State
PSU had its 13-game unbeaten streak (12-1) snapped at Ohio State in a 3-0 loss on Jan. 6 ... PSU responded with a 4-2 win the following night ... The No. 4 Nittany Lions are 14-2-1 overall and 3-1 in Big Ten play ... The Nittany Lions are the nation's second-highest scoring team, averaging 4.53 goals per game, and have outscored the opposition by a 77-33 margin ... Freshman Denis Smirnov leads the team in points (28) and assists (18) ... Sophomore Andrew Sturtz is the team leader in goals (13) ... Freshman Peyton Jones has started 15 games in net, including all four Big Ten games, and has a .919 save percentage and 1.98 goals-against average.
Against Penn State
Michigan State leads the all-time series, 6-5-3-2, but is 1-3-2-2 all-time in at Pegula Ice Arena ... Seniors Joe Cox (1-3--4), Villiam Haag (2-2--4) and JT Stenglein (1-3--4) are the Spartans active leaders in points against PSU.
Of Note From Last Weekend at Wisconsin
MSU won the faceoff battle both nights, 38-17 and 31-30, respectively ... The Spartans had eight freshmen in the lineup for the Jan. 6 game ... The Spartans extinguished 8-of-10 UW power plays on the weekend.
Starting 2017 on the Road
Michigan State plays its first five games of 2017 on the road -- at Wisconsin (Jan. 6-7), at Penn State (Jan. 13-14) and at Michigan (Jan. 20) -- before hosting the Wolverines on Jan. 21 in the only home game of the month. The five-game road stretch is the longest conference road trip for a Big Ten team this season and the longest for the Spartans since 2014 when they also played five consecutive league games on the road from Feb. 14 - March 7.
The Spartans will be able to set aside their bags in February as six of their eight games during the month will be played at home and all eight will be played in the State of Michigan.
Appleton Doing it All
Sophomore forward Mason Appleton has been the Spartans' go-to threat so far this season as he leads the team in points (17), goals (8) and assists (9). Appleton, who has points in 12 of 18 games, had his career-best three-game goal streak stopped on Friday at Wisconsin, however he picked up an assist the following night to give him points in four of the last five contests, posting a 3-2--5 line over the span. His 17 points rank 10th in the Big Ten.
He had his first career three-point game with two power-play goals, including the game-winner in OT, in the Spartans' 3-2 win over Michigan Tech on Nov. 4. He scored the game-winner at Ferris State on Nov. 12 just past the midway point of the third period.
Appleton was MSU's 2015-16 Rookie of the Year and is just five points shy of his point total from last season (5-17--22).
Hirose and Khodorenko Lead Large Rookie Class
Taro Hirose and Patrick Khodorenko have been two of the Spartans' most productive freshmen this season. A part of MSU's 11-member freshman class, Hirose, a winger, and Khodorenko, a center, have played together in all but two games and have been a part of the Spartans' top power-play unit all season.
Hirose ranks second on the team in points (11) and assists (8). Two of his three multi-point games have come in Spartan victories and six of his 11 points have come on the power play.
Last season Hirose ranked 13th in the BCHL in points (71) and fourth in assists (56), both of which led the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
Khodorenko hasn't gone more than two consecutive games without a point. He picked up an assist on Jan. 6 at Wisconsin and is tied for third on the team with nine points (3g, 6a).
Netminder Notes
After beginning the year alternating starts in the first four games, junior Ed Minney has started 10 of the last 11, including both contests last weekend at Wisconsin. The 6-foot-5 netminder who had just four-career appearances entering the season, has made 30 or more saves in six of the last nine games, including a career-high 40 saves against Minnesota on Dec. 9. He has allowed three or fewer goals in 10 of 15 appearances in net this season.
Freshman John Lethemon snapped Minney's streak of eight straight starts by getting the nod against Michigan on Dec. 30 in the second game of the GLI where he made a career-high 30 stops.
Of Note From the GLI
Eleven different Spartans recorded points in the two games ... Carson Gatt had the second two-point game of his career with a goal and an assist vs. Michigan ... Freshman Logan Lambdin snapped his 10-game goal drought by scoring the first goal of the game against Michigan ... Senior JT Stenglein got his third goal of the month, scoring the tying goal against Michigan ... John Lethemon made his first start in goal since Nov. 5 ... The Spartans trailed Michigan 4-1 entering the third period and scored a season-high three third-period goals, tying the game with 2:10 to play ... The 52nd annual GLI was the last to be played at Joe Louis Arena as the tournament will move to the new home of the Red Wings, Little Caesar's Arena, next season.
Another Quick Break
For the second straight year, the Spartans had one of the shortest semester/Christmas breaks in college hockey with 10 off days. The 10-day break between games was tied with Robert Morris for shortest in the nation over college hockey's traditional break. For perspective, the Big Ten team with the second-shortest break over the span was Michigan, which had 17 off days prior to the GLI, while Penn State went 33 days between games in December and January.
Young Blue Liners
The Spartan defense corps includes just three returners as five new blueliners have stepped into the fold this season. The Spartans have dressed at least three freshmen defensemen in all 18 games this year and had four in the lineup twice in the last five games. The three returners -- senior Rhett Holland (122 career GP), Gatt (80 career GP) and sophomore Zach Osburn (55 career GP) -- all appeared in every game last season and will be counted on to help bring along the younger Spartans.
Freshmen Damian Chrcek, Mitch Eliot, Butrus Ghafari and Anthony Scarsella join redshirt freshman Jerad Rosburg on the back end. Eliot has been the only freshman defenseman to have dressed in all 18 games.
Roster Odds & Ends
The Spartans are the sixth-youngest team in college hockey with an average age of 21 years, 23 days (as of Oct. 1) ... Patrick Khodorenko, who turned 18 on Oct. 13, is the third-youngest player in college hockey ... The Spartans are tied for the second most seniors (8) in the nation, but their 10 freshmen are tied for the fourth most ... Khodorenko is the second Spartan in program history from the state of California (Jeremy Jackson 2000-01) and is one of 40 players from the Golden State in college hockey this year ... Ed Minney (No. 45), Mitch Eliot (No. 52), Jerad Rosburg (No. 57) and Logan Lambdin (No. 71) are the first Spartans in program history to wear their respective numbers.
`O' From Osburn
Sophomore defenseman Zach Osburn, who was voted to the Big Ten All-Freshman team last year, leads all Spartan blue liners with nine points (2g, 7a). Osburn had a goal and an assist in the 3-2 OT win over Michigan Tech and continues to provide an offensive threat from the back end where he ranks second in shots on goal with 50. Osburn led all Spartan defensemen and ranked second among Big Ten rookie blueliners with 19 points (6g, 13a) in 2015-16.
Spartans in the NHL
A total of eight Spartans have appeared in the NHL this season: Justin Abdelkader (Detroit Red Wings), Derek Grant (Buffalo Sabres), Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks), Torey Krug (Boston Bruins), Drew Miller (Detroit Red Wings), Ryan Miller (Vancouver Canucks), John-Michael Liles (Boston Bruins) and Jeff Petry (Montreal Canadiens).
Up Next
The Spartans will meet Michigan in a home-and-home series, Jan. 20-21. The Spartans will meet Jan. 20 in Ann Arbor and then at Munn Ice Arena the following night.
