Spartans Set to Begin New Season on Friday at Munn

Friday, October 12

East Lansing, Mich.

7:00 PM ET

Michigan State University

Northern Michigan

Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography

10/10/2018 4:05:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

MSU Game Notes

Games 1-2: Northern Michigan (0-0 | 0-0 WCHA) at Michigan State (0-0 | 0-0 B1G)
Dates | Times: Friday, Oct. 12 | 7 p.m. // Saturday, Oct. 13 | 7:30 p.m.
Location: East Lansing | Munn Ice Arena (6,114)
Tickets: MSUSpartans.com
Web Stream: Friday -- BTN Plus on BTN2Go | Saturday -- BTN Plus on BTN2Go
Live Stats: MSUSpartans.com
Radio: Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) | Local: WJIM 1240-AM (Fri.) | WVFN 730-AM (Sat.)
SSN Mobile App: iPhone/iPad | Android
Game Notes: Michigan State | Northern Michigan | Big Ten
Social Media: @MSU_Hockey

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On The Fly…

• Michigan State opens its second season under head coach Danton Cole this weekend at home vs. Northern Michigan … It marks the first series between the Spartans and Wildcats since NMU visited Munn in the final year of the CCHA (Feb. 2013).

• MSU went 8-7-1 at home last season and was unbeaten in non-conference play at Munn … The Spartans ranked 10th nationally in average home attendance (5,157).

• Michigan State returns 89% of its point production and 93% of its goal scoring from last season, both of which are fourth-most nationally and the most in the Big Ten.

• The Spartans' top four scorers from 2017-18 are all back - Taro Hirose (12-30--42), Mitchell Lewandowski (19-15--34), Patrick Khodorenko (13-19--32) and Cody Milan (6-15--21).

• MSU has 21 returning letterwinners (three seniors; 10 juniors; eight sophomores) and welcomes seven freshmen ... The three seniors is tied for the fewest among all NCAA teams.

• This year's freshman class includes three defensemen (Dennis Cesana, Christian Krygier, Cole Krygier); three forwards (Adam Goodsir, Mitchell Mattson, Wojciech Stachowiak); and one goaltender (Drew DeRidder).

• MSU brings back one of college hockey's top-scoring lines in Patrick Khodorenko, Taro Hirose and Mitchell Lewandowski as the trio combined for 108 points (44% of the Spartans' team total) last season … All three players had at least 30 points, marking the first time since 2011-12 MSU has had three players with at least 30 points.

• Khodorenko, Hirose (unanimous) and Lewandowski were all voted to the Big Ten's 15-player Preseason Watch List.

• Hirose earned second team All-Big Ten honors last season in recording the most points (42) by a Spartan since 2009-10 and most assists (30) by a Spartan since 2004-05.

• Lewandowski was the 2018 Big Ten Freshman of the Year as his team-leading 19 goals tied for the most in the Big Ten during the regular season … He ended the year first in the nation among all rookies in goals and fourth in points among freshmen.

• On the blue line, MSU returns all but Carson Gatt from last season … Tommy Miller and Jerad Rosburg played in all 36 games, while Zach Osburn is the team's most experienced returning player having appeared in 105 career games.

• Junior Sam Saliba, an assistant captain last season, was voted team captain for 2018-19 ... The Spartans will have four assistant captains in seniors Brennan Sanford and Cody Milan; junior Taro Hirose; and sophomore Tommy Apap.

About Northern Michigan
Northern Michigan returns a total of 15 juniors and seniors from last year's team that reached the WCHA Playoff Championship Game, going 25-15-3 overall … NMU, which averaged 3.02 goals-per-game (22nd nationally) last season, had three players with 40-plus points and all three return in 2018-19: Adam Rockwood (F, 8-40--48), Troy Loggins (F, 23-24--47) and Phillip Beaulieu (D, 11-31--42) … Beaulieu was a second-team All-America selection … In goal, senior Atte Tolvanen went 23-10-1 with a .908 save percentage and 2.22 GAA … NMU's power-play ranked fourth in the WCHA last season at 20.1% (39-of-194), while its penalty killing was also fourth best in the league at 81.2%.

The All-Time Series
Michigan State leads the all-time series, 35-30-4, including a 20-11-3 mark at home ... The two teams last met on Dec. 30, 2015 at Joe Louis Arena in the GLI, a 2-1 NMU overtime win.

Season Opening Notes
The last time MSU played its first regular season game at home was 2014 (5-3 W vs. UMass) … It marks just the second time since 2010 that the Spartans begin their season with a home series … Michigan State is 41-31-5 all-time in season-openers … The Spartans began last season with a home-and-home series vs. Bowling Green, falling the first night on the road (4-1), before winning the following day at home (3-2).

Exhibition Recap: Michigan State 3, Windsor 1
The Spartans outshot Windsor 41-16 and killed all seven Lancer power plays … Taro Hirose had three assists, while Cody Milan (PP), Mitchell Lewandowski and Patrick Khodorenko (PP) scored for the Spartans … John Lethemon started in goal and made three saves in 31:22 of work, while Drew DeRidder played the remaining time and stopped all 12 shots he faced.

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Prolific KHL Line Returns Intact
Patrick Khodorenko (13-19--32), Taro Hirose (12-30--42) and Mitchell Lewandowski (19-15--34) combined to form one of the Big Ten's – and college hockey's – most dangerous lines last season in producing a total of 108 points (44 goals, 64 assists) in playing together in all 36 games. The trio makes Michigan State the only Big Ten team to return its top three point producers from 2017-18. All three players were voted to the Big Ten's preseason Players to Watch list.

Khodorenko – Ranked 12th in the Big Ten and third on the team in points (32) … Voted team's most improve player … Second on the team and fourth in the Big Ten in power-play goals (6) during the regular season.

Hirose – 2018 All-Big Ten second team … Ron Mason Team MVP … His 42 points were the most by a Spartan since Corey Tropp had the same number in 2009-10 … Was the fourth Spartan since 2007-08 to eclipse the 40-point plateau … His 30 assists were the most since Jim Slater in 2004-05 (32) … Never went more than two consecutive games without a point and had at least a point in more games (25) than any other player in the league during the regular season.

Lewandowski – 2018 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and only unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman team … College Hockey News All-Rookie team … Led all rookies nationally in goals (19) and tied for the most in the Big Ten (among all players) during the regular season … Was the first MSU freshman to score at least 19 goals since 1997-98 (Rustyn Dolyny) and just the seventh rookie in program history to score at least 19 goals.

Saliba Gets The 'C'
Sam Saliba is the 72nd player in program history to be named team captain. The junior, who was one of three assistant captains last season, was voted team captain by his teammates in the offseason. Saliba has never missed a game in his two seasons, appearing in all 71 contests since the start of the 2016 season.

Joining Saliba in the Spartans' leadership group for 2018-19 as assistant captains are seniors Brennan Sanford and Cody Milan; junior Taro Hirose; and sophomore Tommy Apap. The assistants will alternate duties with two of the four wearing A's each game. Sanford was one of three assistant captains last season.

Board Approves – Munn to Get Major Upgrades
With a vote on August 31, the Michigan State University Board of Trustees voted to authorize the planning phase of the estimated $16 million Munn Ice Arena addition. The new addition, which will occur outside building's footprint on the south side, will include a hall of history, new locker rooms, weight room, video room and team offices among other amenities.

The 44-year-old arena has received several major upgrades since 2013, including: new lighting, high-definition video boards, LED ribbon boards, increased chairback seating and replacement of all bleachers, ice plant, boards and glass.

Blueliners Back
Michigan State returns all but Carson Gatt from last season's defense corps. The Spartans will have just one senior blueliner for the second straight year in Zach Osburn, who has appeared in more career games (105) than any other player on the roster. Beyond Osburn, the next most-experienced Spartan defensemen is redshirt junior Jerad Rosburg (69 career games), who was second among MSU defensemen in points last season with 11 (1g, 10a). Sophomore Tommy Miller, who played in every game last season, was third among blueliners with 10 points (10a). MSU also returns a trio of juniors in Butrus Ghafari (50 career games), Damian Chrcek (27 career games) and Anthony Scarsella (18 career games).

Three rookies in Cole Krygier, Christian Krygier and Dennis Cesana also bolster the Spartan blue line. Cesana was fourth among all players and first among defensemen in the AJHL in points last season with 75 (14g, 61a) in 60 games. Both Krygiers were selected in this past summer's NHL Draft with Christian going to the New York Islanders (No. 196 overall) and Cole going to Florida (No. 201 overall).

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Milan Looking for More After Career Year
Senior Cody Milan had a breakout 2017-18 as his 21 points (6g, 15a) were nine more than his combined total through his first two seasons. His 21 points were fourth best on the team while his 15 assists tied for third. Ten of his points came on the power play.

Staying Out of the Box
Michigan State was one of 14 college hockey teams last season to average fewer than 10 penalty minutes per game. The Spartans averaged 9.89 penalty minutes per game, which ranked third fewest in the Big Ten. Defenseman Tommy Miller was one of three players in the Big Ten to have played in all of their respective team's games and not record a single penalty.

All in the Family
Freshmen defensemen Christian and Cole Krygier are the first twins to play for the Spartans in program history. In following in the footsteps of their older brother, Brock, who was a defenseman for the Spartans from 2012-15, the Krygiers are the first trio of brothers to play for MSU since Kip (1986-90), Kevin (1984-88) and Kelly Miller (1981-85).

Hoping to Pick Up Where They Left Off
Taro Hirose (1-4--5) and Patrick Khodorenko (2-2--4) both ended last season with three-game point streaks. Additionally, last year's freshman class had a strong end to the season as five of the eight players had at least half their points over the final 10 games, led by David Keefer (2-3--5 in 10 GP).

Notables from 2017-18
The Spartans held leads pretty well, going 8-3 when leading after the first period and 9-0-1 when leading after two ... The Spartans went 11-5 when scoring first ... MSU was 7-5 when generating at least 30 shots on goal ... MSU was 10-6 when scoring at least three goals ... The Spartans allowed two or fewer goals 12 times, going 8-2-2 in such contests.