Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications
Neil’s Notebook: Lethemon, Third-Period Surge Push Spartans Past No. 8 Cornell
10/27/2018 8:25:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
ITHACA, N.Y. – Michigan State junior John Lethemon won the goaltending duel with Cornell All-American Matthew Galajda.
Lethemon, with one of his best games of his Spartan career, made 32 saves and allowed only two goals.
Galajda, last season's Eastern College Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and Ivy League Player of the Year, gave up four goals and made 15 saves before he was replaced with eight minutes left in the game. Galajda (pronounced guh-LIE-duh) had the best goals-against average in the nation last season at 1.51.
Lethemon's strong performance and a four-goal surge in the third period carried the Spartans to a 5-2 victory over 8th-ranked Cornell on Friday in the opener of a non-conference series in front of a raucous crowd of 3,840 at Lynah Rink.
Taro Hirose had a goal and two assists in the third period as MSU (2-1) broke a 1-1 tie with four goals within a span of 11 minutes and 10 seconds – from 4:33 to 15:43.
But without Lethemon's stellar play over the first 40 minutes – 11 saves in each of the first two periods – the Spartans may not have been in position to control the third period and end up with a satisfying victory.
"He was crazy tonight. Without John, we would have lost that game, so a lot of props go out to Leth,'' said MSU freshman defenseman Dennis Cesana, who put the Spartans ahead for good, breaking the 1-1 deadlock by beating Galajda with a quick shot off a 2-on-1 break at 4:33 of the third period for his first collegiate goal.
"There were point-blank shots, deflections and he had to smother a lot of bouncing pucks. He was really on tonight.''
Lethemon looked sharp from the opening faceoff. He was in good position and sharp around the net as the Big Red often came from behind the net and tried to jam pucks between him and the posts. He pounced on lots of loose pucks to halt Cornell surges.
"I felt pretty calm and comfortable and I was seeing the puck well, even through screens,'' said Lethemon, now 2-0 on the season with only four goals against. "But our guys did a good job of cleaning up any rebounds.
"It's a lot of fun to play in this environment. It's exciting to come in and get a win.''
The Spartans will go for a sweep Saturday when they close out the series against the Big Red (0-1) at 7 p.m. at Lynah Rink.
"John was outstanding. He made a lot of great saves,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said of Lethemon, a 6-foot-2, 171-pounder from Northville. "He made a lot of saves look easy. There were a lot of tipped shots around the net and when it looked a little busy, he cleaned it up.
"I think we can play better and we'll probably have to tomorrow. This is a great win for us. With the Big Ten, the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index which determines at-large berths in the NCAA Tournament) will take care of itself. Getting wins against Northern Michigan and getting a win here on the road, that will help.
"Now, we'll be greedy and try to get another one here. Those are good wins.''
The Spartans scored the only goal of the first period and it came shorthanded. Sam Saliba tipped a Cornell cross-ice pass just inside the MSU blue line, raced after it and found himself in the clear. He went in close to beat Galajda with a wrister to the right corner at 11:30 for his second goal of the season.
Lethemon and MSU kept Cornell scoreless through the first 30 minutes, but the Big Red tied it at 10:49 of the second period off a 3-on-2 rush that ended with freshman center Max Andreev getting wide open in the slot. In the slot, he took a pass from the left boards from senior Matt Vanderlaan and fired the puck past Lethemon for a 1-1 tie.
The game was decided in the third period as Michigan State scored four unanswered goals to stun the Big Red and their fans, hoping to get the season off to a good start.
Patrick Khodorenko, Hirose, Mitchell Lewandowski and Cesana combined to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead at 4:33 of the third period. Khodorenko chipped the puck up the boards on the left coming out of the MSU defensive zone. Hirose got it ahead to Lewandowski on the left near the red line while Cesana moved up into the play.
Lewandowski skated down the left wing on a 2-on-1, fed the puck to an onrushing Cesana, who took the pass and rifled a shot into the net to Galajda's left.
"I saw the puck get chipped up the wall by Patty, it got by two guys and then Taro took it by the defenseman, and I was the weakside D, so I jumped up with Lewie and got the pass and put it in the net,'' said Cesana, a 5-11, 189-pounder from Providence. "I saw the goalie was a little out of position, took the shot and luckily it went in. It's nice to get the first one and the win.
"We just stuck with it. I wouldn't say we were fully on our game in the first two periods. In the third, we had to come out playing our game and we did. We know what works, so we have to come out tomorrow and do it again.''
Cole said that Cesana was trying to force things and wasn't staying patient in the first two periods.
"He's got a lot of family here and I told him after the second period that he was forcing things and that we're playing a good team and it's a 1-2-2 (system) that they're in,'' Cole said. "I played it and coached it forever so I said you're not going to do it. You have to jump in and find the rush and not lead the rush.
"So right away, he goes out and does it. It was good to see. That's a good feeling for him, and I think we'll see a lot more of that in the next few years.''
Less than three minutes after Cesana's goal, Hirose gave MSU a 3-1 lead with an unassisted goal at 7:22. Off a turnover, he drove down the left wing, went in deep, and just when it looked like Hirose was going to pass to a teammate in front, he fired the puck past Galajda.
MSU made a crucial penalty kill from 8:50-10:50 as Cornell pushed to cut its deficit to one goal. But the Spartans' penalty killers were aggressive, limiting the Big Red to one shot on goal.
Seventy seconds after getting back to even strength, MSU sophomore Brody Stevens got open in the slot near the right circle and his quick wrist shot hit the crossbar and caromed into the net for a 4-1 cushion at 12:00, ending Galajda's night.
Galajda was replaced by sophomore Austin McGrath, who gave up MSU's last goal on a power play by Cody Milan. Hirose, at the left point, passed the puck to Milan down low to left of the net. The Spartan senior forward fired the puck into the slot where it glanced off a Cornell defenseman, found the back of the net and it was 5-1.
With 3:43 left, Cornell made it 5-2 on defenseman Matt Cairns' shot from the point in the middle of the ice. The Big Red pulled goalie McGrath (2 saves) with more than two minutes left, and while they buzzed around the MSU zone and came close to scoring, they couldn't solve Lethemon.
PENALTY KILLING SOLID: The Spartans skated off five Cornell power plays and while the sets of two forwards and two defensemen were good and blocked shots, the No. 1 penalty killer was goalie John Lethemon, who made 10 saves while his team was shorthanded.
"By far, our best penalty killer was Leth. It makes it easy for us when he's making saves like that,'' sophomore center and key penalty killer Tommy Apap said. "I made a few mistakes cutting down the wall and stuff but we cleaned up some mistakes, blocked a ton of shots and sacrificed the body.
"It was great to get in shot lanes, make some blocks and get the puck out. When there were some scrums in front, we settled down and got the puck 200 feet (down the ice).
"There's going to be games against good teams in which they're going to draw penalties so we're going to have to kill them.''
Coach Danton Cole said his team's penalty killing was good but it needed some tinkering before the third period.
"It got a bit twisted in the second period. We weren't in the right rotation and (assistant coach Joe Exter) made a nice adjustment during the intermission to get the guys straightened out,'' Cole said. "In the third period, right after our (third) goal, that was a big penalty kill.''
Overall, MSU blocked 16 shots, led by a pair of defensemen – Zach Osburn (4) ad Jerad Rosburg (3). The Spartans went 1-for-3 on the power play with just two shots on goal. Cornell outshot MSU, 34-22.
FOURTH LINE IN KEY ROLE: Cole liked what he saw from MSU's fourth line of center Tommy Apap, left wing Brennan Sanford and right wing Cody Stevens.
The unit forechecked well in the offensive zone, was solid defensively and contributed a goal – by Stevens with Sanford assisting in the third period.
"Tommy Apap's line did a good job. They were controlling the game in the offensive zone and those were good minutes for them,'' Cole said. "It was good to see them get rewarded with a goal.''
Apap, who was driving to the net when Stevens shot and didn't see the puck end up in the net, said he likes playing with his linemates.
"Brody and Sandy are both workhorses and we pride ourselves on outworking the other team, getting the puck down low and being strong defensively,'' he said. "We have to keep doing that and wear teams down.
"I feel like that opens up ice for (Khodorenko's) line and the other lines, too.
NEW STICK, PROMISE KEPT: Brody Stevens broke his stick in practice on Thursday at Lynah Rink and wanted a new one from longtime MSU equipment manger Tom Magee.
"I broke it and T was I like 'I don't know if you deserve it,''' Stevens said with a laugh. "I said, "C'mon T, you know I deserve it.' He said 'you're going to have to pay for it somehow.''
Stevens, a 5-11, 191-pound right wing from Ann Arbor, set out to score a goal with his new stick. But it didn't happen in the first period.
"I gave him (a new stick) and said 'you better do something with it,''' Magee said. "After the first period, I said, 'you didn't do anything.' He said, 'well, I got to break it in. I'll get one in the third period.'''
And he did.
At 12:00, Stevens gave the Spartans a 4-1 lead, pretty much assuring victory.
"I got the pass (from Sanford), it hit my stick and I thought it was going to bounce away but I settled it, just shot and it went in,'' Stevens said of his first goal of the season.''
IN THE BIG TEN: In a matchup of No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2/3 Minnesota Duluth, the Irish saw a 2-1 lead disappear in the third period as the Bulldogs rallied for a 3-2 victory in their non-conference series opener at Notre Dame.
UMD tied it 2-2 on right wing Nick Swaney's shorthanded goal with 7:23 left in the third period, and defenseman Dylan Samberg's goal with 2:55 left won it for the defending NCAA champions. The Bulldogs outshot the Irish, 36-22.
Meanwhile, Penn State and Michigan posted non-conference victories at home while Ohio State and Wisconsin lost at home. The No. 9/10 Nittany Lions (4-0-1) led all the way in defeating Princeton, 4-2. The No. 12 Wolverines (2-2-1) posted a 3-0 victory over St. Lawrence (1-4).
In the surprise game of the night, the No. 4 Buckeyes were routed 8-2 by No. 15 Bowling Green (5-1) in Columbus. The Falcons led 4-0 after one period and 7-0 after two. The teams meet again Saturday in Bowling Green.
Wisconsin (3-2), ranked No. 13/14, was upset by Michigan Tech, 6-2. The Badgers went up 1-0 early in the first period but the Huskies (1-2) scored four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead. After Wisconsin cut the deficit to 4-2 early in the third period, Tech put the game away with two goals in 16 seconds with a little more than six minutes left.
No. 5 Minnesota (1-0-1) was idle on Friday but plays No. 17 North Dakota (1-2-1) in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game on Saturday in Las Vegas.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
ITHACA, N.Y. – Michigan State junior John Lethemon won the goaltending duel with Cornell All-American Matthew Galajda.
Lethemon, with one of his best games of his Spartan career, made 32 saves and allowed only two goals.
Galajda, last season's Eastern College Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and Ivy League Player of the Year, gave up four goals and made 15 saves before he was replaced with eight minutes left in the game. Galajda (pronounced guh-LIE-duh) had the best goals-against average in the nation last season at 1.51.
Lethemon's strong performance and a four-goal surge in the third period carried the Spartans to a 5-2 victory over 8th-ranked Cornell on Friday in the opener of a non-conference series in front of a raucous crowd of 3,840 at Lynah Rink.
Taro Hirose had a goal and two assists in the third period as MSU (2-1) broke a 1-1 tie with four goals within a span of 11 minutes and 10 seconds – from 4:33 to 15:43.
But without Lethemon's stellar play over the first 40 minutes – 11 saves in each of the first two periods – the Spartans may not have been in position to control the third period and end up with a satisfying victory.
"He was crazy tonight. Without John, we would have lost that game, so a lot of props go out to Leth,'' said MSU freshman defenseman Dennis Cesana, who put the Spartans ahead for good, breaking the 1-1 deadlock by beating Galajda with a quick shot off a 2-on-1 break at 4:33 of the third period for his first collegiate goal.
"There were point-blank shots, deflections and he had to smother a lot of bouncing pucks. He was really on tonight.''
Lethemon looked sharp from the opening faceoff. He was in good position and sharp around the net as the Big Red often came from behind the net and tried to jam pucks between him and the posts. He pounced on lots of loose pucks to halt Cornell surges.
"I felt pretty calm and comfortable and I was seeing the puck well, even through screens,'' said Lethemon, now 2-0 on the season with only four goals against. "But our guys did a good job of cleaning up any rebounds.
"It's a lot of fun to play in this environment. It's exciting to come in and get a win.''
The Spartans will go for a sweep Saturday when they close out the series against the Big Red (0-1) at 7 p.m. at Lynah Rink.
"John was outstanding. He made a lot of great saves,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said of Lethemon, a 6-foot-2, 171-pounder from Northville. "He made a lot of saves look easy. There were a lot of tipped shots around the net and when it looked a little busy, he cleaned it up.
"I think we can play better and we'll probably have to tomorrow. This is a great win for us. With the Big Ten, the RPI (Ratings Percentage Index which determines at-large berths in the NCAA Tournament) will take care of itself. Getting wins against Northern Michigan and getting a win here on the road, that will help.
"Now, we'll be greedy and try to get another one here. Those are good wins.''
The Spartans scored the only goal of the first period and it came shorthanded. Sam Saliba tipped a Cornell cross-ice pass just inside the MSU blue line, raced after it and found himself in the clear. He went in close to beat Galajda with a wrister to the right corner at 11:30 for his second goal of the season.
Lethemon and MSU kept Cornell scoreless through the first 30 minutes, but the Big Red tied it at 10:49 of the second period off a 3-on-2 rush that ended with freshman center Max Andreev getting wide open in the slot. In the slot, he took a pass from the left boards from senior Matt Vanderlaan and fired the puck past Lethemon for a 1-1 tie.
The game was decided in the third period as Michigan State scored four unanswered goals to stun the Big Red and their fans, hoping to get the season off to a good start.
Patrick Khodorenko, Hirose, Mitchell Lewandowski and Cesana combined to give the Spartans a 2-1 lead at 4:33 of the third period. Khodorenko chipped the puck up the boards on the left coming out of the MSU defensive zone. Hirose got it ahead to Lewandowski on the left near the red line while Cesana moved up into the play.
Lewandowski skated down the left wing on a 2-on-1, fed the puck to an onrushing Cesana, who took the pass and rifled a shot into the net to Galajda's left.
"I saw the puck get chipped up the wall by Patty, it got by two guys and then Taro took it by the defenseman, and I was the weakside D, so I jumped up with Lewie and got the pass and put it in the net,'' said Cesana, a 5-11, 189-pounder from Providence. "I saw the goalie was a little out of position, took the shot and luckily it went in. It's nice to get the first one and the win.
"We just stuck with it. I wouldn't say we were fully on our game in the first two periods. In the third, we had to come out playing our game and we did. We know what works, so we have to come out tomorrow and do it again.''
Cole said that Cesana was trying to force things and wasn't staying patient in the first two periods.
"He's got a lot of family here and I told him after the second period that he was forcing things and that we're playing a good team and it's a 1-2-2 (system) that they're in,'' Cole said. "I played it and coached it forever so I said you're not going to do it. You have to jump in and find the rush and not lead the rush.
"So right away, he goes out and does it. It was good to see. That's a good feeling for him, and I think we'll see a lot more of that in the next few years.''
Less than three minutes after Cesana's goal, Hirose gave MSU a 3-1 lead with an unassisted goal at 7:22. Off a turnover, he drove down the left wing, went in deep, and just when it looked like Hirose was going to pass to a teammate in front, he fired the puck past Galajda.
MSU made a crucial penalty kill from 8:50-10:50 as Cornell pushed to cut its deficit to one goal. But the Spartans' penalty killers were aggressive, limiting the Big Red to one shot on goal.
Seventy seconds after getting back to even strength, MSU sophomore Brody Stevens got open in the slot near the right circle and his quick wrist shot hit the crossbar and caromed into the net for a 4-1 cushion at 12:00, ending Galajda's night.
Galajda was replaced by sophomore Austin McGrath, who gave up MSU's last goal on a power play by Cody Milan. Hirose, at the left point, passed the puck to Milan down low to left of the net. The Spartan senior forward fired the puck into the slot where it glanced off a Cornell defenseman, found the back of the net and it was 5-1.
With 3:43 left, Cornell made it 5-2 on defenseman Matt Cairns' shot from the point in the middle of the ice. The Big Red pulled goalie McGrath (2 saves) with more than two minutes left, and while they buzzed around the MSU zone and came close to scoring, they couldn't solve Lethemon.
PENALTY KILLING SOLID: The Spartans skated off five Cornell power plays and while the sets of two forwards and two defensemen were good and blocked shots, the No. 1 penalty killer was goalie John Lethemon, who made 10 saves while his team was shorthanded.
"By far, our best penalty killer was Leth. It makes it easy for us when he's making saves like that,'' sophomore center and key penalty killer Tommy Apap said. "I made a few mistakes cutting down the wall and stuff but we cleaned up some mistakes, blocked a ton of shots and sacrificed the body.
"It was great to get in shot lanes, make some blocks and get the puck out. When there were some scrums in front, we settled down and got the puck 200 feet (down the ice).
"There's going to be games against good teams in which they're going to draw penalties so we're going to have to kill them.''
Coach Danton Cole said his team's penalty killing was good but it needed some tinkering before the third period.
"It got a bit twisted in the second period. We weren't in the right rotation and (assistant coach Joe Exter) made a nice adjustment during the intermission to get the guys straightened out,'' Cole said. "In the third period, right after our (third) goal, that was a big penalty kill.''
Overall, MSU blocked 16 shots, led by a pair of defensemen – Zach Osburn (4) ad Jerad Rosburg (3). The Spartans went 1-for-3 on the power play with just two shots on goal. Cornell outshot MSU, 34-22.
FOURTH LINE IN KEY ROLE: Cole liked what he saw from MSU's fourth line of center Tommy Apap, left wing Brennan Sanford and right wing Cody Stevens.
The unit forechecked well in the offensive zone, was solid defensively and contributed a goal – by Stevens with Sanford assisting in the third period.
"Tommy Apap's line did a good job. They were controlling the game in the offensive zone and those were good minutes for them,'' Cole said. "It was good to see them get rewarded with a goal.''
Apap, who was driving to the net when Stevens shot and didn't see the puck end up in the net, said he likes playing with his linemates.
"Brody and Sandy are both workhorses and we pride ourselves on outworking the other team, getting the puck down low and being strong defensively,'' he said. "We have to keep doing that and wear teams down.
"I feel like that opens up ice for (Khodorenko's) line and the other lines, too.
NEW STICK, PROMISE KEPT: Brody Stevens broke his stick in practice on Thursday at Lynah Rink and wanted a new one from longtime MSU equipment manger Tom Magee.
"I broke it and T was I like 'I don't know if you deserve it,''' Stevens said with a laugh. "I said, "C'mon T, you know I deserve it.' He said 'you're going to have to pay for it somehow.''
Stevens, a 5-11, 191-pound right wing from Ann Arbor, set out to score a goal with his new stick. But it didn't happen in the first period.
"I gave him (a new stick) and said 'you better do something with it,''' Magee said. "After the first period, I said, 'you didn't do anything.' He said, 'well, I got to break it in. I'll get one in the third period.'''
And he did.
At 12:00, Stevens gave the Spartans a 4-1 lead, pretty much assuring victory.
"I got the pass (from Sanford), it hit my stick and I thought it was going to bounce away but I settled it, just shot and it went in,'' Stevens said of his first goal of the season.''
IN THE BIG TEN: In a matchup of No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2/3 Minnesota Duluth, the Irish saw a 2-1 lead disappear in the third period as the Bulldogs rallied for a 3-2 victory in their non-conference series opener at Notre Dame.
UMD tied it 2-2 on right wing Nick Swaney's shorthanded goal with 7:23 left in the third period, and defenseman Dylan Samberg's goal with 2:55 left won it for the defending NCAA champions. The Bulldogs outshot the Irish, 36-22.
Meanwhile, Penn State and Michigan posted non-conference victories at home while Ohio State and Wisconsin lost at home. The No. 9/10 Nittany Lions (4-0-1) led all the way in defeating Princeton, 4-2. The No. 12 Wolverines (2-2-1) posted a 3-0 victory over St. Lawrence (1-4).
In the surprise game of the night, the No. 4 Buckeyes were routed 8-2 by No. 15 Bowling Green (5-1) in Columbus. The Falcons led 4-0 after one period and 7-0 after two. The teams meet again Saturday in Bowling Green.
Wisconsin (3-2), ranked No. 13/14, was upset by Michigan Tech, 6-2. The Badgers went up 1-0 early in the first period but the Huskies (1-2) scored four straight goals to take a 4-1 lead. After Wisconsin cut the deficit to 4-2 early in the third period, Tech put the game away with two goals in 16 seconds with a little more than six minutes left.
No. 5 Minnesota (1-0-1) was idle on Friday but plays No. 17 North Dakota (1-2-1) in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame game on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
G
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice HockeyAdam Nightingale Postgame Comments | Michigan | December 6, 2025
Saturday, December 06
Adam Nightingale Postgame Comments | Michigan | December 5, 2025
Friday, December 05
Adam Nightingale Postgame Comments | Colgate | November 26, 2025
Wednesday, November 26
Adam Nightingale Postgame Comments | Wisconsin | November 22, 2025
Saturday, November 22