Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Looking to Build on Good Start

By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer

EAST LANSING – Before the first puck was dropped to begin the 2018-19 hockey season, Michigan State players and coaches were in agreement about the months ahead.

If the Spartans were going to be vastly improved and have potential to move up in the Big Ten standings, they believed they would have to get more offense, much better goaltending and more consistent play from the defense.

Four games into the season, the early assessment is so far so good.

Michigan State made a splash nationally with a surprising two-game series sweep at No. 8 Cornell with very rewarding 5-2 and 4-3 victories at historic Lynah Rink, where most visiting teams don't leave smiling.

It was a huge challenge. The Spartans responded well and took advantage of some weaknesses in Cornell's game.

MSU got outstanding goaltending from junior John Lethemon, a strong offensive effort, led by Taro Hirose, and played respectable defense. And a 3-1 overall record against Northern Michigan and Cornell is a great way to open the season.

Now the question is whether Michigan State can continue its solid start with a different kind of challenge. The Spartans are arguably the favorites against an old rival that often gives MSU fits – Ferris State, unranked and 3-3 overall and 2-0 in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association.

The Bulldogs and Spartans meet in a home-and-home, non-conference series at 7 p.m. Friday at Munn Arena and at 7 p.m. Saturday at Ewigleben Arena in Big Rapids.

MSU coach Danton Cole understands the danger of a team feeling too excited about winning two straight road games and not properly preparing and focusing on the next opponent.

Coming off wins or losses, the focus on Monday has to be getting better, Cole says, and he believes his team has the right mindset.

"Our leadership is good. They looked like they were working to get better and they're looking forward to playing again,'' the Spartans coach said about an early practice this week.

"We've all been around sports where you feel too good about yourself. There's been a lot of smart people that have been through that. (Former UCLA and Hall of Fame coach) John Wooden would talk about that. He said people are going to criticize you unfairly (when you lose) and compliment you unfairly (when you win).

"We had a conversation on Monday that we had a lot of times last year where we got done with a series and we lost two games and we did a lot of things well, and that you've got to come to work Monday and get yourself better.

"Let's feel good about (the sweep of Cornell) and let's build on that.''

Sophomore right wing Mitchell Lewandowski, who had a goal and three assists at Cornell, said the euphoria of sweeping the No. 8 team in the nation will wear off quickly.

"We had a good weekend and we feel we're on the right track, but we've turned the page and our focus is on Ferris State,'' Lewandowski said.

Michigan State swept the Bulldogs last season in mid-November, winning 3-2 in overtime at Munn Arena and 3-1 in Big Rapids.

"We can't focus on what happened last year. Both teams are different,'' junior defenseman Butrus Ghafari said. "We have to focus on one game – Friday's game. And we can't say 'Oh, we swept last weekend so this weekend will come easy.' It won't.

"We have to come with the same intensity, same physicality and same everything.''

The Spartans' 3-1 start is their best after four games since 2010-11 when they opened with a 2-0-2 record and a .750 winning percentage, same as this year.

At the start of this week, the positives about the record and results at Cornell were slipping into the background.

"Monday is a little bit of an after-action report, and we kind of go over what we did the weekend before – what we did well and what we need to improve on,'' Cole said. "And then we get back to the basics of what we talk about as the three I's – immediacy, intensity and intelligence.

"We work on that and keep the process moving.''

MSU-FSU RIVALRY: The Spartans hold a 73-37-15 edge in the series with Ferris State which started with a 6-3 Bulldogs' victory on Dec. 7, 1979, at Munn Arena. The Spartans have won the last three games and five of the last six since Nov. 1, 2014. However, over the last eight seasons, Ferris State holds a 10-7 edge, starting with the 2010-11 season.

"This weekend will be a good challenge for us,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "This has been a good rivalry, going back to when we were both in the CCHA. We saw them a lot more then, four times a year. We had a good series with them last year and we expect the same this weekend.

"They play hard and it's a blue-collar type matchup, and that kind of matches up with us really well.

"There's a long history here – even before I played when they had a famous playoff series. Michigan State had to come back in a two-game, totals goal series and did it.''

In 1982-83, Ferris State upset the Spartans 4-2 in the first game of a total-goals CCHA playoff series. MSU had to rally late in the second game to win 5-1 and capture the series 7-5. The Bulldogs came close to denying the Spartans a trip to the CCHA Championships in Detroit.

MSU went on to win the CCHA playoff title, lost to Harvard in the NCAA Regionals and finished with a 33-11-1 record.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: Ferris State is coming off a 4-0, 3-2 sweep of Alaska Anchorage last weekend in Big Rapids. The Bulldogs opened the season early last month by losing two games against Western Michigan, 4-3, 5-0, and then followed with a home split against Mercyhurst – winning 5-2 and losing 3-1.

FSU has already played seven home games – five regular season and exhibition victories over the U.S. U-18 team (3-1), and the University of Lethbridge (5-2).

The Bulldogs last season lost six seniors to graduation, including two of their top six scorers – Mitch Maloney (15-10-25), their leading scorer, and Andrew Dorantes (5-11-16), who ranked sixth. They lost one defenseman and return six, including senior Ryker Killins, third in scoring last year with eight goals and 22 points in 36 games, and junior Nate Kallen, who had five goals and 17 points and was fifth in team scoring.

Top forwards include senior Corey Mackin (10-15-25 last season), sophomore Coale Norris (10-8-18) and sophomore Lucas Finner (5-9-14). Norris is the son of former MSU All-America forward Dwayne Norris and the brother of Michigan sophomore center Josh Norris.

Through six games, Mackin and Kallen share the team scoring lead with no goals and five assists apiece. Freshman forward Hunter Wendt is the top goal-scorer with three.

Last Saturday against Alaska, FSU's forward group included three seniors, three juniors, three sophomores and three freshmen. There was a lot more experience on the blue line with two seniors, four juniors and one freshman.

In goal, Roni Salmenkangas, 19, a 6-foot, 190-pound freshman from Tampere, Finland, is 3-0 with a 1.52 goals-against average and a .934 saves percentage. Junior Justin Kapelmaster, 23, 6-foot-1, 217, from Coral Springs, Fla., is 0-3 with a 4.16 GAA and a .885 saves percentage.

Kapelmaster played in the 3-1 loss to the Spartans in the second game of their series last season.

FSU has two mid-Michigan players on its roster. Junior right wing Jasen Fernsler is from Charlotte and freshman defenseman Justin Smith is from East Lansing and went to Haslett High School. Fernsler has one goal in three games and Smith has appeared in one game with no points.

Coach Bob Daniels, a 1982 graduate of Michigan State, is in his 27^th seasons at Ferris State, and has a career record of 447-469-101. Assistant coach Mark Kaufman is also a MSU graduate (1984).

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GHAFARI EMBRACES ROLE: A new NCAA rule allows teams to dress 19 skaters instead of 18, so Michigan State has elected to dress seven defensemen and 12 forwards. That's opened the door for junior defenseman Butrus Ghafari to get in the lineup and play a key role.

Ghafari, who plays a physical style and is eager to block shots, is being used to kill penalties and to spell off other defensemen as needed in 5-on-5 situations.

Ghafari, 22, a 5-11, 188-pounder from West Bloomfield, played in 21 games as a freshman and 29 as a sophomore, but often times didn't get a lot of regular ice time. This season is a bit different.

"He's played a fairly big role. A lot of that is because he did some good things last year so there's a trust with him,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "A lot of this is about playing three freshmen defensemen and not knowing where those guys are going to go. If one of them is having a bad night, we feel good about Butrus jumping in and logging more ice time.''

Ghafari had a busy night last Saturday at Cornell when the Big Red had eight power plays, including four in the second period. Cornell converted on two power plays but MSU skated off six and held on for 4-3 victory.

"He's been outstanding on the penalty kill and we can match him up in some situations – some tough defensive situations.'' Cole said. "He's been getting between nine and 12 minutes (of ice time) every game, which is a decent amount of minutes.

"It gives us a little bit of confidence back there. And those three freshmen are just maturing and they're moving fairly quickly and that's good. This may change. It's not an everyday thing. Players decide ice time. And Butrus has gotten in the lineup and he's making it tough to take him out.''

Ghafari, of course, has welcomed the opportunity to contribute.

"I love my role. I'm probably like a rover in the sense that I've been playing with everyone. We kind of mix it up,'' he said. "My biggest role is helping on the penalty kill. Going out and blocking shots and doing anything I can to kill the penalty.

"Everyone has a role on the team. Guys like Ozzie (Zach Osburn), who can score and move the puck and get up the ice and help offensively, you have guys who are defensive-minded like myself and Tommy Miller, and the Krygiers (twins Christian and Cole) will find their way in that role. I've enjoyed it. Everyone pushes each other.''

In four games, MSU has allowed four power-play goals during 23 opportunities by opponents for a success rate of 82.6 percent. That ranks tied for 28^th in the nation and third in the Big Ten.

Last season, Michigan State's penalty killing struggled most of the year. The Spartans ended up allowing 32 power-play goals in 125 opportunities for 74.4 percent to rank 59^th out of 60 teams. Michigan was only two spots better at 57^th with a 75 percent success rate.

Improved penalty killing this season has been a major emphasis for the Spartans. And for now, Ghafari is getting an opportunity to help make it a strength.

"It's very exciting. The last two years, I've been in the lineup and out of the lineup. So, that 7-spot has been nice,'' Ghafari said. "Basically, I'm a stay-at-home defenseman. I try to defend more than I try to jump up on offense. When the PK (penalty killing) comes, I'm out there a lot.

"I try to block shots, get in the other team's faces and get them off their game with hitting . . . you know, a little cross check here and there.

"But I don't have a solidified spot. It's there for now but I have to work at it.''

Even though the season is only four games old, Ghafari believes that not only will the penalty killing be much better this season, the defense will be more effective and consistent.

"We've been pretty solid in the defensive zone so far. Obviously, there's been some hiccups, but all in all, the first few weeks have been pretty good,'' he said. "We feed off each other. If one of the guys has a hit or blocks a shot or scores a goal, his partner gets lifted up, and the next unit gets lifted up and it has a trickle-down effect.''

Sweeping Cornell and making an impact made the weekend extra special for Ghafari, but he said he would have been thrilled even if he was on the bench watching.

"You love it win your team wins no matter if you're a part of it on the ice or whether you're not in the lineup,'' he said. "But when you've played and contributed, your energy is higher and it's an unbelievable feeling.

"Even the guys who aren't playing as much, they have energy, they're screaming, yelling and high-fiving on the bench. So, whether you play the whole third period or just one shift, all 21 guys on that bench played a role in those wins.''

For Ghafari to stay in the lineup, it's all about doing what he does best and keep trying to do it better.

"You can get caught up in trying to be something you're not and wasting a lot of time,'' Cole said. "But Butrus has a good idea what he is, and he brings that to the table and does that very well every night.''

GOALTENDING DECISIONS: Junior goalie John Lethemon played so well against Cornell last Friday that Danton Cole and his staff felt he deserved to start Saturday's game.

So, Lethemon went out and played another outstanding game and the Spartans came away with sweep of the No. 8-ranked Big Red. Two games, five goals allowed, 68 saves, two victories.

But Lethemon's strong start (3-0, 2.34 GAA, .927 saves percentage) doesn't mean he's won the job as the No. 1 starter. Freshman Drew DeRidder (0-1, 4.11, .854) is still in the mix and could start this weekend against Ferris State.

"We talked after the game on Friday and all of (the coaches) said that John was really good and deserved to go back in,'' coach Danton Cole said. "You want to reward that, but the flip side is you have to address it with Drew. Drew has done a great job for us and he will play.

"That's the battle right now, but Drew understands. He's an 18-year-old true freshman. There's not a lot of 18-year-old goalies in the NCAA. Most are coming in at 20.

"I keep telling people that Drew is going to win some games for us. He'll be back in the net as soon as this weekend. We haven't decided on that yet. John just made it hard for us to take him out.''

The series against Cornell was Lethemon's best as a Spartan. He started 32 of 34 games last season and was part of two series sweeps – home vs. Lake Superior State and home-and-home vs. Ferris State.

But those back-to-back victories weren't as challenging as facing Cornell on the road.

"There was a lot of pressure on him. Those were two different games,'' Cole said. "Both games were tight in the third period. The first one was 1-1 going into the third period and ended up 5-2, and the second game was 4-1 in the third but we had to battle (up 4-3) there at the end.

"Last year, John was fairly even but he'd have a good night and then a bad night. But he always came back from having an off night and played well.

"He's getting better and he's maturing. I always like goalies that you're comfortable with when they make it look easy, and they're controlling rebounds and they're square to the puck. His progression has been nice, from his freshman to his sophomore year to where he is right now.''

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HIROSE IS NCAA & BIG TEN NO. 1 STAR: MSU junior left wing Taro Hirose has been named the NCAA and Big Ten First Star from last week's games. Hirose had two goals and four assists (1-2-3 each night) for six points in MSU's 5-2, 4-3 sweep of Cornell.

Hirose, MSU's leading scorer last season with 12 goals and 30 assists for 32 points, has at least one point in every game, and leads the Spartans in scoring with four goals and five assists for nine points.

He's scored one goal in each game against Western Michigan three weeks ago and one in each game at Cornell. Hirose is tied for third in Big Ten overall scoring, but he's No. 1 in points-per-game with an average of 2.25.

Hirose has points in his last seven games, four this year and three to end the 2017-18 season.

MSU's KHL line of Patrick Khodorenko, Hirose and Mitchell Lewandowski accounted for 11 of the Spartans' 21 points against Cornell. The trio had four goals and seven assists.

IN THE BIG TEN: The conference season opens with No. 7/9 Ohio State (3-2-1) visiting No. 5 Notre Dame (3-2-1) on Friday and Saturday. The Irish won the Big Ten regular-season and playoff titles last season and ended up in the Frozen Four, losing in the championship game to Minnesota Duluth, 2-1. The Buckeyes last season finished second in the Big Ten and lost to Notre Dame in the conference championship game. OSU also made the Frozen Four, losing to UMD, 2-1, in the semifinals.

Last weekend, then-No. 1 Notre Dame got swept by then-No. 2/3 Minnesota-Duluth, 3-2, 3-1, Ohio State went winless against Bowling Green, losing 8-2 in Columbus and tying the Falcons 2-2 inn Bowling Green.

No. 12/13 Michigan (3-2-0) plays a non-conference season at Lake Superior State (4-0, 2-0 WCHA) on Friday and Saturday. The Lakers coaching staff features three Michigan State graduates – coach Damon Whitten (1997-2001) and assistants Mike York (1995-99) and Zach Cisek (2013-15).

In other Friday-Saturday series, No. 16 Wisconsin (4-2-0) is at No. 14/15 North Dakota; No. 6 Penn State (5-0-0) is home against Arizona State (6-2), and No. 8/10 Minnesota (1-1-1) plays a home-and-home series against No. 4 Minnesota State (5-1) – Friday at Minnesota and Saturday at Minnesota State.