Photo by: Adam Ruff
Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Improve, But Come Away Empty
11/11/2018 6:26:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
TEMPE, Ariz. – One night after giving up five goals, Michigan State responded with a much better defensive effort.
The Spartans made better decisions, were more alert in their own zone, limited odd-man rushes and allowed only two goals to Arizona State on Saturday night in the desert.
However, it still wasn't enough to ensure a victory over the upstart Sun Devils in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 924 at Oceanside Ice Arena.
MSU's defense took a step up but the offense had a tough night trying to get the puck past ASU goalie Joey Daccord as the Sun Devils (9-3) scored one goal in each of the first two periods and emerged with a 2-0 victory, which completed a non-conference sweep of the Spartans (4-4).
Michigan State, which scored four times in Friday's back-and-forth 5-4 defeat, had some good opportunities stopped by Daccord or had back-door one-timers go wide, over the net or hit the side of the net.
Adding to the Spartans' frustration was their failure to convert on the power play. They had five power plays - 12 minutes and 25 seconds with an extra man - and managed to get only four shots on goal, while a few shots just missed the net. MSU had a 5-minute power play from late in the second period to early in the third.
"We did a lot of things better tonight. I wish we could have started this weekend with this effort and execution,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "Last night, we found a way to score four goals and didn't execute a lot of other stuff and kind of wasted that. Tonight we played much better.''
Daccord made 20 saves with MSU forward Mitchell Lewandowski and defenseman Zach Osburn each firing four shots on goal. MSU goalie John Lethemon made 29 saves and was especially sharp in the third period to keep his team within striking distance.
The Sun Devils scored on an odd-man rush eight seconds after an MSU power play expired in the first period, and on a 5-on-4 four power play in the second period, 12 seconds after the Spartans had just survived a 5-on-3 power play for one minute.
"Their goalie was really, really good. We had a couple of breakaways, hit a couple posts and Patrick (Khodorenko) had a couple of backdoor chances – two or three. Their (goalie) was good both nights. He was one goal better last night and two goals better tonight. That's the way it goes.''
Cole didn't believe that the power play was necessarily out of sync. It just didn't finish, had some back breaks and ASU defended it well by being aggressive and blocking shots and cross-ice passes.
"The worse thing you can do as a coach is to say 'We scored so we did great' and 'We didn't score so we did lousy,''' the Spartans coach said. "You have to watch that. They're a good penalty-killing team.
"We had some good movement and we hit some pipes and missed some back-door plays. Hey, sometimes it doesn't go in. But I wouldn't say out of sync. We had chances to make plays and just didn't make them.''
The positive takeaway from Saturday was MSU's improvement from Friday's defensive struggles.
"We were way better tonight. We made some mental adjustments in terms of how we were going to play,'' Cole said. "I thought our defensemen did a much better job. That being said, our first goal against was at the end of our power play and we had talked about understanding that situation, and if there's nothing there, make sure we get it deep.
"But we turn it over and they go the other way and end up scoring. Now, there's three other mistakes on that but if we do the simple thing, it's 0-0 and we had played a heck of a first period. We did almost everything we wanted to do except get a lead.''
Arizona State was 1-for-6 on the power play with 13 shots on goal – seven in second period and six in the third. Lethemon faced only five overall shots in the first period but he was busy in the second and third with 12 saves and 13 saves, respectively.
"He really played well in the third period. He battled hard and made some great saves,'' Cole said. "That's a good battle for him to go through.
"I think we got a few more lessons this week, and if we can get something out of it, then that's a good thing.''
The Sun Devils, who have won three games in a row - against Penn State (4-3 win last Saturday) and now two vs. MSU, took 1-0 lead at 14:59 of the second period on Brinson Pasichnuk's goal off an odd-man rush just after the Spartans' first power play expired.
ASU capitalized on its third power play at 10:57 of the second period. Filips Buncis' took pass in the right circle and let fly with a shot that eluded Lethemon for a 2-0 lead.
And that ended the scoring for the night, which was good for the Sun Devils but not so good for the Spartans, who have now lost three in a row – all on the road.
"We battled hard and made some defensive adjustments, but when you come down to it, they won the special teams battle,'' MSU redshirt junior defenseman Jerad Rosburg said. "In tight games like this – defensive – that's the difference.
"We definitely left some plays on the table on the power play that we should be executing. Sometimes, the bounces don't go your way. But you have to give Arizona State credit. They kept the puck out of the net.''
Rosburg, like most of his teammates, was impressed with the Sun Devils and how they work hard and make plays.
"They're good. They play well in that building and have a lot of big guys and play a pretty good system,'' Rosburg said. "They get the puck out and get it in. They definitely fly around using their speed.''
After eight non-conference games, the Big Ten schedule is just ahead with four straight series coming up, starting with a home series against Notre Dame next weekend.
"There's always going to be some ups and downs during the season,'' Rosburg said. "It's not how hard you hit, it's how hard you can get hit and get up and keep going. This will be a good test for our team.
"If you lose, you have to learn and, hopefully, we can take those lessons and do better the next time.''
ADJUSTED LINEUP: The Spartans played Arizona State without two freshman defensemen – twin brothers Christian and Cole Krygier, who were banged up and unable to play. Both had played in MSU's first six games.
"You go through the year and you have bumps and bruises so both were unavailable, (freshman forward) Mitch Mattson as well,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "We hoping those guys will be healthy and ready to play soon.''
Without the Krygiers, junior Butrus Ghafari played a regular shift with Zach Osburn, and junior Damian Chrcek stepped into the lineup for the first time this season as the sixth defenseman. Ghafari had been playing as a seventh defenseman as a penalty-killing specialist and spelling off some of the other D-men.
UP NEXT: The Spartans open Big Ten play with a home series against Notre Dame (5-4-1, 2-2 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The Irish had been struggling offensively with six goals in their last five games. But on Saturday, they routed Michigan, 6-2, at Yost Arena.
After the Irish, Michigan State plays at Minnesota, Nov. 23-24; home against Michigan, Nov. 30, and at U-M on Dec. 1, and at Wisconsin, Dec. 7-8.
Meanwhile, Arizona State heads back out the road for a two-game series at Harvard next weekend, followed by a visit to Omaha on Nov. 23-24. After an off weekend, the Sun Devils play at No 19 Princeton, Dec. 7-8.
IN THE BIG TEN: No. 6 Notre Dame (5-4-1, 2-2 Big Ten) rebounded from Friday's 2-1 loss at No. 14/15Michigan (5-4, 1-1) and earned a conference series split with a 6-2 victory on Saturday. The Irish fell behind 1-0 early in the first period but broke loose for six-straight goals – two late in the opening period and four in the second period, including three within 2 minutes and 23 seconds.
No. 20 Wisconsin (5-5, 1-1) also managed to get a split in its series with No. 14/16 Minnesota (2-4-1, 1-1). The Badgers broke a 1-1 tie midway through the third period and added an empty-net goal to top the Gophers 3-1. Minnesota won the series opener, 3-2, on Friday.
No. 7 Ohio State (6-3-1, 1-1) posted its second consecutive shutout and third in four games with a 1-0 victory and non-conference series sweep over Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y. Tommy Nappier made 24 saves to earn his second shutout of the season. On Friday, goalie Sean Romeo made 19 saves in a 3-0 win over the Raiders, his second straight shutout and second of the season. Romeo blanked Notre Dame, 1-0, on Nov. 2.
No. 9 Penn State (8-1, 0-0) routed Robert Morris on the road, 11-6, to sweep the non-conference series with the Colonials. The Nittany Lions broke a 4-4 tie midway through the second period with four goals within 5 minutes and 47 seconds, and added three more in the first half of third period.
Nikita Pavlychev, the 6-foot-7, 212-pound center from Yaroslavl, Russia, who had two goals and two assists in Friday's 7-2 win, scored two more goals and had one assist on Saturday.
Next weekend, in addition to the MSU-Notre Dame series, Michigan is at Penn State, Wisconsin visits Ohio State and Minnesota plays host to St. Lawrence in a non-conference series.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
TEMPE, Ariz. – One night after giving up five goals, Michigan State responded with a much better defensive effort.
The Spartans made better decisions, were more alert in their own zone, limited odd-man rushes and allowed only two goals to Arizona State on Saturday night in the desert.
However, it still wasn't enough to ensure a victory over the upstart Sun Devils in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 924 at Oceanside Ice Arena.
MSU's defense took a step up but the offense had a tough night trying to get the puck past ASU goalie Joey Daccord as the Sun Devils (9-3) scored one goal in each of the first two periods and emerged with a 2-0 victory, which completed a non-conference sweep of the Spartans (4-4).
Michigan State, which scored four times in Friday's back-and-forth 5-4 defeat, had some good opportunities stopped by Daccord or had back-door one-timers go wide, over the net or hit the side of the net.
Adding to the Spartans' frustration was their failure to convert on the power play. They had five power plays - 12 minutes and 25 seconds with an extra man - and managed to get only four shots on goal, while a few shots just missed the net. MSU had a 5-minute power play from late in the second period to early in the third.
"We did a lot of things better tonight. I wish we could have started this weekend with this effort and execution,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "Last night, we found a way to score four goals and didn't execute a lot of other stuff and kind of wasted that. Tonight we played much better.''
Daccord made 20 saves with MSU forward Mitchell Lewandowski and defenseman Zach Osburn each firing four shots on goal. MSU goalie John Lethemon made 29 saves and was especially sharp in the third period to keep his team within striking distance.
The Sun Devils scored on an odd-man rush eight seconds after an MSU power play expired in the first period, and on a 5-on-4 four power play in the second period, 12 seconds after the Spartans had just survived a 5-on-3 power play for one minute.
"Their goalie was really, really good. We had a couple of breakaways, hit a couple posts and Patrick (Khodorenko) had a couple of backdoor chances – two or three. Their (goalie) was good both nights. He was one goal better last night and two goals better tonight. That's the way it goes.''
Cole didn't believe that the power play was necessarily out of sync. It just didn't finish, had some back breaks and ASU defended it well by being aggressive and blocking shots and cross-ice passes.
"The worse thing you can do as a coach is to say 'We scored so we did great' and 'We didn't score so we did lousy,''' the Spartans coach said. "You have to watch that. They're a good penalty-killing team.
"We had some good movement and we hit some pipes and missed some back-door plays. Hey, sometimes it doesn't go in. But I wouldn't say out of sync. We had chances to make plays and just didn't make them.''
The positive takeaway from Saturday was MSU's improvement from Friday's defensive struggles.
"We were way better tonight. We made some mental adjustments in terms of how we were going to play,'' Cole said. "I thought our defensemen did a much better job. That being said, our first goal against was at the end of our power play and we had talked about understanding that situation, and if there's nothing there, make sure we get it deep.
"But we turn it over and they go the other way and end up scoring. Now, there's three other mistakes on that but if we do the simple thing, it's 0-0 and we had played a heck of a first period. We did almost everything we wanted to do except get a lead.''
Arizona State was 1-for-6 on the power play with 13 shots on goal – seven in second period and six in the third. Lethemon faced only five overall shots in the first period but he was busy in the second and third with 12 saves and 13 saves, respectively.
"He really played well in the third period. He battled hard and made some great saves,'' Cole said. "That's a good battle for him to go through.
"I think we got a few more lessons this week, and if we can get something out of it, then that's a good thing.''
The Sun Devils, who have won three games in a row - against Penn State (4-3 win last Saturday) and now two vs. MSU, took 1-0 lead at 14:59 of the second period on Brinson Pasichnuk's goal off an odd-man rush just after the Spartans' first power play expired.
ASU capitalized on its third power play at 10:57 of the second period. Filips Buncis' took pass in the right circle and let fly with a shot that eluded Lethemon for a 2-0 lead.
And that ended the scoring for the night, which was good for the Sun Devils but not so good for the Spartans, who have now lost three in a row – all on the road.
"We battled hard and made some defensive adjustments, but when you come down to it, they won the special teams battle,'' MSU redshirt junior defenseman Jerad Rosburg said. "In tight games like this – defensive – that's the difference.
"We definitely left some plays on the table on the power play that we should be executing. Sometimes, the bounces don't go your way. But you have to give Arizona State credit. They kept the puck out of the net.''
Rosburg, like most of his teammates, was impressed with the Sun Devils and how they work hard and make plays.
"They're good. They play well in that building and have a lot of big guys and play a pretty good system,'' Rosburg said. "They get the puck out and get it in. They definitely fly around using their speed.''
After eight non-conference games, the Big Ten schedule is just ahead with four straight series coming up, starting with a home series against Notre Dame next weekend.
"There's always going to be some ups and downs during the season,'' Rosburg said. "It's not how hard you hit, it's how hard you can get hit and get up and keep going. This will be a good test for our team.
"If you lose, you have to learn and, hopefully, we can take those lessons and do better the next time.''
ADJUSTED LINEUP: The Spartans played Arizona State without two freshman defensemen – twin brothers Christian and Cole Krygier, who were banged up and unable to play. Both had played in MSU's first six games.
"You go through the year and you have bumps and bruises so both were unavailable, (freshman forward) Mitch Mattson as well,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "We hoping those guys will be healthy and ready to play soon.''
Without the Krygiers, junior Butrus Ghafari played a regular shift with Zach Osburn, and junior Damian Chrcek stepped into the lineup for the first time this season as the sixth defenseman. Ghafari had been playing as a seventh defenseman as a penalty-killing specialist and spelling off some of the other D-men.
UP NEXT: The Spartans open Big Ten play with a home series against Notre Dame (5-4-1, 2-2 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The Irish had been struggling offensively with six goals in their last five games. But on Saturday, they routed Michigan, 6-2, at Yost Arena.
After the Irish, Michigan State plays at Minnesota, Nov. 23-24; home against Michigan, Nov. 30, and at U-M on Dec. 1, and at Wisconsin, Dec. 7-8.
Meanwhile, Arizona State heads back out the road for a two-game series at Harvard next weekend, followed by a visit to Omaha on Nov. 23-24. After an off weekend, the Sun Devils play at No 19 Princeton, Dec. 7-8.
IN THE BIG TEN: No. 6 Notre Dame (5-4-1, 2-2 Big Ten) rebounded from Friday's 2-1 loss at No. 14/15Michigan (5-4, 1-1) and earned a conference series split with a 6-2 victory on Saturday. The Irish fell behind 1-0 early in the first period but broke loose for six-straight goals – two late in the opening period and four in the second period, including three within 2 minutes and 23 seconds.
No. 20 Wisconsin (5-5, 1-1) also managed to get a split in its series with No. 14/16 Minnesota (2-4-1, 1-1). The Badgers broke a 1-1 tie midway through the third period and added an empty-net goal to top the Gophers 3-1. Minnesota won the series opener, 3-2, on Friday.
No. 7 Ohio State (6-3-1, 1-1) posted its second consecutive shutout and third in four games with a 1-0 victory and non-conference series sweep over Colgate in Hamilton, N.Y. Tommy Nappier made 24 saves to earn his second shutout of the season. On Friday, goalie Sean Romeo made 19 saves in a 3-0 win over the Raiders, his second straight shutout and second of the season. Romeo blanked Notre Dame, 1-0, on Nov. 2.
No. 9 Penn State (8-1, 0-0) routed Robert Morris on the road, 11-6, to sweep the non-conference series with the Colonials. The Nittany Lions broke a 4-4 tie midway through the second period with four goals within 5 minutes and 47 seconds, and added three more in the first half of third period.
Nikita Pavlychev, the 6-foot-7, 212-pound center from Yaroslavl, Russia, who had two goals and two assists in Friday's 7-2 win, scored two more goals and had one assist on Saturday.
Next weekend, in addition to the MSU-Notre Dame series, Michigan is at Penn State, Wisconsin visits Ohio State and Minnesota plays host to St. Lawrence in a non-conference series.
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