Spartans Begin Big Ten Play at Home vs. No. 8 Notre Dame

Games 9-10: No. 8/8 Notre Dame (5-4-1 | 2-2 B1G) vs Michigan State (4-4 | 0-0 B1G)
Dates | Times: Friday, Nov. 16 | 7 p.m. // Saturday, Nov. 17 | 7:30 p.m.
Location: East Lansing, Mich. | Munn Ice Arena
Tickets: MSUSpartans.com
Web Stream: BTN Plus on BTN2Go.com
Live Stats: MSUSpartans.com
Radio: Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) | Local: WJIM 1240-AM
SSN Mobile App: iPhone/iPad | Android
Game Notes: Michigan State | Notre Dame | Big Ten
Social Media: @MSU_Hockey

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On The Fly…
• The Spartans begin their 24-game Big Ten schedule this weekend by hosting No. 8/8 Notre Dame on Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (7:30 p.m.) at Munn Ice Arena.

• MSU went 1-3 against the Irish last season, defeating then No. 5/3 Notre Dame in the last game of the regular season (4-3) on the road.

• Taro Hirose is tied for fourth nationally and is third in the Big Ten in points with 14, while his 1.75 point-per-game average ranks seventh in the country and third in the league … Hirose had a goal and an assist Nov. 9 at Arizona State to give him points in six of eight games this year.

• Hirose is averaging a point per game in his MSU career (80 points/78 games played) and has 22 career multi-point games.

• The Spartans are averaging 3.25 goals per game, which ranks 18th nationally, fourth in the Big Ten and is 0.72 above their average last season … MSU has scored at least four goals in five of eight games this year.

• The Spartans' power play percentage of 26.5 (9-for-34) ranks sixth nationally and first in the Big Ten despite going 0-for-8 on the power play last weekend.

• Patrick Khodorenko ranks second nationally and first in the Big Ten in power-play goals with five.

• MSU leads the Big Ten and is 14th nationally in penalty kill percentage at 84.6 (33-of-39) … Michigan State has extinguished 14-of-16 (87.5%) of opponent power plays over the last four games.

• Freshman blue liner Dennis Cesana, who had two assists last weekend, is fourth on the team with six points (1g, 5a) … Cesana is tied for third in points among all Big Ten freshmen and is second among rookie defensemen.

• Mitchell Lewandowski's nine points (3g, 6a) rank second on the team and 14th in the Big Ten.

• The KHL line of Khodorenko, Hirose and Lewandowski has accounted for 30 points (13g, 17a) – 45% of the team total.

• John Lethemon's four wins are tied for the most of any goaltender in the Big Ten.

About Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish split last weekend on the road at Michigan (L, 2-1; W, 6-2) and also split their first Big Ten series with Ohio State at home (L, 1-0; W, 2-1) … Junior Cal Burke leads Notre Dame in points (13) and is tied with senior Joe Wegwerth for the team lead in goals (6), and with senior Bobby Nardella for the lead in assists (7) … Notre Dame is tied with OSU for the league lead and is eighth nationally in goals against per game at 2.1 … The Irish are averaging 3.3 goals per game – a shade above the Spartans' 3.25 – which ranks 17th in the country and third in the Big Ten … UND ranks second in the Big Ten and 11th nationally in goal margin at plus-12 … Hobey Baker finalist Cale Morris is 3-4-1 with a .927 save percentage and 2.25 goals-against average.

Against Notre Dame
Michigan State leads the all-time series, 62-46-11, including a 36-17-4 mark at home ... MSU went 1-3 against the Irish last season, beating Notre Dame in the last game of the regular season on the road.

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Of Note From Last Weekend at Arizona State
Dennis Cesana had the second two-point game of his career with two assists on Nov. 9 … The Spartans' four goals on Nov. 9 marked their fifth game of scoring at least four goals … The Spartans yielded power-play goals in back-to-back games for the first time this season but killed 7-of-9 (77.7%) ASU power plays on the weekend … The Spartans' held the nation's leading scorer, Johnny Walker, without a point in both games.

Last Year in the B1G Regular Season
Taro Hirose led the Spartans in points with 25 and assists with 17, which ranked third and fourth in the league, respectively … Mitchell Lewandowski ranked second in the league in goals with 13 in conference games.

Power Up…
The Spartan power play is off to a sound start, going 9-for-34 with a 26.5% conversion rate that ranks sixth in the nation. The Spartans scored a power play goal in each of the first six games of the season for the first time since 2009-10 when MSU went 11-for-41 (26.8%) to begin the year.

The Spartans' efficiency is demonstrated by their ability to strike quickly as three of their nine power-play goals have come fewer than 10 seconds into a power play. Two of MSU's last three power-play goals have come 6 and 9 seconds, respectively, into the man-advantage.

Patrick Khodorenko leads the Big Ten and ranks second nationally in power-play goals with five.

…Then Shut Down
The other half of MSU's special teams has also had a strong start as the Spartans lead the Big Ten and rank 14th nationally in penalty killing percentage at 84.6%, extinguishing 33-of-39 opponent power plays. It's a nearly 10% improvement over MSU's PK percentage from last season.

Hirose Doing it All
After establishing himself as one of the top players in the conference a season ago, junior Taro Hirose has taken another step this season. Hiroseis tied for fourth nationally and is third in the Big Ten in points with 14, while his 1.75 point-per-game average ranks seventh in the country and third in the conference.

He has points in six of eight games, including in each of the first five games of the season with three consecutive three-point games (10/26-27 vs. Cornell; 11/2 vs. Ferris State). Since the beginning of 2017-18, Hirose has more multi-point games (16) than games without a point (11).

The native of Calgary was named the NCAA and Big Ten First Star of the Week on Oct. 30 after his six-point, two game-winning goal effort in a sweep of No. 8 Cornell.

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Khodorenko's Hatty Earns Him B1G Star
Patrick Khodorenko was rewarded with a weekly conference honor for the first time in his career after his four-point game on Nov. 2 vs. Ferris State. A week after Taro Hirose garnered the accolade, Khodorenko was named Big Ten First Star of the Week as his hat trick on Nov. 2 vs. Ferris State was the first by a Spartan since Ryan Keller vs. Michigan in March 2015. All three of Khodorenko's goals came on the power play.

All five of Khodorenko's goals this season have come on the man-advantage, which ranks second nationally and is two more than any other player in the Big Ten.

Lighting it Up
The Spartans have scored at least four goals in five of their eight games and their average of 3.25 goals per game ranks 18th nationally. Last season, it took the Spartans until Jan. 1 (21 games) to have five games in which they scored at least four goals.

Twelve different Spartans have scored this season, including seven players with at least two goals.

Saliba Starts Strong
Team captain Sam Saliba has had a solid start to 2018-19 with points in five of eight games. With five points Saliba is more than halfway to last season's total, and his three assists already match his total from last year. Both of his goals have come on special teams with a power-play goal and shorthanded (unassisted goal).

All KHL
Since playing together in the first game of last season, Patrick Khodorenko (5-2--7), Taro Hirose (5-9--14) and Mitchell Lewandowski (3-6--9) have combined to form one of the Big Ten's – and college hockey's – most dangerous lines. Last season, they produced 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 and have combined for 28 of 58 (48.2%) of the Spartans' total points this season.

Khodorenko – His team-leading five power-play goals rank second in the nation and are three more than any other player in the Big Ten ... MSU's active career leader in goals (25) ... Ranked 12th in the Big Ten and third on the team in points (32) last season.

Hirose – His 1.75 point per game average is third in the Big Ten and seventh in the country ... Has two game-winning goals ... Has points in nine of 11 games dating back to last season ... Has five multi-point games this season and 22 in his career ... Averaging just over a point per game in his career (80 points in 78 games) ... 2018 All-Big Ten second team … His 42 points were the most by a Spartan since Corey Tropp had the same number in 2009-10 … His 30 assists were the most since Jim Slater in 2004-05 (32).

Lewandowski – Started the season with a career-best five-game point streak (3-6--9) ... Had a season-high three points (1g, 2a) at Cornell (10/27) ... 2018 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and only unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman 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).

Cesana Gives D a Lift
Rookie defenseman Dennis Cesana ranks fourth on the team with six points (1g, 5a). The native of Providence, R.I., who led all defensemen in points last season in the AJHL (75), has two multi-point games and scored his first-career goal on Oct. 26 in a win over No. 8 Cornell. Cesana is second among Big Ten freshmen defensemen in both assists and points.

Osburn, Too
Senior blue liner Zach Osburn is more than halfway to his point total from last season with five points (2g, 3a). Osburn, who is MSU's most experienced player with 113 games played, had points in four of the first five games of the season. Both of his goals (Oct. 12 v. NMU; Nov. 2 v. Ferris State) have been the Spartans' first of the game.

Up Next
The Spartans will travel to Minnesota over Thanksgiving weekend to meet the Gophers on Friday and Saturday in Minneapolis.