Spartans Off to the Desert to Face Arizona State

Friday, November 9

Tempe, AZ

9:00 p.m. ET

Michigan State University

Arizona State

11/7/2018 9:46:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

Games 7-8: Michigan State (4-2 | 0-0 B1G) at Arizona State (7-3)
Dates | Times: Friday, Nov. 9 | 9 p.m. ET // Saturday, Nov. 10 | 9 p.m. ET
Location: Tempe, Arizona | Oceanside Arena (757)
Web Stream: Pac-12.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 | Arizona State | Big Ten
Social Media: @MSU_Hockey

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On The Fly…
• The Spartans play their final non-conference series of the season this weekend by making their first ever trip to Arizona State for a pair of games … It will be the first-ever meetings between the Spartans and Sun Devils, which elevated from a club program to NCAA DI 2015-16.

• Michigan State is coming of a home-and-home split with Ferris State and is 4-2 on the season, winning three of its last four games.

• The Spartans' 3.67 goals per game average ranks 13th nationally and is second in the Big Ten.

• MSU has had an excellent start in its special teams play … The Spartans' power play ranks fifth nationally at 34.6% (9-for-26), while the penalty kill is 13th in the country at 86.7% (26-of-30).

• Junior Patrick Khodorenko was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week on Tuesday after his four point effort (3g, 1a) in the Nov. 2 win vs. Ferris State … With three power-play goals last weekend, he now leads the Big Ten and ranks second in the nation in goals on the man-advantage (5).

• The Spartans have scored a power-play goal in all six games, including a season-high three in a win over Ferris State on Nov. 2.

• Junior Taro Hirose's average of 2.0 points per game is tied for fourth nationally and is first among players that have played more than three games … His 12 points are tied for most in the Big Ten and his eight assists lead the conference.

• Hirose has had three points in three of the last four games, which included tying a career high with three assists Nov. 2 in a win over Ferris State.

• Like Hirose, sophomore Mitchell Lewandowski (3-6--9) and junior Sam Saliba (2-3--5) also have points in five of six games this year.

• The KHL line of Khodorenko, Hirose and Lewandowski has accounted for 28 points (12g, 16a) – 48% of the team total.

• Junior goaltender John Lethemon's four wins leads the Big Ten … He has a 2.51 GAA and .919 save percentage.

• MSU extinguished all seven Ferris State power plays last weekend and has not yielded a power-play goal in four of six games.

• The Spartans have outscored opponents by a 10-7 margin in the third period this season … The Spartans' average of 1.67 goals per third period is fifth in the country.

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About Arizona State
The Sun Devils are coming off a split at then No. 6 Penn State last weekend (L, 6-5; W, 4-3 OT) … ASU has swept Alaska, Alabama Huntsville and Omaha and is 1-3 vs. Big Ten teams, having gotten swept by then top-ranked Ohio State (3-2, 3-0), Oct. 12-13, in Tempe … ASU is led by the nation's scoring leader in sophomore Johnny Walker, who its tops in the country in points (17) and goals (10), as well as power-play goals (6) … The Sun Devils lead the country in total goals (39) and rank 10th in goals per game (3.9), while they're averaging just 2.2 goals against, which ranks 12th in the nation … ASU's power play is operating at 21.2% (11-for-52), while its penalty kill is third nationally at 91.5% (43-of-47) … Goaltender Joey Daccord has played all 10 games, posting a 2.11 GAA and .934 save percentage.

More on the ASU Program
Arizona State, which is independent and not part of a conference, elevated to NCAA Division I in 2015-16 with a hybrid NCAA/ACHA schedule, before playing an full NCAA DI schedule in 2016-17 … The Spartans and Sun Devils share a connection in that former Spartan defenseman Brock Krygier (2012-15) - the older brother of MSU twin defensemen Christian and Cole - played a season at ASU as a grad student after graduating from MSU in 2015.

Another B1G First Star
For the second straight week, a Spartan was named Big Ten First Star of the Week as Patrick Khodorenko garnered the honor on Tuesday after his four-point game on Nov. 2 vs. Ferris State. Khodorenko became the first Spartan to record a hat trick since Ryan Keller vs. Michigan in March 2015 and also picked up an assist in the win for a career-high four points. All three of Khodorenko's goals came on the power play and his five power-play goals this season rank second in the nation and are three more than any other player in teh Big Ten.

It was the first weekly conference honor of Khodorenko's career.

Lighting it Up
The Spartans have scored at least three goals in five of their first six games and their average of 3.67 goals per game ranks 13th nationally and second in the Big Ten. MSU scored at least three goals in each of its first five games to start the season for the first time since 1996-97. The Spartans' current 3.67 goals per game average is 1.14 above where they finished last season, which ranked 46th in the country.

Power Up…
The Spartan power play is off to a blazing start, going 9-for-26 with a 34.6% conversion rate that ranks fifth in the nation. It's the first time that the Spartans have scored a power play goal in each of the first six games of the season 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 Spartans and ranks second nationally in power-play goals with five. Taro Hirose's 1.33 power-play points per game average is tops in the country.

…Then Shut Down
The other half of MSU's special teams has also had a strong start as the Spartans are 13th nationally and second in the Big Ten in penalty killing percentage at 86.7%, extinguishing 26-of-30 opponent power plays. It's a nearly 10% improvement over MSU's PK percentage to start last year as the Spartans were at a 77.8% rate through six games in 2017-18.

The Spartans extinguished all seven Ferris State power plays last weekend.

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. Hirose leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth nationally (first among players that have played more than three games) in points per game at 2.0. He leads the conference in assists (8) and assists per game (1.3), while he's tied for the lead in points (12).

He had points in the first five games of the season, including three consecutive three-point games (10/26-27 vs. Cornell; 11/2 vs. Ferris State). Since the beginning of last season, Hirose has more multi-point games (15) than games without a point (10).

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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Saliba Starts Strong
Team captain Sam Saliba has had a solid start to 2018-19 with points in five of six 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 (4-8--12) 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 2.0 point per game average is fourth in the country ... Has two game-winning goals ... Has points in eight of nine games dating back to last season ... Has four multi-point games this season and 21 in his career ... Averaging just over a point per game in his career (78 points in 76 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).

Of Note Last Weekend vs. Ferris State
The Spartans went 4-for-11 (36.3%) on the power play while extinguishing all seven of Ferris State's chances on the man-advantage … Patrick Khodorenko's hat trick in the win 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 … Three Spartans recorded at least three points in the 5-3 win – Khodorenko (3g, 1a), Taro Hirose (3a) and Cody Milan (3a).