Photo by: Adam Ruff
Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Looking to Cool ASU’s Hot Start
11/8/2018 12:04:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
TEMPE, Arizona – When the Big Ten a few years ago entered into a scheduling agreement with Arizona State, the newest Division I hockey program, it seemed like those games would be easy victories for the likes of Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Penn State and Notre Dame.
The Sun Devils were in the early stages of building their program and expected to take their lumps on the road to being competitive.
But now in the fourth year as a varsity program, ASU has come a long way in matching up against established teams, including some of the best in the nation.
The Sun Devils, who play a strong independent schedule, are off to their best start in school history at 7-3, and are coming off their greatest victory – a 4-3 overtime win at then-ranked No. 6 Penn State last Saturday.
Michigan State (4-2 overall) is one of two Big Ten teams which hasn't faced Arizona State, but that will change this weekend when the Spartans face the Sun Devils in a non-conference at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Oceanside Ice Arena.
"Maybe when this was scheduled a few years ago, it didn't look like much of a series, but what they've done at Arizona State has been very impressive,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "They're 7-3 and their three losses were one at Penn State, where they split, and two at home to start the season against Ohio State in two tight games.
"They're a good team. We've seen enough of them on film to know that they're going to present some challenges. And right now, they're No. 7 in the PairWise (rankings). So, if the NCAA Tournament started today, they would be a No. 2 seed.''
That's an outstanding start for a program that has complied records of 5-22-2 in 2015-16, 10-19-3 in 2016-17 and 8-21-5 in 2017-18. This year, ASU swept Alaska at home, 3-0 and 5-0, to open the season, lost 3-2 and 3-0 to Ohio State at home, swept Alabama-Huntsville, 2-1 and 5-1 on the road, swept Omaha, 6-3, 7-2, at home and then split with Penn State last weekend, losing 6-5 and winning 4-3 in OT.
The Sun Devils, who have won five of their last six games, play one of the toughest schedules in D-1. The road ahead includes series at Cornell, Harvard, Boston University, Princeton, Minnesota and Omaha and home series vs. Boston College, Colorado College and two games in the Desert Classic at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., against Clarkson and the winner of the Minnesota Duluth vs. Minnesota State semifinal.
ASU, which had a very successful club hockey program before stepping up to varsity status, plays in a rink that seats only 747. But a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena for hockey and some Olympic sports is expected to be built adjacent to Wells Fargo Arena, home to ASU basketball, by November, 2020.
While joining the Big Ten seems unlikely, it's expected that the Sun Devils will join either the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) or the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, with the NCHC as the favorite.
Next season, the Sun Devils will make their first visit to East Lansing for a two-game, non-conference series.
"The way they're set up with being an independent with their schedule, I'm sure they're looking at this series and every weekend as a playoff series,'' Cole said. "They're off to a good start and they're probably trying to get to 20 wins and see what happens with the rankings.''
ASU is averaging 3.9 goals per game, which ranks No. 10 nationally, and allowing only 2.2 goals, which ranks 12th.
Top scorer Johnny Walker, a 6-foot-1, 193-pound sophomore forward from Phoenix, leads the nation in goals with 11. He scored the winner at PSU State on a breakaway 1:09 into overtime. Walker also has six assists for a team-leading 17 points.
ASU has received strong goaltending from Joey Daccord, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound junior from Boston who played junior hockey with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the U.S. Hockey League before joining the Sun Devils. Daccord, drafted by the Ottawa Senators, has a 2.11 goals-against average and a .934 saves percentage.
Other top forwards include junior Tyler Busch (4-7-11), senior Anthony Croston (2-6-8) and senior Dylan Hollman (6-1-70. The Sun Devils roster includes red-shirt sophomore Austin Lemieux (2-4-5), the son of former Pittsburgh Penguins great Mario Lemieux, an NHL Hall of Famer and current owner of the Penguins.
Riley Simpson, the son of former Spartan standout forward and 1--year NHLer Craig Simpson, is a junior forward. He played in 26 and 20 games the last two seasons, respectively, but hasn't played in any games this season. Craig Simpson was a Spartan from 1983-85.
"They transition extremely well. They go from offense to defense really fast,'' Cole said of the Sun Devils. "They don't leave the zone hoping that the pucks get out, but once it looks like there is a change of possession, they've got two guys that are hitting the hole and getting in the neutral zone fast.
"We'll have to do a good job identifying that, and both of our (defensemen) will have to be ready. If we get caught watching the paint dry, they're going to be behind us.
"They're very aggressive. They do a good job in the D-zone and have a real good goaltender. We're going to have to be good in spreading it out, have some puck possession and try to work it quickly.''
The Spartans are coming off a non-conference split against Ferris State. They played well in a 5-3 win at home last Friday but lacked energy and lost puck battles and races and were burned by turnovers in the series finale, a 4-1 loss Saturday in Big Rapids.
"One of the things we're learning along the way that we're aware of but sometimes with young men, you have to keep cementing that we have to be as close to 100 percent in energy, intensity and execution as we can be for us to be competitive,'' Cole said.
"In the two games we've been on the bad side of the scoreboard, we haven't been bad but we haven't been outstanding. And that's what we need to be. We're not talented enough to get away with a 60-70 percent game. And that's the way most teams are.''
EX-SPARTAN, EX-SUN DEVIL: Brock Krygier played for Michigan State as a defenseman from 2012-2015, red-shirting as a freshman. Then, Krygier played for Arizona State in 2015-16 as a graduate transfer.
Thus, he's the only player ever to play for both the Spartans and the Sun Devils.
Krygier, a defensive-style D-man, had three assists in 35 games for MSU in 2013-14 and three assists in 24 games in 2014-15. He earned his degree in 2015 and was eligible to transfer to any Division I program and play immediately. He found a spot in the Southwest and played one season for Arizona State in 2015-16. In 25 games, Krygier had one goal and two assists.
Now, Krygier's younger brothers, identical twins Cole and Christian, are freshman defensemen at Michigan State. Both Krygiers have played in all six Spartan games. Cole has one assist, while Christian is looking for his first collegiate point.
Cole Krygier, on the trip to Phoenix on Wednesday, said his brother enjoyed his stay at Arizona State but that he never saw Brock play a game at ASU because he was playing junior hockey in Lincoln of the U.S. Hockey League at the time.
The Krygiers' father, Todd, is an assistant coach at Western Michigan. He played college hockey at Connecticut and played nine seasons in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks.
When Todd Krygier coached Muskegon of the USHL, Arizona State's Joey Accord was his No. 1 goaltender in 2015-16.
NOT THE FIRST TRIP TO ARIZONA: Once upon a time, Northern Arizona University had a Division I program and it was coached by John Mason, an assistant coach with Ron Mason at Bowling Green and who came with Ron Mason to Michigan State in 1979. Mason left the Spartans and coached as an assistant at Ohio State before talking over the NAU program as head coach. The two Masons then set up two non-conference series.
Michigan State's so-called "Dream Team" played Northern Arizona in Flagstaff on Feb. 1-2, 1985. The Spartans won 5-2 and 10-2 in front of crowds around 10,000 at the Walkup Skydome, NAU's indoor football stadium.
The Lumberjacks came to Munn Arena the next season, losing to the eventual NCAA champions, 12-2, 9-3
Northern Arizona played five seasons as a D-1 team, but the program was dropped after the 1985-86 season, and club hockey resumed in 1991-92.
KHODORENKO TOP BIG TEN STAR: MSU junior center Patrick Khodorenko, who scored his first career hat trick and added an assist in last Friday's 5-3 win over Ferris State, was named Big Ten First Star of the Week. Khodorenko scored all three goals on power plays, one in each period and assisted on Mitchell Lewandowski's goal in the first period for a four-point night.
Khodorenko, a 6-foot-1, 201-pounder from Walnut Creek, Calif., has five power-play goals in six games, which leads the Big Ten and is second in the nation.
"The same reasons he's been successful on the power play have carried over to his 5-on-5 play,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "He hasn't scored as much 5-on-5 but he's done a nice job in growing his game and being more of a physical player. And not just being physical defensively but even offensively.
"You can be strong and physical and wear down other teams. He's big and strong and he's done a good job of puck possession. And getting guys on his back.
"That's what he and Taro (Hirose) talked about last spring and summer – spending more time as a possession line and not just going off the rush. They've done a good job with that.''
This season, Cole says Khodorenko is looking to shoot more and isn't as focused on setting up the perfect play with a pass to Hirose or Mitchell Lewandowski.
"Before, when he got into the offensive zone, he was always looking to pass and set up and pull up and find the next play,'' Cole said. "He's looking to shoot the puck more and he should. He's got a tremendous shot. We've seen him score shortside from the goal line, over the goalie's shoulder. He's smart, he's accurate and has a hard shot. I think he's feeling more comfortable.''
LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS: Over the last two weekend series, MSU coach Danton Cole has been adjusting his second and third lines, not because players are playing poorly but to give more players a chance to get in the lineup.
For instance, last weekend against Ferris State, freshmen Wojciech Stachowiak and Mitch Mattson and sophomore Brody Stevens were in the lineup on Friday but were healthy scratches on Saturday as sophomores Jake Smith, David Keefer and Gianluca Esteves played in Saturday's game at FSU.
"A lot of these guys did an outstanding job for us last year and in the off-season, and they should be afforded a chance to get some playing time,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "It's a long season. It's better to keep guys in the fold and having some games because there's going to be a time, whether it's injuries or weird things happening, that those guys are going to have to get in the lineup.
"If things are close and they've had a good week of practice, we want to get them in there.''
The Spartans coach said a lot of things go into who gets a spot in the lineup and who doesn't. And as most coaches say, "players decide playing time.''
"I don't think anyone played particularly poorly. We thought some veteran experience in that building (at FSU) would help us out,'' Cole said. "I think sometimes for the young guys it's good to watch and see things.
"Wojciech has played well and he brings some things. But sometimes (the young players) also start pressing. They want to score and it's OK to slow it down. Wojciech is not a guy who's going to be out of the lineup very much. He came back and had an awesome practice on Monday.''
IN THE BIG TEN: Two conference series are set for this weekend as No. 6 Notre Dame plays at No. 14/15 Michigan and No. 20 Wisconsin plays host to No. 14/16 Minnesota on Friday and Saturday.
No. 7 Ohio State heads East to play a non-conference series at Colgate on Friday and Saturday, and No. 7 Penn State and Robert Morris meet in a home-and-home series – Friday at PSU and Saturday at Robert Morris. Penn State's home game against RMU will be its eighth straight at Pegula Ice Arena and Saturday's game is its first road game.
After this weekend, that leaves Michigan State and Penn State as the only Big Ten teams who have not played a conference series. That ends next weekend when the Spartans face Notre Dame at Munn Arena and the Nittany Lions are home against Michigan.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
TEMPE, Arizona – When the Big Ten a few years ago entered into a scheduling agreement with Arizona State, the newest Division I hockey program, it seemed like those games would be easy victories for the likes of Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Penn State and Notre Dame.
The Sun Devils were in the early stages of building their program and expected to take their lumps on the road to being competitive.
But now in the fourth year as a varsity program, ASU has come a long way in matching up against established teams, including some of the best in the nation.
The Sun Devils, who play a strong independent schedule, are off to their best start in school history at 7-3, and are coming off their greatest victory – a 4-3 overtime win at then-ranked No. 6 Penn State last Saturday.
Michigan State (4-2 overall) is one of two Big Ten teams which hasn't faced Arizona State, but that will change this weekend when the Spartans face the Sun Devils in a non-conference at 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Oceanside Ice Arena.
"Maybe when this was scheduled a few years ago, it didn't look like much of a series, but what they've done at Arizona State has been very impressive,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "They're 7-3 and their three losses were one at Penn State, where they split, and two at home to start the season against Ohio State in two tight games.
"They're a good team. We've seen enough of them on film to know that they're going to present some challenges. And right now, they're No. 7 in the PairWise (rankings). So, if the NCAA Tournament started today, they would be a No. 2 seed.''
That's an outstanding start for a program that has complied records of 5-22-2 in 2015-16, 10-19-3 in 2016-17 and 8-21-5 in 2017-18. This year, ASU swept Alaska at home, 3-0 and 5-0, to open the season, lost 3-2 and 3-0 to Ohio State at home, swept Alabama-Huntsville, 2-1 and 5-1 on the road, swept Omaha, 6-3, 7-2, at home and then split with Penn State last weekend, losing 6-5 and winning 4-3 in OT.
The Sun Devils, who have won five of their last six games, play one of the toughest schedules in D-1. The road ahead includes series at Cornell, Harvard, Boston University, Princeton, Minnesota and Omaha and home series vs. Boston College, Colorado College and two games in the Desert Classic at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz., against Clarkson and the winner of the Minnesota Duluth vs. Minnesota State semifinal.
ASU, which had a very successful club hockey program before stepping up to varsity status, plays in a rink that seats only 747. But a 5,000-seat multi-purpose arena for hockey and some Olympic sports is expected to be built adjacent to Wells Fargo Arena, home to ASU basketball, by November, 2020.
While joining the Big Ten seems unlikely, it's expected that the Sun Devils will join either the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) or the Western Collegiate Hockey Association, with the NCHC as the favorite.
Next season, the Sun Devils will make their first visit to East Lansing for a two-game, non-conference series.
"The way they're set up with being an independent with their schedule, I'm sure they're looking at this series and every weekend as a playoff series,'' Cole said. "They're off to a good start and they're probably trying to get to 20 wins and see what happens with the rankings.''
ASU is averaging 3.9 goals per game, which ranks No. 10 nationally, and allowing only 2.2 goals, which ranks 12th.
Top scorer Johnny Walker, a 6-foot-1, 193-pound sophomore forward from Phoenix, leads the nation in goals with 11. He scored the winner at PSU State on a breakaway 1:09 into overtime. Walker also has six assists for a team-leading 17 points.
ASU has received strong goaltending from Joey Daccord, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound junior from Boston who played junior hockey with the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the U.S. Hockey League before joining the Sun Devils. Daccord, drafted by the Ottawa Senators, has a 2.11 goals-against average and a .934 saves percentage.
Other top forwards include junior Tyler Busch (4-7-11), senior Anthony Croston (2-6-8) and senior Dylan Hollman (6-1-70. The Sun Devils roster includes red-shirt sophomore Austin Lemieux (2-4-5), the son of former Pittsburgh Penguins great Mario Lemieux, an NHL Hall of Famer and current owner of the Penguins.
Riley Simpson, the son of former Spartan standout forward and 1--year NHLer Craig Simpson, is a junior forward. He played in 26 and 20 games the last two seasons, respectively, but hasn't played in any games this season. Craig Simpson was a Spartan from 1983-85.
"They transition extremely well. They go from offense to defense really fast,'' Cole said of the Sun Devils. "They don't leave the zone hoping that the pucks get out, but once it looks like there is a change of possession, they've got two guys that are hitting the hole and getting in the neutral zone fast.
"We'll have to do a good job identifying that, and both of our (defensemen) will have to be ready. If we get caught watching the paint dry, they're going to be behind us.
"They're very aggressive. They do a good job in the D-zone and have a real good goaltender. We're going to have to be good in spreading it out, have some puck possession and try to work it quickly.''
The Spartans are coming off a non-conference split against Ferris State. They played well in a 5-3 win at home last Friday but lacked energy and lost puck battles and races and were burned by turnovers in the series finale, a 4-1 loss Saturday in Big Rapids.
"One of the things we're learning along the way that we're aware of but sometimes with young men, you have to keep cementing that we have to be as close to 100 percent in energy, intensity and execution as we can be for us to be competitive,'' Cole said.
"In the two games we've been on the bad side of the scoreboard, we haven't been bad but we haven't been outstanding. And that's what we need to be. We're not talented enough to get away with a 60-70 percent game. And that's the way most teams are.''
EX-SPARTAN, EX-SUN DEVIL: Brock Krygier played for Michigan State as a defenseman from 2012-2015, red-shirting as a freshman. Then, Krygier played for Arizona State in 2015-16 as a graduate transfer.
Thus, he's the only player ever to play for both the Spartans and the Sun Devils.
Krygier, a defensive-style D-man, had three assists in 35 games for MSU in 2013-14 and three assists in 24 games in 2014-15. He earned his degree in 2015 and was eligible to transfer to any Division I program and play immediately. He found a spot in the Southwest and played one season for Arizona State in 2015-16. In 25 games, Krygier had one goal and two assists.
Now, Krygier's younger brothers, identical twins Cole and Christian, are freshman defensemen at Michigan State. Both Krygiers have played in all six Spartan games. Cole has one assist, while Christian is looking for his first collegiate point.
Cole Krygier, on the trip to Phoenix on Wednesday, said his brother enjoyed his stay at Arizona State but that he never saw Brock play a game at ASU because he was playing junior hockey in Lincoln of the U.S. Hockey League at the time.
The Krygiers' father, Todd, is an assistant coach at Western Michigan. He played college hockey at Connecticut and played nine seasons in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals and Anaheim Ducks.
When Todd Krygier coached Muskegon of the USHL, Arizona State's Joey Accord was his No. 1 goaltender in 2015-16.
NOT THE FIRST TRIP TO ARIZONA: Once upon a time, Northern Arizona University had a Division I program and it was coached by John Mason, an assistant coach with Ron Mason at Bowling Green and who came with Ron Mason to Michigan State in 1979. Mason left the Spartans and coached as an assistant at Ohio State before talking over the NAU program as head coach. The two Masons then set up two non-conference series.
Michigan State's so-called "Dream Team" played Northern Arizona in Flagstaff on Feb. 1-2, 1985. The Spartans won 5-2 and 10-2 in front of crowds around 10,000 at the Walkup Skydome, NAU's indoor football stadium.
The Lumberjacks came to Munn Arena the next season, losing to the eventual NCAA champions, 12-2, 9-3
Northern Arizona played five seasons as a D-1 team, but the program was dropped after the 1985-86 season, and club hockey resumed in 1991-92.
KHODORENKO TOP BIG TEN STAR: MSU junior center Patrick Khodorenko, who scored his first career hat trick and added an assist in last Friday's 5-3 win over Ferris State, was named Big Ten First Star of the Week. Khodorenko scored all three goals on power plays, one in each period and assisted on Mitchell Lewandowski's goal in the first period for a four-point night.
Khodorenko, a 6-foot-1, 201-pounder from Walnut Creek, Calif., has five power-play goals in six games, which leads the Big Ten and is second in the nation.
"The same reasons he's been successful on the power play have carried over to his 5-on-5 play,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "He hasn't scored as much 5-on-5 but he's done a nice job in growing his game and being more of a physical player. And not just being physical defensively but even offensively.
"You can be strong and physical and wear down other teams. He's big and strong and he's done a good job of puck possession. And getting guys on his back.
"That's what he and Taro (Hirose) talked about last spring and summer – spending more time as a possession line and not just going off the rush. They've done a good job with that.''
This season, Cole says Khodorenko is looking to shoot more and isn't as focused on setting up the perfect play with a pass to Hirose or Mitchell Lewandowski.
"Before, when he got into the offensive zone, he was always looking to pass and set up and pull up and find the next play,'' Cole said. "He's looking to shoot the puck more and he should. He's got a tremendous shot. We've seen him score shortside from the goal line, over the goalie's shoulder. He's smart, he's accurate and has a hard shot. I think he's feeling more comfortable.''
LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS: Over the last two weekend series, MSU coach Danton Cole has been adjusting his second and third lines, not because players are playing poorly but to give more players a chance to get in the lineup.
For instance, last weekend against Ferris State, freshmen Wojciech Stachowiak and Mitch Mattson and sophomore Brody Stevens were in the lineup on Friday but were healthy scratches on Saturday as sophomores Jake Smith, David Keefer and Gianluca Esteves played in Saturday's game at FSU.
"A lot of these guys did an outstanding job for us last year and in the off-season, and they should be afforded a chance to get some playing time,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "It's a long season. It's better to keep guys in the fold and having some games because there's going to be a time, whether it's injuries or weird things happening, that those guys are going to have to get in the lineup.
"If things are close and they've had a good week of practice, we want to get them in there.''
The Spartans coach said a lot of things go into who gets a spot in the lineup and who doesn't. And as most coaches say, "players decide playing time.''
"I don't think anyone played particularly poorly. We thought some veteran experience in that building (at FSU) would help us out,'' Cole said. "I think sometimes for the young guys it's good to watch and see things.
"Wojciech has played well and he brings some things. But sometimes (the young players) also start pressing. They want to score and it's OK to slow it down. Wojciech is not a guy who's going to be out of the lineup very much. He came back and had an awesome practice on Monday.''
IN THE BIG TEN: Two conference series are set for this weekend as No. 6 Notre Dame plays at No. 14/15 Michigan and No. 20 Wisconsin plays host to No. 14/16 Minnesota on Friday and Saturday.
No. 7 Ohio State heads East to play a non-conference series at Colgate on Friday and Saturday, and No. 7 Penn State and Robert Morris meet in a home-and-home series – Friday at PSU and Saturday at Robert Morris. Penn State's home game against RMU will be its eighth straight at Pegula Ice Arena and Saturday's game is its first road game.
After this weekend, that leaves Michigan State and Penn State as the only Big Ten teams who have not played a conference series. That ends next weekend when the Spartans face Notre Dame at Munn Arena and the Nittany Lions are home against Michigan.
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