Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Outlast Michigan in Thriller at Munn

By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer

EAST LANSING – It wasn't Michigan State's best game of the season. But it was the Spartans' most exciting and satisfying contest, one filled with swings in play, lead changes, and one with happy ending for the home team.

MSU worked hard, made key plays and basically scratched and clawed its way to a 4-3 victory over Michigan on Friday in front of a raucous, sellout crowd of 6,406 at Munn Arena.

The Spartans had to survive a hectic final minute in which the Wolverines buzzed around the net, and victory wasn't claimed until the final shot was deflected near the final buzzer sounded, touching off a spirited celebration around freshman goalie Drew DeRidder.

DeRidder was one of several key contributors for MSU with a solid 43-save performance in his second-straight victory.

The Spartans also got strong performances from Taro Hirose, who had three assists, Mitchell Lewandowski, who delivered the winning goal in the third period, and center Tommy Apap, who made an impact with an assist, winning key faceoffs and an overall excellent defensive effort.

"The confidence in this room is growing with each game, and to win a game like that, a close game, with a lot of our guys knowing a lot of guys on that team, I'm sure it feels pretty good,'' said Hirose, who set up both of MSU's goals in the decisive third period.''

The MSU junior left wing, the second-leading scorer in the nation with six goals and 16 assists for 22 points, said he was impressed with "the way the guys competed from the penalty kill to the power play to 5-on-5 play, and down the stretch.''

"That's how we're going to win games. That was good to see from the guys,'' Hirose said.

The Spartans (6-7 overall, 2-3 Big Ten), who have won two straight, will try to capture their first Big Ten sweep of the season when they face the Wolverines (6-6-2, 2-3-2-1) in the series finale at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor.

"Obviously, we're real happy and we'll try to figure out how to be a little better at Yost,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "I thought we chased the game for large portions of it. We didn't move the puck fast enough and we didn't skate fast enough off the puck We finally got a little flow going (in the third period). We got pucks in front of us. Until then, their defense didn't have to give up the blue line.

"You have to stretch them a little and turn and get some pucks behind them and that opens up things underneath. We did a better job of that (later in the game). Now we have some video we can look at, and say, 'This is a better way to play against them'. They're a good hockey team. They play fast, have some good parts, and every time (sophomore standout) Quinn Hughes is on the ice, there's a chance for them to score.''

Hughes, a 5-10, 175-pound highly skilled defenseman who was drafted No. 7 overall by the Vancouver Canucks in last year's NHL Entry Draft, led Michigan with three assists.

DeRidder, named the first star of the game, made 12 saves in the first period, 13 in the second and stopped 18 saves in the final period. His 43 saves are the most by a MSU goaltender since Ed Minney made 46 against Penn State in a 5-3 loss on Jan. 14, 2017.

"It was not our best game but a good game, and any time you can get a win, you can't say too many bad things,'' said DeRidder, who got his first victory as a Spartan in last Saturday's 4-2 victory at Minnesota.

What did the 5-10, 167-pounder from Fenton like most about his game?

"Just my compete level. A few mistakes on the goals but I found a way to compete,'' he said.

And he made several big saves, including a possible game-saving save in the first period with MSU trailing 1-0 and Michigan looking very dangerous. DeRidder was solid positionally and gobbled up loose pucks in and around the crease all night.

And late in the third period, with the Spartans clinging to a 4-3 lead, DeRidder was ready for a Wolverine surge, similar to the one he faced at Minnesota.

"Any time you're up one or two goals and they pull the goalie, they're going to get some momentum and have a good push with a lot of shots,'' he said. "They had good chances, but we were able to keep the puck out of the net and get the W.''

Spartan and players and coaches were excited to see DeRidder play a solid, consistent game and come away with another victory after going 0-3 in his first three starts.

"He's played some really good games before and we've let him down and hung him out to dry, so it was nice to see him get the win,'' Lewandowski said. "He's a nice kid, he works hard and he's deserving of a game like this.''

Coach Cole pretty much agreed.

"He was excellent. He was on his feet, square to pucks,'' he said. "The first goal was (from) a weird bounce. I don't know how directly it hit Jerad (Rosburg). It kind of hit his jersey and went up in the air and went over (DeRidder). Sometimes, if you're a young goalie, that might get to you. It wasn't his fault, just an unlucky goal.

"But Drew doesn't miss a beat. He competes, he's confident and you need that in a game like this. You have to earn your wins and he did tonight.''

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Each team scored once in the first period with Michigan's Josh Norris scoring on a deflection on a power play at 3:04 and MSU's Brody Stevens deflecting Rosburg's shot from the point past U-M goalie Hayden Lavigne (25 saves) at 15:30.

The Wolverines' second goal also came on a deflection early in the second period. Jack Becker got a stick on defenseman Joseph Cecconi's shot from the left point for a 2-1 lead. But the Spartans tied it 2-2 on sophomore defenseman Tommy Miller's first goal of his career at 8:13. He came in from the right point and took a pass from Hirose and fired the puck past Lavigne.

MSU capitalized on a power play 1:05 into the third period to go up 3-2. Hirose drove into slot and fired the puck toward Cody Milan at the side of the net and Milan got his stick down to deflect it between the pads of Lavigne.

However, Michigan tied it 3-3 just 1 minute and 32 seconds later on Nick Pastujov's goal, seconds after DeRidder made a sprawling save on Becker.

The Spartans replied with the game-winner seven minutes later as Lewandowski, Hirose and freshman defenseman Dennis Cesana converted on a 3-on-2 rush.

Just after Hughes and the Wolverines missed a good chance in the MSU zone, MSU came back down the ice with Cesana carrying the puck into the U-M zone. He found Hirose near the right circle and hit him with a crispt pass and headed toward the net. Hirose cut into the middle and just when it looked like he was going to shoot, he hit Lewandowski with a perfect pass into the left circle. Lewandowski's shot went between Lavigne's pads and squirted through and slid over the goal line at 9:44.

"I always have that feeling that Taro is going to pass it,'' Lewandowski said. "It started off as a 3-on-2 and Dennis drove to the middle, and I knew some lanes might be open and tried to make myself available. Taro is such a great passer that he can make those plays and find you.

"I tried to get it up a little more and it just went five-hold and trickled around and went in.''

Said Hirose, "When I got to the middle (of the ice), their defenseman came toward me, and I saw Lewie going hard to the net, and it's always not a bad option to pass it to him. He can score.''

Lewandowski did score – his fifth goal of the season – and MSU played it smart by not taking any penalties the rest of the way and held off the Wolverines and emerged with their second consecutive Big Ten victory.

"There were some good lessons at the end where we could have made the last two minutes a lot easier,'' Cole said. "Guys were on the wrong side of plays. It seemed like the guys' game plan was to turn the puck over, backcheck really hard and block shots, and if that didn't work, Drew was there.

"You'd like it a little cleaner. But we did some good things and we'll get better because of it.''

SECONDARY SCORING: The Spartans have been striving all season to find a balance to their scoring, and they certainly got it on Friday with three goals from three players not name Taro Hirose, Patrick Khodorenko and Mitchell Lewandowski.

Brody Stevens, defenseman Tommy Miller and Cody Milan scored MSU's first three goals, with Lewandowski finding the net with the game-winner at 9:44 of the third period. Stevens' goal was his fourth of the season and second in as many games, Milan got his second and Miller's goal was not only his first of the season but the first of his college career.

"We had kind of a 3-on-3 tournament last spring and Miller scored, so when you get a personal beset in the weight room, you get to ring the bell. So, we had Tommy ring the bell,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "He was shooting this week in practice and he hit the post, and I said to him, 'Hey, save that one for Friday.' So (after he scored Friday), I went down to say nice shot and he said, 'you said I was going to score on Friday.'

"I told him I've been saying you're going to score on Friday and Saturday for a year-and-a-half, so he finally made me right. But good for him. He battles, and that's a pretty good feeling for a young man that grew up here in the state and in a game like that to score a big goal.''

Cole was pleased to see the balance provided by Stevens, Miller and Milan but the KHL Line – Patrick Khodorenko, Taro Hirose and Mitchell Lewandowski – had a role in Stevens' and Milan's goals.

"There were all big goals. The big thing on offense is we've got to get better at is our defense has to be better at getting pucks around the net,'' Cole said. "Not necessarily on net. (Assistant coach Chris Luongo) has been pounding on that. Getting rid of the puck quicker. When we take our time and have a big windup and take a slap shot, pucks get blocked in today's game.

"It's got to be quick. Jared Rosburg got rid of (of the puck fast) on the one Brody tipped, and Tommy got it and zipped it on net. That's where a lot of offense is generated from and we have to be better at it.''

EARNING COACH'S TRUST: Sophomore forward Austin Kamer played his first game of the season last Saturday at Minnesota and played well enough to earn another spot in the lineup on Friday against Michigan.

Late in the third period and MSU trying to protect a one-goal lead, Kamer was out in a defensive role with center Tommy Apap and left wing Brennan Sanford. In the final minute and the faceoff in the Spartan zone, Kamer was lined up on right wing, eager to defend against MSU's top line of Josh Norris, Will Lockwood and Jake Slaker and standout defenseman Quinn Hughes.

Apap took the faceoffs and Kamer and Sanford did everything they could, along with MSU's defensemen, to keep the puck out of danger zones. And they got the job done.

So, how did Kamer, 22, a 5-10, 184-pounder from Grand Rapids, find himself with so much responsibility?

"I trust him,'' Cole said. "I've talked to a lot of guys who want to play in the NHL, and it was always a teaching point at the (National Team Development Program), and it's that coach will look down the bench and if he doesn't trust you to play defensively, it almost doesn't matter.

"For most guys – 99.9 percent – if the coach doesn't trust you, you're not going to be able to play at a higher level.

"There's a good trust with Austin. He's a great kid and a better teammate. He played the last game in Minnesota and got a lot of ice time, late as well, and he's earned his spot. I know the puck is going to get out. I know he's going to be on the right side and he'll finish his check. If other guys want ice time, just watch him.

"It's not about scoring. He may get some but he's trustworthy.''

As for Apap, 22, a 6-2, 206-pound sophomore from Bloomfield Hills, Cole said, "He's been a bit of a horse for us and been able to extend his game in terms of minutes he can play.

"Last year, he killed penalties but he was a 9-10 minutes (a game) player, and this year we've been able to extend him a bit. The nice thing is he can come back and do it again tomorrow.

"He worked hard in the offseason on his skating and strength. He's a blood and guts guy and we like guys like that around here.''

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IN THE BIG TEN: Minnesota (4-6-2, 2-2-1-0 Big Ten) and No. 5 Ohio State (9-4-2, 4-2-1-1) played to a 2-2 tie in Minneapolis, with the Buckeyes earning two points in the conference standings with a goal in the 3-on-3 overtime. The Gophers come away with one point.

In Madison, Wis., No. 6 Penn State (10-3-1, 2-2-1-1) and Wisconsin (5-7-3, 1-3-3-1) played to a 3-3 deadlock, the Badgers' third-straight tie. The Nittany Lions won the shootout, 2-1, in six rounds to earn the extra point in the Big Ten.

In non-conference play, No. 8 Notre Dame cruised past Rensselaer 5-1 in Notre Dame, Ind. Alex Steeves had two goals for the Irish (8-4-1, 4-2), who scored two goals in the first period and added three more in the second.

The same teams play again on Saturday night.