Photo by: Matthew Mitchell
Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Face Talented NTDP U-18s in Last Game Before Break
12/14/2018 10:04:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – A year ago this week, Drew DeRidder was playing for the U.S. National Team Development Program's U-18 team and focusing on trying to beat Michigan State.
Now, he's a Spartan freshman goaltender trying to help his new team beat his former team – the highly talented U.S. 18s.
"It's kind of the same thing as last year. That was a big game for me,'' DeRidder said earlier this week, just before taking his last final exam of his first college semester. "This year, it's the team I used to play for, and we're hoping we go into the (Christmas) break on a good note.''
The Spartans close out the first half of the season with an exhibition game against the highly touted U.S. U-18 Team at 7 p.m. Saturday at Munn Arena.
"They're a really good team, with a lot of skill and some kids who really stand out. It's going to be a good game,'' said DeRidder, 18, who played for the NTDP for one season before coming to Michigan State. "If we play a physical game, that's how we have to beat them.''
The U.S. Team, which already has defeated Michigan, Notre Dame and Harvard and is 5-4 against Division I college teams, could have anywhere from seven to 10 players selected in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in June in Vancouver. Some scouts believe this year's U-18 may be the best in the history of the NTDP.
"The U.S. Program spits out a lot of great talent. They're trained to win,'' said DeRidder, a 5-foot-10, 167-pounder from Fenton.
Last season, Michigan State blanked the U-18s, 3-0, at their home rink – USA Hockey Arena – in Plymouth. DeRidder had a solid game, making 19 saves and allowing only two goals – both on the power play and plays in which he had little chance to make the save. The Spartans' third goal was into an empty net.
MSU has played the NTDP's U-18 team 14 times, starting in October, 2000, and holds an 8-6 edge. The Spartans have won the last four, but there was a stretch from 2006 to 2014 in which the U-18s won four of five games.
The U-18 team plays in the U.S. Hockey League and in international tournaments and 17 games this season against Division I college teams. And playing the likes of MSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Boston College and Boston University is special for the future collegians and NHLers.
"With all the college games, it's a way for them to get ready or the college style game and know what they're in for,'' DeRidder said. "It's a lot different from playing international and USHL teams. You're playing against older kids who are bigger and stronger.''
Spartan junior center Patrick Khodorenko, who played two seasons in the U.S. national team program, is a veteran of MSU-Under-18 games. He's played in three – one for the U-18 team and two as a Spartan.
Khodorenko and his U-18 teammates lost to MSU, 3-2 in overtime, on Jan. m23, 2016. The Spartans held a 2-0 lead late in the third period but the U.S. team scored twice in the last five minutes, with the tying goal coming with 44 seconds left. Thomas Ebbing won it for Michigan State with a goal 3:09 into overtime.
Khodorenko had two shots on goal against MSU goalie Ed Minney.
"I remember that game. I wasn't even committed to coming here,'' Khodorenko said. "I didn't think I was coming here. All those games against college teams were fun.''
Khodorenko committed to Michigan State later that season. MSU coach Danton Cole, who spent seven seasons with the USNTDP, coached the U-18 team that season.
As a freshman in 2016-17, Khodorenko and the Spartans cruised past the U-18 team, 5-1. He had two shots on goal. In last season's 3-0 victory, Khodorenko scored MSU's first goal on a power play and third goal into an empty net.
"The U-18 teams are young, really talented and they work hard, and they know they're going to be playing in college the next year so it's great to get a little experience with the college game before they get there,'' Khodorenko said.
"It sounds like they have a lot of first-round draft picks so it'll be interesting to see how we stack up against them. We hope to gain a little confidence going into the break after a couple of tough games at Wisconsin. This is an exhibition game but it's definitely important for us.''
In addition to DeRidder and Khodorenko, sophomore defenseman Tommy Miller also played or the USNTDP. He spent the 2016-17 season with the Under-17 team.
Cole, who spent four seasons coaching the U-17s and three guiding the U-18s, said his teams were excited and highly motivated to play college teams, and had good success in those exhibition games.
"The U.S. team is always a good team and always gives you a challenge, and this is an exceptional group,'' Cole said. "They'll probably have 10-12 first-rounders on this team. They loaded up pretty well. They've already beat Notre Dame and Michigan.
"They'll play fast and hard and it's a good way for us to finish up the first half.''
Cole said the goal for Saturday is to play as many players as possible, but some may not suit up because of various bumps and bruises.
"We probably won't play all out to win so some guys may not play, but we'll dress five lines and eight defensemen and try to get everyone in,'' he said. "We've been trying to focus on us for the last little while and this will be a good week to continue that.
"We'll have to deal with some things with the way they play. We've had about an hour each day with the guys during finals week and we've going pretty hard, working on things we need to be better at.''
So, what does the Spartans coach hope to take away from Saturday's game?
"The pace of play. They (the players) understand what we're doing, and when they go out and play fast and move the puck and don't think, we get a lot done,'' Cole said. "When they start thinking from here to there, it slows our game down.
"We've pushed the pace this week and the work ethic. It's reinforcing what we've been talking about and understanding that we have success when we do A, B, and C. When we don't, it's, at best, a coin flip.
"You play to win the game and get something out of it. I want a lot of guys to get a lot of ice time, with better pace than we have been and do that for 60 minutes. What's what we're looking for.''
SCOUTING THE U.S. 18 TEAM: Two of the its best players – center Jack Hughes and goaltender Spencer Knight – will miss Saturday's game because they're with the U.S. National Junior Team training camp in Everett, Wash. The 2019 World Junior Championships will be played Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Hughes, who turns 18 in May, is considered a lock to be the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver in June. He leads the U.S. 18s in scoring with 10 goals and 38 assists or 48 points in 25 games.
But there's plenty of other highly skilled players on this team. Top forwards include Trevor Zegras (13-25-38, Boston University commit), Cole Caufield (21-8-29, Wisconsin), Matthew Boldy (15-12-27, Boston College), Judd Caulfield (6-15-21, North Dakota), Sean Farrell (5-11-16, Harvard), Michael Gildon (7-9-16, Ohio State), John Beecher (3-11-14, Michigan) and Ryder Rolston (8-5-13, Notre Dame).
The defense is led by Henry Thrun (6-12-18, Harvard), Cam York (2-15-17, Michigan) and Alex Vlasic (3-8-11, Boston University).
The U.S. roster includes six players committed to Boston College, four to Boston University, three to Wisconsin and two each to Harvard, North Dakota and Michigan, and one each to Providence, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
The team is represented by 11 states with New York having six players and Massachusetts and Illinois each with four. And there's one player each from Michigan (Rolston), Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, California, Texas, Florida and Connecticut.
The U-18 team is coached by John Wroblewski, who played at Notre Dame from 1999-2003 and is in his third season with the USNTDP. Wroblewski played the first two years of the U.S. program in 1997-98 and 1998-99.
GOALIES SET TO SPLIT: MSU goaltenders Drew DeRidder and John Lethemon each played in one game last weekend at Wisconsin, and they're both expected to get playing time on Saturday against the U.S. U-18 team.
Spartans coach Danton Cole said he'll likely play one goalie for the first 30 minutes or so and then play the other for the second half of the game.
"I think right now we'll split the two. It's such a long break,'' Cole said. "They both played last weekend and so that will be helpful. I want Drew to play against the U.S. team. They should get to play against their old team.
"It's also keeping them sharp.''
Even though DeRidder made five straight starts before Lethemon got back in the net last Saturday, both goaltenders have started eight games.
Lethemon, a junior, is 4-5-0, with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .906 saves percentage, while DeRidder, a freshman, is 2-4-1, with a 3.23 GAA and a .898 saves percentage.
Defensively, Michigan State is averaging 3.19 goals against. That's 5th in the Big Ten.
COMING UP: After Saturday's game, the Spartans will head to their homes all over North American. Patrick Khodorenko will travel to Walnut Creek, Calif., near Oakland. Taro Hirose will spend the holiday in Calgary, while sophomore forward Gianluca Esteves will be in Winnipeg. Freshman defenseman Dennis Cesana and will junior defenseman Jerad Rosburg will head East – Cesana to Providence and Rosburg to Clarksville, Md., near Baltimore. And, of course, several Spartans will be spending the break in metro Detroit.
The team resumes practice on at Munn Arena on Dec. 27 in preparation for the Great Lakes Invitational at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
The Spartans play Lake Superior State (9-6-1 overall, 6-5-1 WCHA) at 4 p.m. on Dec. 30 in the second GLI semifinal. Michigan (6-7-4, 2-4-4-2) faces Michigan Tech (9-6-1, 8-1-1 WCHA) in the first game at 1 p.m.
The third-place and championship games are set for 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively, on Dec. 31.
IN THE BIG TEN: There's only one team playing a regular-season game this weekend and that's Penn State. The No. 9 Nittany Lions (11-5-1, 3-4-1-1) play Princeton in a non-league game on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
The other five teams are off until the last weekend of December or the first week of January. On Dec. 29-30, Minnesota plays host to Ferris State and No. 7 Ohio State is home against Mercyhurst. No. 6/8 Notre Dame is home against Boston College on Dec. 31.
MSU and Michigan are in the Great Lakes Invitational, Dec. 30-31, and Wisconsin doesn't play again until Jan. 4-5 in a non-conference series in Madison against No. 7/8 Denver.
MSU's Taro Hirose still leads the Big Ten and nation in assists with 19 in 16 games. Hirose is the third-leading scorer in the nation and Big Ten with seven goals and 26 points.
Penn State's Evan Barratt (13-16-29) and Alex Limoges (10-18-28) are the top two scorers in the conference and the nation. Both have played in 17 games and can increase their lead on Saturday against Princeton.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – A year ago this week, Drew DeRidder was playing for the U.S. National Team Development Program's U-18 team and focusing on trying to beat Michigan State.
Now, he's a Spartan freshman goaltender trying to help his new team beat his former team – the highly talented U.S. 18s.
"It's kind of the same thing as last year. That was a big game for me,'' DeRidder said earlier this week, just before taking his last final exam of his first college semester. "This year, it's the team I used to play for, and we're hoping we go into the (Christmas) break on a good note.''
The Spartans close out the first half of the season with an exhibition game against the highly touted U.S. U-18 Team at 7 p.m. Saturday at Munn Arena.
"They're a really good team, with a lot of skill and some kids who really stand out. It's going to be a good game,'' said DeRidder, 18, who played for the NTDP for one season before coming to Michigan State. "If we play a physical game, that's how we have to beat them.''
The U.S. Team, which already has defeated Michigan, Notre Dame and Harvard and is 5-4 against Division I college teams, could have anywhere from seven to 10 players selected in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in June in Vancouver. Some scouts believe this year's U-18 may be the best in the history of the NTDP.
"The U.S. Program spits out a lot of great talent. They're trained to win,'' said DeRidder, a 5-foot-10, 167-pounder from Fenton.
Last season, Michigan State blanked the U-18s, 3-0, at their home rink – USA Hockey Arena – in Plymouth. DeRidder had a solid game, making 19 saves and allowing only two goals – both on the power play and plays in which he had little chance to make the save. The Spartans' third goal was into an empty net.
MSU has played the NTDP's U-18 team 14 times, starting in October, 2000, and holds an 8-6 edge. The Spartans have won the last four, but there was a stretch from 2006 to 2014 in which the U-18s won four of five games.
The U-18 team plays in the U.S. Hockey League and in international tournaments and 17 games this season against Division I college teams. And playing the likes of MSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Minnesota-Duluth, North Dakota, St. Cloud State, Boston College and Boston University is special for the future collegians and NHLers.
"With all the college games, it's a way for them to get ready or the college style game and know what they're in for,'' DeRidder said. "It's a lot different from playing international and USHL teams. You're playing against older kids who are bigger and stronger.''
Spartan junior center Patrick Khodorenko, who played two seasons in the U.S. national team program, is a veteran of MSU-Under-18 games. He's played in three – one for the U-18 team and two as a Spartan.
Khodorenko and his U-18 teammates lost to MSU, 3-2 in overtime, on Jan. m23, 2016. The Spartans held a 2-0 lead late in the third period but the U.S. team scored twice in the last five minutes, with the tying goal coming with 44 seconds left. Thomas Ebbing won it for Michigan State with a goal 3:09 into overtime.
Khodorenko had two shots on goal against MSU goalie Ed Minney.
"I remember that game. I wasn't even committed to coming here,'' Khodorenko said. "I didn't think I was coming here. All those games against college teams were fun.''
Khodorenko committed to Michigan State later that season. MSU coach Danton Cole, who spent seven seasons with the USNTDP, coached the U-18 team that season.
As a freshman in 2016-17, Khodorenko and the Spartans cruised past the U-18 team, 5-1. He had two shots on goal. In last season's 3-0 victory, Khodorenko scored MSU's first goal on a power play and third goal into an empty net.
"The U-18 teams are young, really talented and they work hard, and they know they're going to be playing in college the next year so it's great to get a little experience with the college game before they get there,'' Khodorenko said.
"It sounds like they have a lot of first-round draft picks so it'll be interesting to see how we stack up against them. We hope to gain a little confidence going into the break after a couple of tough games at Wisconsin. This is an exhibition game but it's definitely important for us.''
In addition to DeRidder and Khodorenko, sophomore defenseman Tommy Miller also played or the USNTDP. He spent the 2016-17 season with the Under-17 team.
Cole, who spent four seasons coaching the U-17s and three guiding the U-18s, said his teams were excited and highly motivated to play college teams, and had good success in those exhibition games.
"The U.S. team is always a good team and always gives you a challenge, and this is an exceptional group,'' Cole said. "They'll probably have 10-12 first-rounders on this team. They loaded up pretty well. They've already beat Notre Dame and Michigan.
"They'll play fast and hard and it's a good way for us to finish up the first half.''
Cole said the goal for Saturday is to play as many players as possible, but some may not suit up because of various bumps and bruises.
"We probably won't play all out to win so some guys may not play, but we'll dress five lines and eight defensemen and try to get everyone in,'' he said. "We've been trying to focus on us for the last little while and this will be a good week to continue that.
"We'll have to deal with some things with the way they play. We've had about an hour each day with the guys during finals week and we've going pretty hard, working on things we need to be better at.''
So, what does the Spartans coach hope to take away from Saturday's game?
"The pace of play. They (the players) understand what we're doing, and when they go out and play fast and move the puck and don't think, we get a lot done,'' Cole said. "When they start thinking from here to there, it slows our game down.
"We've pushed the pace this week and the work ethic. It's reinforcing what we've been talking about and understanding that we have success when we do A, B, and C. When we don't, it's, at best, a coin flip.
"You play to win the game and get something out of it. I want a lot of guys to get a lot of ice time, with better pace than we have been and do that for 60 minutes. What's what we're looking for.''
SCOUTING THE U.S. 18 TEAM: Two of the its best players – center Jack Hughes and goaltender Spencer Knight – will miss Saturday's game because they're with the U.S. National Junior Team training camp in Everett, Wash. The 2019 World Junior Championships will be played Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Victoria and Vancouver, British Columbia.
Hughes, who turns 18 in May, is considered a lock to be the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft in Vancouver in June. He leads the U.S. 18s in scoring with 10 goals and 38 assists or 48 points in 25 games.
But there's plenty of other highly skilled players on this team. Top forwards include Trevor Zegras (13-25-38, Boston University commit), Cole Caufield (21-8-29, Wisconsin), Matthew Boldy (15-12-27, Boston College), Judd Caulfield (6-15-21, North Dakota), Sean Farrell (5-11-16, Harvard), Michael Gildon (7-9-16, Ohio State), John Beecher (3-11-14, Michigan) and Ryder Rolston (8-5-13, Notre Dame).
The defense is led by Henry Thrun (6-12-18, Harvard), Cam York (2-15-17, Michigan) and Alex Vlasic (3-8-11, Boston University).
The U.S. roster includes six players committed to Boston College, four to Boston University, three to Wisconsin and two each to Harvard, North Dakota and Michigan, and one each to Providence, Ohio State and Notre Dame.
The team is represented by 11 states with New York having six players and Massachusetts and Illinois each with four. And there's one player each from Michigan (Rolston), Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, California, Texas, Florida and Connecticut.
The U-18 team is coached by John Wroblewski, who played at Notre Dame from 1999-2003 and is in his third season with the USNTDP. Wroblewski played the first two years of the U.S. program in 1997-98 and 1998-99.
GOALIES SET TO SPLIT: MSU goaltenders Drew DeRidder and John Lethemon each played in one game last weekend at Wisconsin, and they're both expected to get playing time on Saturday against the U.S. U-18 team.
Spartans coach Danton Cole said he'll likely play one goalie for the first 30 minutes or so and then play the other for the second half of the game.
"I think right now we'll split the two. It's such a long break,'' Cole said. "They both played last weekend and so that will be helpful. I want Drew to play against the U.S. team. They should get to play against their old team.
"It's also keeping them sharp.''
Even though DeRidder made five straight starts before Lethemon got back in the net last Saturday, both goaltenders have started eight games.
Lethemon, a junior, is 4-5-0, with a 2.94 goals-against average and a .906 saves percentage, while DeRidder, a freshman, is 2-4-1, with a 3.23 GAA and a .898 saves percentage.
Defensively, Michigan State is averaging 3.19 goals against. That's 5th in the Big Ten.
COMING UP: After Saturday's game, the Spartans will head to their homes all over North American. Patrick Khodorenko will travel to Walnut Creek, Calif., near Oakland. Taro Hirose will spend the holiday in Calgary, while sophomore forward Gianluca Esteves will be in Winnipeg. Freshman defenseman Dennis Cesana and will junior defenseman Jerad Rosburg will head East – Cesana to Providence and Rosburg to Clarksville, Md., near Baltimore. And, of course, several Spartans will be spending the break in metro Detroit.
The team resumes practice on at Munn Arena on Dec. 27 in preparation for the Great Lakes Invitational at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
The Spartans play Lake Superior State (9-6-1 overall, 6-5-1 WCHA) at 4 p.m. on Dec. 30 in the second GLI semifinal. Michigan (6-7-4, 2-4-4-2) faces Michigan Tech (9-6-1, 8-1-1 WCHA) in the first game at 1 p.m.
The third-place and championship games are set for 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., respectively, on Dec. 31.
IN THE BIG TEN: There's only one team playing a regular-season game this weekend and that's Penn State. The No. 9 Nittany Lions (11-5-1, 3-4-1-1) play Princeton in a non-league game on Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
The other five teams are off until the last weekend of December or the first week of January. On Dec. 29-30, Minnesota plays host to Ferris State and No. 7 Ohio State is home against Mercyhurst. No. 6/8 Notre Dame is home against Boston College on Dec. 31.
MSU and Michigan are in the Great Lakes Invitational, Dec. 30-31, and Wisconsin doesn't play again until Jan. 4-5 in a non-conference series in Madison against No. 7/8 Denver.
MSU's Taro Hirose still leads the Big Ten and nation in assists with 19 in 16 games. Hirose is the third-leading scorer in the nation and Big Ten with seven goals and 26 points.
Penn State's Evan Barratt (13-16-29) and Alex Limoges (10-18-28) are the top two scorers in the conference and the nation. Both have played in 17 games and can increase their lead on Saturday against Princeton.
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