Michigan State University Athletics
Friday, December 7
Madison, Wis.
8:00 p.m. ET
Michigan State University
at
Wisconsin
Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography
Spartans Head to Wisconsin to Meet the Badgers
12/5/2018 3:21:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey
Games 15-16: Michigan State (6-7-1 | 2-3-1-1 B1G) at Wisconsin (6-7-3, 2-3-3-1 B1G)
Dates | Times: Friday, Dec. 7 | 8 p.m. ET // Saturday, Dec. 8 | 8 p.m. ET
Location: Madison, Wis. | Kohl Center
TV: Saturday – Fox Sports Detroit Plus
Web Stream: Friday – BTN Plus | Saturday – BTN2Go
Live Stats: MSUSpartans.com
Radio: Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) | Local: WJIM-AM 1240
SSN Mobile App: iPhone/iPad | Android
Game Notes: Michigan State | Wisconsin | Big Ten
Social Media: @MSU_Hockey
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On The Fly…
• The Spartans are 2-0-1 over their last three games and head to Wisconsin to play their final conference series before Christmas … The Spartans are tied for fifth place in the Big Ten with eight points at 2-3-1-1, while the Badgers are tied for third with 10 points at 2-3-3-1.
• Michigan State defeated Michigan (4-3) and then tied (1-1) and topped the Wolverines in a shootout last weekend … Wisconsin tied (3-3) and then defeated (8-5) then-No. 6 Penn State last weekend in Madison.
• Taro Hirose continues to rank among the nation's top offensive producers as he is fourth in the country in points (24) and is tied for second in assists (16) … Hirose had four points (1g, 3a) last weekend, including his fifth three-point game of the year in the Spartans' 4-3 win.
• Hirose brings a five-game point streak (2-7--9) into Friday's game.
• With Mitchell Lewandowski producing five points (2g, 3a) in three of the last four games and Patrick Khodorenko putting up six points (4g, 2a) in five of the last six games, the KHL line has combined for 21 points over the last six games (8g, 13a).
• On the season, the KHL line has a combined total of 51 points (21g, 30a), which is just under 50% of the Spartans' total.
• Lewandowski is 10th in the Big Ten in points (15) and ninth in assists (10), while Khodorenko is tied for third in goals (9).
• Hirose has 89 career points, including 64 assists - the most by a Spartan since Tyler Howells had 70 in 154 games from 2003-07.
• Freshman goaltender Drew DeRidder was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week after posting a .951 save percentage in going undefeated last weekend vs. Michigan … In starting each of the Spartans' last four games, DeRidder is 2-0-1 with a .926 save percentage and 2.59 GAA.
• The line of Tommy Apap, Brennan Sanford and Brody Stevens has given the Spartans a boost over the last two weekends as the trio has combined for six points (3g, 3a) over the last three games.
• Apap, who has a goal and assist over the last three games, leads the Spartans and ranks sixth in the Big Ten in faceoff winning percentage at .585, while his 151 faceoff wins are fifth most in the league.
• As a team, MSU ranks 13th in the country and third in the Big Ten in faceoff winning percentage at .527.
About Wisconsin
The Badgers are coming off a tie (3-3) and victory (8-5) over then-No. 6 Penn State last weekend at the Kohl Center … UW is 1-1-3 in its last five games, which includes a pair of ties at Michigan … The Badgers are averaging 3.06 goals per game, which ranks 25th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten, while allowing an average of 3.0 goals per game, which is 34th and fourth in the country and league, respectively … The UW power play is operating at 17.6% (12-of-68) … UW's top-two point producers are defenseman, led by freshman K'Andre Miller whose 15 points (3g, 12a) ranks third among all rookies nationally … Sophomore Wyatt Kalynuk has 13 points (6g, 7a) and sophomore Tarek Baker is the highest-scoring forward with 13 points (4g, 9a) … Freshman Daniel Lebedeff (3-3-2, 2.75 GAA, .909 Sv. %) and junior Jack Berry (3-4-1, 3.23 GAA, .894 Sv. %) have split time in goal.
Against the Badgers
The two teams split last year's series, each going 1-1 on home ice … Both of the Spartans' wins last year were by scores of 2-0 … Mitchell Lewandowski scored six of the Spartans' nine goals last season against UW and has seven career points in four games vs. the Badgers … Patrick Khodorenko also has seven career points (2g, 5a) against UW.
Hirose Among The Nation's Best
After being held pointless in two consecutive games for just the second time in his last 25 career contests, junior forward Taro Hirose has responded with a five-game point streak over which he has produced nine points (2g, 7a). After spurring the Spartans' comeback at Minnesota on Nov. 24 with a goal and then assists on the tying and game-winning goal, Hirose assisted on each of the Spartans' final three goals in the 4-3 victory over Michigan. It was his fifth three-point game of the season and seventh multi-point game of the year.
Dating back to the end of last season, he has points in 19 of the Spartans' last 23 games.
Entering this weekend's series on what is his fifth career point streak of at least five games, Hirose is fourth nationally and third in the Big Ten in points (23), and second in the country and tied for first in the Big Ten in assists (16).
Career Numbers Piling Up
Taro Hirose's offensive pace is placing him among some of the best Spartan point-producers since 2000. With 89 points in 84 games, he is just 11 points shy of becoming the first Spartan to hit the 100 point mark since Tim Crowder (106 points, 151 games; 2005-09). With 64 career helpers, Hirose has surpassed the assist totals of several of the most offensively-inclined Spartans of the 2000s, including Bryan Lerg (60a, 169 GP 2004-08); David Booth (60a, 134 GP 2002-06) and Tim Kennedy (63a, 113 GP 2005-08). Hirose's 64 helpers are the most by a Spartan Tyler Howells had 70 in 154 games from 2003-07.
In his career (84 games), Hirose has just one more game without a point (25) than games with multiple points (24).
Khodorenko's Scoring Touch
Patrick Khodorenko is on one of the best stretches of his career with six points over the last six games, which included a four-game goal scoring streak. His team-leading nine goals, which are just four shy of his total from last year, are tied for third in the Big Ten and 10th nationally.
The native of Walnut Creek, California, who played for Danton Cole with the USNTDP has found a good amount of success on the power play as his five goals on the man-advantage are tied for the Big Ten lead and fourth in the nation. Fourteen of his 29 career goals have come on the power play.
Khodorenko was the Big Ten First Star of the Week on Nov. 6 for the first time in his career after his four-point game (3g, 1a) on Nov. 2 in a win over Ferris State.
DeRidder Named Big Ten Second Star After Undefeated Weekend
Freshman Drew DeRidder, the youngest goaltender in college hockey (DOB: 5/1/00), was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week on Tuesday after turning away 78 of 82 shots against Michigan last weekend. His 43 saves in the 4-3 victory were the most by a Spartan goaltender since Ed Minney's 47 at Penn State in January 2017 and the most by an MSU netminder vs. Michigan since Jake Hidlebrand's 45 in March 2015. The following night, he stopped 35 shots, including the final 31 shots in regulation and the five minute overtime. In the 3-on-3 OT, he made four more saves and then turned away all four U-M attempts in the shootout.
He has stated each of the last three games, helping the Spartans go 2-0-1 by posting a .926 save percentage over the span. He earned his first career victory Nov. 24 at Minnesota with 28 saves, including 16 in the third period.
Of Note Last Weekend vs. Michigan
The Spartans scored power-play goals in both games, marking the first time they scored a goal on the man-advantage in back-to-back games since Nov. 2-3 … The shootout win was the Spartans' first vs. Michigan since Dec. 2011 … The Spartans trailed twice in their 4-3 win (1-0 and 2-1), and also trailed 1-0 in the tie the following night … The sellout crowd of 6,406 at Munn on Friday was the largest at Munn since Jan. 21, 2017 vs. Michigan (6,556).
Cesana Leading Spartan Rookies
Rookie Dennis Cesana is fifth among all rookies in the Big Ten with eight points (1g, 7a), which is second among freshmen defensemen. The native of Providence, R.I., who led all defensemen in the AJHL in points (75) last season, ranks fourth on the team and is first among MSU defensemen in points. He has two multi-point games and scored his first-career goal on Oct. 26 in a win over No. 8 Cornell.
All KHL
Since playing together in the first game of last season, Patrick Khodorenko (9-4--13), Taro Hirose (7-16--23) and Mitchell Lewandowski (5-10--15) 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. All three players were voted to the Big Ten's preseason Players to Watch list and have combined for 51 of 103 (49.5%) of the Spartans' total points this season.
Khodorenko – Has a team-high nine goals, which rank third in the Big Ten, and his team-leading five power-play goals rank fourth in the nation and are tied for the league laed ... MSU's active career leader in goals (29) ... Ranked 12th in the Big Ten and third on the team in points (32) last season.
Hirose – Fourth in the country in points (24) and is tied for second in assists (16)… Has two game-winning goals ... Has points in 19 of 23 games dating back to last season ... Has six multi-point games this season and 24 in his career ... Has 89 points (25g, 64a) in 85 career 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).
Stevens, Apap and Sanford Making an Impact
Sophomores Brody Stevens (5-11, 191 lbs.) and Tommy Apap (6-2, 206 lbs.) have combined with senior Brennan Sanford (6-1, 208 lbs.) to not only form the Spartans' most physical line, but also an offensive impact with six points (3g, 3a) over the last three games. Stevens, who had two goals last season, has four already this year, including the game-winner at Minnesota on Nov. 24. He scored the first goal against Michigan on Nov. 30, with an assist from Apap.
The trio has played together in all but one game this season.
Spartans in the NHL Notables
Former Spartan great and Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Miller tied John Vanbiesbrouck for the NHL career win record among American goaltenders (374) ... Miller, who played at MSU from 1999-2002, holds the NCAA record for career shutouts with 26 … Mason Appleton became the 72nd former MSU hockey player to play the National Hockey League when he made his debut with the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 1 … Appleton picked up an assist in his first game and has since played two more games for the Jets … A total of seven Spartans have played in the NHL this season.
Dates | Times: Friday, Dec. 7 | 8 p.m. ET // Saturday, Dec. 8 | 8 p.m. ET
Location: Madison, Wis. | Kohl Center
TV: Saturday – Fox Sports Detroit Plus
Web Stream: Friday – BTN Plus | Saturday – BTN2Go
Live Stats: MSUSpartans.com
Radio: Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) | Local: WJIM-AM 1240
SSN Mobile App: iPhone/iPad | Android
Game Notes: Michigan State | Wisconsin | Big Ten
Social Media: @MSU_Hockey
| Facebook | Instragram On The Fly…
• The Spartans are 2-0-1 over their last three games and head to Wisconsin to play their final conference series before Christmas … The Spartans are tied for fifth place in the Big Ten with eight points at 2-3-1-1, while the Badgers are tied for third with 10 points at 2-3-3-1.
• Michigan State defeated Michigan (4-3) and then tied (1-1) and topped the Wolverines in a shootout last weekend … Wisconsin tied (3-3) and then defeated (8-5) then-No. 6 Penn State last weekend in Madison.
• Taro Hirose continues to rank among the nation's top offensive producers as he is fourth in the country in points (24) and is tied for second in assists (16) … Hirose had four points (1g, 3a) last weekend, including his fifth three-point game of the year in the Spartans' 4-3 win.
• Hirose brings a five-game point streak (2-7--9) into Friday's game.
• With Mitchell Lewandowski producing five points (2g, 3a) in three of the last four games and Patrick Khodorenko putting up six points (4g, 2a) in five of the last six games, the KHL line has combined for 21 points over the last six games (8g, 13a).
• On the season, the KHL line has a combined total of 51 points (21g, 30a), which is just under 50% of the Spartans' total.
• Lewandowski is 10th in the Big Ten in points (15) and ninth in assists (10), while Khodorenko is tied for third in goals (9).
• Hirose has 89 career points, including 64 assists - the most by a Spartan since Tyler Howells had 70 in 154 games from 2003-07.
• Freshman goaltender Drew DeRidder was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week after posting a .951 save percentage in going undefeated last weekend vs. Michigan … In starting each of the Spartans' last four games, DeRidder is 2-0-1 with a .926 save percentage and 2.59 GAA.
• The line of Tommy Apap, Brennan Sanford and Brody Stevens has given the Spartans a boost over the last two weekends as the trio has combined for six points (3g, 3a) over the last three games.
• Apap, who has a goal and assist over the last three games, leads the Spartans and ranks sixth in the Big Ten in faceoff winning percentage at .585, while his 151 faceoff wins are fifth most in the league.
• As a team, MSU ranks 13th in the country and third in the Big Ten in faceoff winning percentage at .527.
About Wisconsin
The Badgers are coming off a tie (3-3) and victory (8-5) over then-No. 6 Penn State last weekend at the Kohl Center … UW is 1-1-3 in its last five games, which includes a pair of ties at Michigan … The Badgers are averaging 3.06 goals per game, which ranks 25th nationally and fourth in the Big Ten, while allowing an average of 3.0 goals per game, which is 34th and fourth in the country and league, respectively … The UW power play is operating at 17.6% (12-of-68) … UW's top-two point producers are defenseman, led by freshman K'Andre Miller whose 15 points (3g, 12a) ranks third among all rookies nationally … Sophomore Wyatt Kalynuk has 13 points (6g, 7a) and sophomore Tarek Baker is the highest-scoring forward with 13 points (4g, 9a) … Freshman Daniel Lebedeff (3-3-2, 2.75 GAA, .909 Sv. %) and junior Jack Berry (3-4-1, 3.23 GAA, .894 Sv. %) have split time in goal.
Against the Badgers
The two teams split last year's series, each going 1-1 on home ice … Both of the Spartans' wins last year were by scores of 2-0 … Mitchell Lewandowski scored six of the Spartans' nine goals last season against UW and has seven career points in four games vs. the Badgers … Patrick Khodorenko also has seven career points (2g, 5a) against UW.
Hirose Among The Nation's Best
After being held pointless in two consecutive games for just the second time in his last 25 career contests, junior forward Taro Hirose has responded with a five-game point streak over which he has produced nine points (2g, 7a). After spurring the Spartans' comeback at Minnesota on Nov. 24 with a goal and then assists on the tying and game-winning goal, Hirose assisted on each of the Spartans' final three goals in the 4-3 victory over Michigan. It was his fifth three-point game of the season and seventh multi-point game of the year.
Dating back to the end of last season, he has points in 19 of the Spartans' last 23 games.
Entering this weekend's series on what is his fifth career point streak of at least five games, Hirose is fourth nationally and third in the Big Ten in points (23), and second in the country and tied for first in the Big Ten in assists (16).
Career Numbers Piling Up
Taro Hirose's offensive pace is placing him among some of the best Spartan point-producers since 2000. With 89 points in 84 games, he is just 11 points shy of becoming the first Spartan to hit the 100 point mark since Tim Crowder (106 points, 151 games; 2005-09). With 64 career helpers, Hirose has surpassed the assist totals of several of the most offensively-inclined Spartans of the 2000s, including Bryan Lerg (60a, 169 GP 2004-08); David Booth (60a, 134 GP 2002-06) and Tim Kennedy (63a, 113 GP 2005-08). Hirose's 64 helpers are the most by a Spartan Tyler Howells had 70 in 154 games from 2003-07.
In his career (84 games), Hirose has just one more game without a point (25) than games with multiple points (24).
Khodorenko's Scoring Touch
Patrick Khodorenko is on one of the best stretches of his career with six points over the last six games, which included a four-game goal scoring streak. His team-leading nine goals, which are just four shy of his total from last year, are tied for third in the Big Ten and 10th nationally.
The native of Walnut Creek, California, who played for Danton Cole with the USNTDP has found a good amount of success on the power play as his five goals on the man-advantage are tied for the Big Ten lead and fourth in the nation. Fourteen of his 29 career goals have come on the power play.
Khodorenko was the Big Ten First Star of the Week on Nov. 6 for the first time in his career after his four-point game (3g, 1a) on Nov. 2 in a win over Ferris State.
DeRidder Named Big Ten Second Star After Undefeated Weekend
Freshman Drew DeRidder, the youngest goaltender in college hockey (DOB: 5/1/00), was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week on Tuesday after turning away 78 of 82 shots against Michigan last weekend. His 43 saves in the 4-3 victory were the most by a Spartan goaltender since Ed Minney's 47 at Penn State in January 2017 and the most by an MSU netminder vs. Michigan since Jake Hidlebrand's 45 in March 2015. The following night, he stopped 35 shots, including the final 31 shots in regulation and the five minute overtime. In the 3-on-3 OT, he made four more saves and then turned away all four U-M attempts in the shootout.
He has stated each of the last three games, helping the Spartans go 2-0-1 by posting a .926 save percentage over the span. He earned his first career victory Nov. 24 at Minnesota with 28 saves, including 16 in the third period.
Of Note Last Weekend vs. Michigan
The Spartans scored power-play goals in both games, marking the first time they scored a goal on the man-advantage in back-to-back games since Nov. 2-3 … The shootout win was the Spartans' first vs. Michigan since Dec. 2011 … The Spartans trailed twice in their 4-3 win (1-0 and 2-1), and also trailed 1-0 in the tie the following night … The sellout crowd of 6,406 at Munn on Friday was the largest at Munn since Jan. 21, 2017 vs. Michigan (6,556).
Cesana Leading Spartan Rookies
Rookie Dennis Cesana is fifth among all rookies in the Big Ten with eight points (1g, 7a), which is second among freshmen defensemen. The native of Providence, R.I., who led all defensemen in the AJHL in points (75) last season, ranks fourth on the team and is first among MSU defensemen in points. He has two multi-point games and scored his first-career goal on Oct. 26 in a win over No. 8 Cornell.
All KHL
Since playing together in the first game of last season, Patrick Khodorenko (9-4--13), Taro Hirose (7-16--23) and Mitchell Lewandowski (5-10--15) 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. All three players were voted to the Big Ten's preseason Players to Watch list and have combined for 51 of 103 (49.5%) of the Spartans' total points this season.
Khodorenko – Has a team-high nine goals, which rank third in the Big Ten, and his team-leading five power-play goals rank fourth in the nation and are tied for the league laed ... MSU's active career leader in goals (29) ... Ranked 12th in the Big Ten and third on the team in points (32) last season.
Hirose – Fourth in the country in points (24) and is tied for second in assists (16)… Has two game-winning goals ... Has points in 19 of 23 games dating back to last season ... Has six multi-point games this season and 24 in his career ... Has 89 points (25g, 64a) in 85 career 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).
Stevens, Apap and Sanford Making an Impact
Sophomores Brody Stevens (5-11, 191 lbs.) and Tommy Apap (6-2, 206 lbs.) have combined with senior Brennan Sanford (6-1, 208 lbs.) to not only form the Spartans' most physical line, but also an offensive impact with six points (3g, 3a) over the last three games. Stevens, who had two goals last season, has four already this year, including the game-winner at Minnesota on Nov. 24. He scored the first goal against Michigan on Nov. 30, with an assist from Apap.
The trio has played together in all but one game this season.
Spartans in the NHL Notables
Former Spartan great and Hobey Baker Award winner Ryan Miller tied John Vanbiesbrouck for the NHL career win record among American goaltenders (374) ... Miller, who played at MSU from 1999-2002, holds the NCAA record for career shutouts with 26 … Mason Appleton became the 72nd former MSU hockey player to play the National Hockey League when he made his debut with the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 1 … Appleton picked up an assist in his first game and has since played two more games for the Jets … A total of seven Spartans have played in the NHL this season.
MILESTONE ALERT:
— Anaheim Ducks (@AnaheimDucks) December 2, 2018
With a win today, @RyanMiller3039 tied John Vanbiesbrouck for the all-time lead among U.S.-born goaltenders in wins!
Congratulations, Ryan! pic.twitter.com/jvodGJGrBw
Players Mentioned
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