Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Come Back, But Fall Short in Opener at Wisconsin
12/8/2018 10:06:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
MADISON, Wis. – After Michigan State scored three straight goals in the second period to overcome a 3-0 deficit and tie it, 3-3, it looked like the Spartans had momentum and a very good chance to win the game.
Then came the third period.
Wisconsin scored two goals on long shots by defensemen within 1 minute and 40 seconds midway through the period and went on to defeat the Spartans, 5-3, in a Big Ten series opener on Friday in front of an announced crowd of 7,953 at the Kohl Center.
Senior defenseman Peter Tischke scored the game-winner at 8:41 of the third period. The Badgers won a faceoff in the MSU zone, the puck came back to Tischke along the right boards and he let go with a shot that went through a maze of players and past Spartan goalie Drew DeRidder.
Before MSU could mount another comeback, Wisconsin scored again – by anther defenseman and 100 seconds after Tischke's goal.
Sophomore Wyatt Kalynuk carried the puck from his own end of the ice, through the middle and into the MSU zone. He pulled up about 10 feet inside the blue line and let go with a shot that caught the fare left corner at 11:21 for a 5-3 lead.
"For almost the first 10 minutes of the third period, we were fine. We were managing the game,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "We had some chances. But we have to be better.''
The Spartans' three goals came within 11 minutes and six seconds – the first two by Patrick Khodorenko at 7:02 and 11:53 of the second period and the third by defenseman Jared Rosburg at 18:08. Taro Hirose assisted on all three goals.
But MSU's scoring run stopped in the third period in which it had 13 shot attempts, but seven were blocked, five missed the net and one was on goal and stopped by freshman goalie Daniel Lebedeff, who made 14 saves overall. DeRidder made 29 saves.
"Their defense was able to get up in the play and come through the neutral zone with speed and we didn't do a good job handling it,'' Cole said. "We have to be better at that. We had chance to block shots and we didn't.
"We have to make those plays. We have to make defensive plays which we did late in the second period and that enabled us to tie it up, but we didn't in the third period. They took advantage of it.''
The Spartans (6-8-1 overall, 2-4-1-1 Big Ten) will try to salvage a series split when they face the Badgers (7-7-3, 3-3-3-1) at 8 p.m. Saturday, also at Kohl Center.
"Drew wants a couple of those (goals) back but we need to block some shots, and deflect their speed more. But Drew will be back,'' Cole said. "We just can't play at 70 or 80 percent, or even 90 percent intensity and focus. We have to be there the whole 60 minutes and the full two-and-a-half hours.
"We weren't there the whole night. But we'll be better tomorrow and play a more complete game.''
Michigan State found itself down by three goals 25 minutes into the game. The Badgers took a 1-0 lead on Sean Dhooghe's power-play goal at 2:05 of the first period.
Mick Messner's wrap-around goal at 3:14 of the second period made it 2-0 and freshman defenseman Ty Emberson's first college goal 1 minute and 46 seconds later boosted Wisconsin's lead to 3-0. His shot from outside the right circle near the boards found the net past a screened DeRidder.
MSU's comeback started two minutes later. Khodorenko drove down the left wing, went wide on a Badger defenseman and fired the puck into the top left corner at 7:02.
Hirose, from behind the net, set up Khodorenko in front for the second Spartan goal at 11:53, and Rosburg tied it with a shot from the left point that seemed to deflect off the stick of Wisconsin defenseman K'Andre Miller, who was defending Khodorenko at the edge of the crease.
"You're down 3-0 and you have nothing to lose, you just to get the first one, then two and three,'' said sophomore left wing Mitchell Lewandowski, who assisted on Khodorenko's first goal and was on the ice for the other two. "You have to stay positive on the bench.
"In the third period, they got the first goal and the second right away, and it's pretty tough to come back from that. We ran out of time. We've got to block more shots. Those are preventable. We need to get in front of those shots.''
Only six penalties were called – four in the first period, none in the second and two in the third. MSU was 0-for-2 on the power play with its first man advantage only 35 seconds. Wisconsin went 1-for-2, scoring 52 seconds into its first power play and failing to convert on a 35-second power play, also early in the first period.
The Spartans' loss ended their three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) while the Badgers have won two straight and they're undefeated in five games at 2-0-3.
HIROSE NO. 1 IN NATION: For sure, junior left wing Taro Hirose would trade his three-point night Friday for a no-point game and a Spartan victory. Nevertheless, Hirose goes into Saturday's game as the top scorer in the nation and also No. 1 in assists.
Hirose has seven goals and 19 assists for 26 points in 15 games. He's averaging 1.73 points per game and he's one point ahead of Penn State forwards Alex Limoges (8-17-25) and Evan Barratt (12-13-25). Limoges and Barratt have played in 16 games.
Hirose, a 5-10, 165-pounder from Calgary, has 10 points (2 goals and 8 assists) in his last four games, including three games in which he's had three points. And, he's has at least one point in six straight games.
In MSU's 15 games, Hirose has only gone pointless in three.
KHODORENKO ON TARGET: Patrick Khodorenko continued his recent goal-scoring scoring touch with two goals in 4 minutes and 51 seconds midway through the second period, his 10th and 11th of the season. He had 13 goals last season as a sophomore and seven his freshman season.
"It just happens that I'm the one putting the puck in the net and on our line, it could be any one of us,'' the 6-foot, 201-pound junior center said of his KHL linemates, Taro Hirose and Mitchell Lewandowski.
"I've been working on my shot. To get to the next level, you have to be able to shoot the puck from anywhere. You have to change the angle on the goalies and get the puck on net. That's what I've been focusing on.''
Khodorenko, who had a four-game goal-scoring streak stopped in last Friday's victory over Michigan, has six goals in his last seven games.
"I thought our line played well in the offensive zone. We had a lot of control,'' he said. "We had good looks, we were driving to the net, and we had lots of chances in the third period but they blocked a lot of shots and we missed some.
"As a team, we have to keep our feet moving defensively. We were playing a good 40-minute game but they got the first one in the third period. They got lucky on a faceoff and Drew (DeRidder) didn't see the puck.''
Khodorenko assisted on defenseman Jerad Rosburg's tying goal in the last two minutes of the second period, while Hirose assisted on all three goals. Lewandowski and Rosburg also picked up one assist.
"Patty made a great play on his first goal. It was kind of an individual play, like a 1-on-3 and it was a great shot,'' Lewandowski said. "He and Taro were phenomenal tonight. We have to bring it back on Saturday.''
What does the mindset have to be for the Spartans on Saturday to come away with a split in Saturday's series finale?
"We have to play better defensively, come out hungrier and try to create momentum,'' Khodorenko said. "We have to angle their defensemen, keep them on the outside and not let the come down the middle, and make sure we're backchecking.''
IN THE BIG TEN: In the matchup between the conference's two top- 10 teams, No. 5/6 Notre Dame edged No. 9 Penn State 5-4 in their series opener on Friday in University Park, Pa. Each team scored one goal in the first period, but the Irish (11-4-1, 5-2-0) outscored the Nittany Lions, 3-1, in the second period to take a 4-2 lead.
Penn State (10-5-1, 2-4-1-1) cut its deficit to 4-3 early in the third, only to see Notre Dame regain its two-goal lead. The Nittany Lions sored with five minutes left to get close at 5-4, but couldn't get the tying goal.
Penn State, which has lost two games in a row, outshot Notre Dame, 48-24, with Irish junior goalie Cale Morris making 44 saves.
No. 15 Michigan and Minnesota played to a 2-2 tie in Ann Arbor, with the Wolverines winning the 3-on-3 overtime with a goal with 12 seconds left to earn two points in the Big Ten standings. The Gophers get one point.
Michigan (6-6-4, 2-3-4-2) has tied four of its last five games and is winless in its last six at 0-2-4. The Gophers (4-6-4, 2-2-3-0) have tied three consecutive games and they're winless in four (0-3-1), and have lost three times (for Big Ten purposes) in the 3-on-3 overtime.
Ohio State is idle this weekend.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
MADISON, Wis. – After Michigan State scored three straight goals in the second period to overcome a 3-0 deficit and tie it, 3-3, it looked like the Spartans had momentum and a very good chance to win the game.
Then came the third period.
Wisconsin scored two goals on long shots by defensemen within 1 minute and 40 seconds midway through the period and went on to defeat the Spartans, 5-3, in a Big Ten series opener on Friday in front of an announced crowd of 7,953 at the Kohl Center.
Senior defenseman Peter Tischke scored the game-winner at 8:41 of the third period. The Badgers won a faceoff in the MSU zone, the puck came back to Tischke along the right boards and he let go with a shot that went through a maze of players and past Spartan goalie Drew DeRidder.
Before MSU could mount another comeback, Wisconsin scored again – by anther defenseman and 100 seconds after Tischke's goal.
Sophomore Wyatt Kalynuk carried the puck from his own end of the ice, through the middle and into the MSU zone. He pulled up about 10 feet inside the blue line and let go with a shot that caught the fare left corner at 11:21 for a 5-3 lead.
"For almost the first 10 minutes of the third period, we were fine. We were managing the game,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "We had some chances. But we have to be better.''
The Spartans' three goals came within 11 minutes and six seconds – the first two by Patrick Khodorenko at 7:02 and 11:53 of the second period and the third by defenseman Jared Rosburg at 18:08. Taro Hirose assisted on all three goals.
But MSU's scoring run stopped in the third period in which it had 13 shot attempts, but seven were blocked, five missed the net and one was on goal and stopped by freshman goalie Daniel Lebedeff, who made 14 saves overall. DeRidder made 29 saves.
"Their defense was able to get up in the play and come through the neutral zone with speed and we didn't do a good job handling it,'' Cole said. "We have to be better at that. We had chance to block shots and we didn't.
"We have to make those plays. We have to make defensive plays which we did late in the second period and that enabled us to tie it up, but we didn't in the third period. They took advantage of it.''
The Spartans (6-8-1 overall, 2-4-1-1 Big Ten) will try to salvage a series split when they face the Badgers (7-7-3, 3-3-3-1) at 8 p.m. Saturday, also at Kohl Center.
"Drew wants a couple of those (goals) back but we need to block some shots, and deflect their speed more. But Drew will be back,'' Cole said. "We just can't play at 70 or 80 percent, or even 90 percent intensity and focus. We have to be there the whole 60 minutes and the full two-and-a-half hours.
"We weren't there the whole night. But we'll be better tomorrow and play a more complete game.''
Michigan State found itself down by three goals 25 minutes into the game. The Badgers took a 1-0 lead on Sean Dhooghe's power-play goal at 2:05 of the first period.
Mick Messner's wrap-around goal at 3:14 of the second period made it 2-0 and freshman defenseman Ty Emberson's first college goal 1 minute and 46 seconds later boosted Wisconsin's lead to 3-0. His shot from outside the right circle near the boards found the net past a screened DeRidder.
MSU's comeback started two minutes later. Khodorenko drove down the left wing, went wide on a Badger defenseman and fired the puck into the top left corner at 7:02.
Hirose, from behind the net, set up Khodorenko in front for the second Spartan goal at 11:53, and Rosburg tied it with a shot from the left point that seemed to deflect off the stick of Wisconsin defenseman K'Andre Miller, who was defending Khodorenko at the edge of the crease.
"You're down 3-0 and you have nothing to lose, you just to get the first one, then two and three,'' said sophomore left wing Mitchell Lewandowski, who assisted on Khodorenko's first goal and was on the ice for the other two. "You have to stay positive on the bench.
"In the third period, they got the first goal and the second right away, and it's pretty tough to come back from that. We ran out of time. We've got to block more shots. Those are preventable. We need to get in front of those shots.''
Only six penalties were called – four in the first period, none in the second and two in the third. MSU was 0-for-2 on the power play with its first man advantage only 35 seconds. Wisconsin went 1-for-2, scoring 52 seconds into its first power play and failing to convert on a 35-second power play, also early in the first period.
The Spartans' loss ended their three-game unbeaten streak (2-0-1) while the Badgers have won two straight and they're undefeated in five games at 2-0-3.
HIROSE NO. 1 IN NATION: For sure, junior left wing Taro Hirose would trade his three-point night Friday for a no-point game and a Spartan victory. Nevertheless, Hirose goes into Saturday's game as the top scorer in the nation and also No. 1 in assists.
Hirose has seven goals and 19 assists for 26 points in 15 games. He's averaging 1.73 points per game and he's one point ahead of Penn State forwards Alex Limoges (8-17-25) and Evan Barratt (12-13-25). Limoges and Barratt have played in 16 games.
Hirose, a 5-10, 165-pounder from Calgary, has 10 points (2 goals and 8 assists) in his last four games, including three games in which he's had three points. And, he's has at least one point in six straight games.
In MSU's 15 games, Hirose has only gone pointless in three.
KHODORENKO ON TARGET: Patrick Khodorenko continued his recent goal-scoring scoring touch with two goals in 4 minutes and 51 seconds midway through the second period, his 10th and 11th of the season. He had 13 goals last season as a sophomore and seven his freshman season.
"It just happens that I'm the one putting the puck in the net and on our line, it could be any one of us,'' the 6-foot, 201-pound junior center said of his KHL linemates, Taro Hirose and Mitchell Lewandowski.
"I've been working on my shot. To get to the next level, you have to be able to shoot the puck from anywhere. You have to change the angle on the goalies and get the puck on net. That's what I've been focusing on.''
Khodorenko, who had a four-game goal-scoring streak stopped in last Friday's victory over Michigan, has six goals in his last seven games.
"I thought our line played well in the offensive zone. We had a lot of control,'' he said. "We had good looks, we were driving to the net, and we had lots of chances in the third period but they blocked a lot of shots and we missed some.
"As a team, we have to keep our feet moving defensively. We were playing a good 40-minute game but they got the first one in the third period. They got lucky on a faceoff and Drew (DeRidder) didn't see the puck.''
Khodorenko assisted on defenseman Jerad Rosburg's tying goal in the last two minutes of the second period, while Hirose assisted on all three goals. Lewandowski and Rosburg also picked up one assist.
"Patty made a great play on his first goal. It was kind of an individual play, like a 1-on-3 and it was a great shot,'' Lewandowski said. "He and Taro were phenomenal tonight. We have to bring it back on Saturday.''
What does the mindset have to be for the Spartans on Saturday to come away with a split in Saturday's series finale?
"We have to play better defensively, come out hungrier and try to create momentum,'' Khodorenko said. "We have to angle their defensemen, keep them on the outside and not let the come down the middle, and make sure we're backchecking.''
IN THE BIG TEN: In the matchup between the conference's two top- 10 teams, No. 5/6 Notre Dame edged No. 9 Penn State 5-4 in their series opener on Friday in University Park, Pa. Each team scored one goal in the first period, but the Irish (11-4-1, 5-2-0) outscored the Nittany Lions, 3-1, in the second period to take a 4-2 lead.
Penn State (10-5-1, 2-4-1-1) cut its deficit to 4-3 early in the third, only to see Notre Dame regain its two-goal lead. The Nittany Lions sored with five minutes left to get close at 5-4, but couldn't get the tying goal.
Penn State, which has lost two games in a row, outshot Notre Dame, 48-24, with Irish junior goalie Cale Morris making 44 saves.
No. 15 Michigan and Minnesota played to a 2-2 tie in Ann Arbor, with the Wolverines winning the 3-on-3 overtime with a goal with 12 seconds left to earn two points in the Big Ten standings. The Gophers get one point.
Michigan (6-6-4, 2-3-4-2) has tied four of its last five games and is winless in its last six at 0-2-4. The Gophers (4-6-4, 2-2-3-0) have tied three consecutive games and they're winless in four (0-3-1), and have lost three times (for Big Ten purposes) in the 3-on-3 overtime.
Ohio State is idle this weekend.
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