Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications
Neil’s Notebook: Lethemon Stellar, But Badgers Shut Down Spartans
12/9/2018 10:09:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
MADISON, Wis. – John Lethemon made his first start in six games and gave Michigan State a chance to win with a stellar 40-save performance on Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
But the junior goaltender didn't get offensive support from his teammates, and Wisconsin completed a Big Ten series sweep of the Spartans with a 3-0 victory in front of an announced crowd of 10,215.
The Badgers scored a power-play goal early in the first period and made it 2-0 early in the third period, just five seconds after a power play expired, and finished the scoring with an empty-net goal with 2.1 seconds left.
Michigan State's offense didn't threaten until the third period, when the Spartans managed 13 shots on goal. But in each of the first two periods, MSU had four shots on Wisconsin freshman goalie Dan Lebedeff, who made 21 saves to earn his first collegiate shutout.
After going 2-0-1 in its last three games, Michigan State (6-9-1 overall, 2-5-1-1 Big Ten) has lost two straight, starting with Friday's 5-3 to the Badgers (8-7-3, 4-3-3-1), who have won three in a row.
A big difference in the game was Wisconsin's ability to get shots through from its defensemen and the inability of MSU's defense to do the same.
"Wisconsin's defensemen were good at getting it through, and that leads to some uncertainty defensively when you've got to search and find pucks. One team did a great job at it and one team didn't,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said.
The Badgers' defensive corps combined for 17 shots on goal, led by sophomore Wyatt Kalynuk with nine and freshman K'Andre Miller with six. MSU defensemen Dennis Cesana and Zach Osburn had five and four shots on goal, respectively, most coming later in the game.
"We were a little better in the third period but not good enough. When other teams play that well, we've got to raise our game and be better,'' Cole said. "The way the game is played, that's huge. If you watch NHL games or our games, you've got to get shots through and create something out of it.''
In the first period, MSU attempted only nine shots, four ended up on goal. Wisconsin attempted 33, one went in, 11 were blocked, two missed the net and 18 were saved by Lethemon. The Spartans got better in the scoreless second period with 20 shot attempts but eight were blocked, eight missed the net and four were on goal.
"In the first period, we were really bad and in the second we battled hard and did some things OK,'' Cole said. "The power play got us going in the third period.''
The Badgers got the first four power plays of the game. The Spartans had one in the second period but it lasted only 44 seconds, and they had two full power plays in the third, with eight shots on goal.
In the first two periods, the Spartans failed to sustain pressure in the Wisconsin zone, and when they did get a scoring chance, they often shot wide or tried to make a perfect play with a pass that either got deflected or missed its target.
In the third period, Lebedeff had to make some point-blank saves, especially on two MSU power plays which could have got the visitors back in the game.
"We worked harder in the third period as groups of five instead of one guy working and our other guys watching,'' Cole said. "Those things happen at times. It's not that the guys aren't trying. They're trying to do the right thing.
"There's got to be flow and you have to be ahead of the puck and make some plays, and we didn't for a couple of periods. In the third, we did a little bit but there was more of a desperation there.''
Lethemon made 18 saves in the first period and 11 in each of the second and third periods. And yet after 40 minutes, MSU only trailed by one goal. One shot, one bounce, one deflection. But the puck never got behind Lebedeff.
"Johnny kept us in it. He was great and gave us a chance, and obviously we didn't support him offensively,'' Cole said. "He was good, he stood tall and calm, and we should have scored a few for him.''
Wisconsin converted on its first power play at 2:36 of the first period as Sean Dhooghe's shot from the left circle caught the top left corner of the net.
MSU took a penalty late in the second period and the Badgers started the third period with the overlapping power play for 52 seconds. When the power play ended, Wisconsin still had possession in the Spartans zone. Dhooghe made a perfect pass from the left circle into the right circle where K'Andre Miller's one-timer seemed to flutter into the left corner of the net, as Lethemon was sliding across the crease to his left.
"Both of (Wisconsin's first two goals) were from bad coverages. Our penalty killing seemed out of sync last night and tonight,'' Cole said. "It was like the rest of our game. I don't think the guys aren't trying but you've got to do your job.
"As Bill Belichick says, 'Do your own job well.' You find when you're trying to do everyone's job, you do nobody's job. It's not a matter of not caring, we just have to execute and trust each other to do their jobs and work as a unit – 5-on-5 and shorthanded.''
LETHEMON DELIVERS: Junior goaltender John Lethemon was back in net as a starter on Saturday for the first time in three weeks, and he responded with a strong game and was the Spartans' best player on a disappointing night in a 3-0 loss to Wisconsin.
Lethemon made a season-high 40 saves, including 18 in the first period, and kept his team within striking distance with several excellent saves in each period. Lethemon was sharp, positionally sound and didn't allow many rebounds. He gave up two goals and forced the Badgers to make good plays and shots to beat him.
"It was good to get back in the lineup. My approach hasn't changed at all since the start of the year,'' said Lethemon, 22, a 6-foot-2, 171-pounder from Northville. "You prepare the same way you always do. I was ready to go, excited to be back in there, and I felt good, even when they scored early.''
Freshman Drew DeRidder has made the last five starts since Lethemon's last start against Notre Dame on Nov. 16. Lethemon's last appearance was in relief of DeRidder early in MSU's 7-2 loss at Minnesota on Nov. 23. He played 36 minutes in that game, giving up four goals.
DeRidder started Friday's series opener at Wisconsin and gave up five goals in a 5-3 loss. MSU coach Danton Cole decided to go with Lethemon for Saturday's game. And Lethemon was busy and good.
"I was moving well and seeing the puck and the guys in front did their jobs and let me see it,'' he said. "We didn't get the result we wanted but you want to play and, hopefully, I can build on this game.''
Early in the season, Lethemon started six of MSU's first eight games, including both contests at Cornell and Arizona State. DeRidder started the first home game against Notre Dame and Lethemon was in goal for the second. DeRidder made both starts in Minnesota and in the win and tie vs. Michigan last weekend.
Lethemon has played in nine games, has a 4-5 record, a 2.94 goals-against average and a .906 saves percentage. DeRidder has played eight games, with a 2-4-1 record, a 3.23 GAA and an .989 saves percentage.
UP NEXT: The Spartans play the U.S. National Team Development Program's U-18 team in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Munn Arena. The U-18 team is loaded with highly skilled players and could have several taken in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
After the U-18 games, Spartan players will head home for holiday break, returning after Christmas to prepare or the Great Lakes Invitational, Dec. 30-31, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
MSU opens the tournament against Lake Superior State at 4 p.m. on Dec. 30, after Michigan plays Michigan Tech in the first game at 1 p.m. The third-place game is at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 31, with the GLI championship game starting at 2:30 p.m.
IN THE BIG TEN: In the surprise game of all college hockey on Saturday, No. 9 Penn State (11-5-1, 3-4-1-1 Big Ten) routed Notre Dame 9-1 to earn a split of their series in University Park, Pa. The No. 5/6 Irish (11-5-1, 5-2-0) won on Friday, 5-4.
But on Saturday, the Nittany Lions fell behind 1-0 just 3:35 into the game and then proceeded to score nine straight goals – three in each period.
The nation's highest-scoring forward line of Evan Barratt, Alex Limoges and Liam Folkes had four goals and five assists for nine points. Barrett had a goal and three assists, Limoges two goals and one assist, and Folkes one goal and one assist.
Chase Berger had four points (1-3) and Alec Marsh scored two goals. Eleven of PSU's 12 forwards had at least one point. Surprisingly, the Nittany Lions' seven defensemen accounted for only two assists.
Penn State went 3-for-4 on the power play and outshot Notre Dame, 43-27. Barratt is now the nation's leading scorer with 13 goals and 29 points, while Limoges is second with 28 points (10-18). Michigan State's Taro Hirose, who started the night as the top scorer in the nation, is No. 3 with seven goals and 13 assists for 26 points. Hirose is still No. 1 in assists.
Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, Minnesota's Brent Gates goal on a deflection with 1:41 left broke a 3-3 tie and the Gophers (5-6-4, 3-2-3-0) held on for a 4-3 victory over No. 15 Michigan (6-7-4, 2-4-3-2). Minnesota took a 2-0 lead early in the first period, only to see the Wolverines tie it before the period was 10 minutes old.
U-M scored the only goal of the second period to go up 3-2, but Minnesota tied it, 3-3, on Tyler Sheehy's goal 55 seconds into the third period. A few minutes before Gates' goal, Michigan had an apparent goal disallowed. The Wolverines outshot the Gophers, 53-28.
Minnesota, 1-0-3 in its last four games, and Michigan, 0-3-4 in its last seven contests, played to a 2-2 tie in the series opener on Friday. The Wolverines captured the extra point in Big Ten play with a goal in the 3-on-3 overtime.
Penn State and Michigan State are the only teams with games remaining before the Christmas break. The Nittany Lions play a non-conference game against Princeton on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, while the Spartans play the U-18 Team in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Munn Arena.
No. 7 Ohio State (9-4-3, 4-2-2-2), which was idle this weekend, returns to action with a non-conference series against Mercyhurst, Dec. 28-29, in Columbus. Minnesota returns from its break to play two non-league games vs. Ferris State, Dec. 28-29 in Minneapolis.
Notre Dame plays a single non-conference game at home against Boston College on Dec. 31. Michigan's next game is against Michigan Tech in the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec 30. Wisconsin is off until Jan. 4-5 when it plays host to Denver.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
MADISON, Wis. – John Lethemon made his first start in six games and gave Michigan State a chance to win with a stellar 40-save performance on Saturday night at the Kohl Center.
But the junior goaltender didn't get offensive support from his teammates, and Wisconsin completed a Big Ten series sweep of the Spartans with a 3-0 victory in front of an announced crowd of 10,215.
The Badgers scored a power-play goal early in the first period and made it 2-0 early in the third period, just five seconds after a power play expired, and finished the scoring with an empty-net goal with 2.1 seconds left.
Michigan State's offense didn't threaten until the third period, when the Spartans managed 13 shots on goal. But in each of the first two periods, MSU had four shots on Wisconsin freshman goalie Dan Lebedeff, who made 21 saves to earn his first collegiate shutout.
After going 2-0-1 in its last three games, Michigan State (6-9-1 overall, 2-5-1-1 Big Ten) has lost two straight, starting with Friday's 5-3 to the Badgers (8-7-3, 4-3-3-1), who have won three in a row.
A big difference in the game was Wisconsin's ability to get shots through from its defensemen and the inability of MSU's defense to do the same.
"Wisconsin's defensemen were good at getting it through, and that leads to some uncertainty defensively when you've got to search and find pucks. One team did a great job at it and one team didn't,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said.
The Badgers' defensive corps combined for 17 shots on goal, led by sophomore Wyatt Kalynuk with nine and freshman K'Andre Miller with six. MSU defensemen Dennis Cesana and Zach Osburn had five and four shots on goal, respectively, most coming later in the game.
"We were a little better in the third period but not good enough. When other teams play that well, we've got to raise our game and be better,'' Cole said. "The way the game is played, that's huge. If you watch NHL games or our games, you've got to get shots through and create something out of it.''
In the first period, MSU attempted only nine shots, four ended up on goal. Wisconsin attempted 33, one went in, 11 were blocked, two missed the net and 18 were saved by Lethemon. The Spartans got better in the scoreless second period with 20 shot attempts but eight were blocked, eight missed the net and four were on goal.
"In the first period, we were really bad and in the second we battled hard and did some things OK,'' Cole said. "The power play got us going in the third period.''
The Badgers got the first four power plays of the game. The Spartans had one in the second period but it lasted only 44 seconds, and they had two full power plays in the third, with eight shots on goal.
In the first two periods, the Spartans failed to sustain pressure in the Wisconsin zone, and when they did get a scoring chance, they often shot wide or tried to make a perfect play with a pass that either got deflected or missed its target.
In the third period, Lebedeff had to make some point-blank saves, especially on two MSU power plays which could have got the visitors back in the game.
"We worked harder in the third period as groups of five instead of one guy working and our other guys watching,'' Cole said. "Those things happen at times. It's not that the guys aren't trying. They're trying to do the right thing.
"There's got to be flow and you have to be ahead of the puck and make some plays, and we didn't for a couple of periods. In the third, we did a little bit but there was more of a desperation there.''
Lethemon made 18 saves in the first period and 11 in each of the second and third periods. And yet after 40 minutes, MSU only trailed by one goal. One shot, one bounce, one deflection. But the puck never got behind Lebedeff.
"Johnny kept us in it. He was great and gave us a chance, and obviously we didn't support him offensively,'' Cole said. "He was good, he stood tall and calm, and we should have scored a few for him.''
Wisconsin converted on its first power play at 2:36 of the first period as Sean Dhooghe's shot from the left circle caught the top left corner of the net.
MSU took a penalty late in the second period and the Badgers started the third period with the overlapping power play for 52 seconds. When the power play ended, Wisconsin still had possession in the Spartans zone. Dhooghe made a perfect pass from the left circle into the right circle where K'Andre Miller's one-timer seemed to flutter into the left corner of the net, as Lethemon was sliding across the crease to his left.
"Both of (Wisconsin's first two goals) were from bad coverages. Our penalty killing seemed out of sync last night and tonight,'' Cole said. "It was like the rest of our game. I don't think the guys aren't trying but you've got to do your job.
"As Bill Belichick says, 'Do your own job well.' You find when you're trying to do everyone's job, you do nobody's job. It's not a matter of not caring, we just have to execute and trust each other to do their jobs and work as a unit – 5-on-5 and shorthanded.''
LETHEMON DELIVERS: Junior goaltender John Lethemon was back in net as a starter on Saturday for the first time in three weeks, and he responded with a strong game and was the Spartans' best player on a disappointing night in a 3-0 loss to Wisconsin.
Lethemon made a season-high 40 saves, including 18 in the first period, and kept his team within striking distance with several excellent saves in each period. Lethemon was sharp, positionally sound and didn't allow many rebounds. He gave up two goals and forced the Badgers to make good plays and shots to beat him.
"It was good to get back in the lineup. My approach hasn't changed at all since the start of the year,'' said Lethemon, 22, a 6-foot-2, 171-pounder from Northville. "You prepare the same way you always do. I was ready to go, excited to be back in there, and I felt good, even when they scored early.''
Freshman Drew DeRidder has made the last five starts since Lethemon's last start against Notre Dame on Nov. 16. Lethemon's last appearance was in relief of DeRidder early in MSU's 7-2 loss at Minnesota on Nov. 23. He played 36 minutes in that game, giving up four goals.
DeRidder started Friday's series opener at Wisconsin and gave up five goals in a 5-3 loss. MSU coach Danton Cole decided to go with Lethemon for Saturday's game. And Lethemon was busy and good.
"I was moving well and seeing the puck and the guys in front did their jobs and let me see it,'' he said. "We didn't get the result we wanted but you want to play and, hopefully, I can build on this game.''
Early in the season, Lethemon started six of MSU's first eight games, including both contests at Cornell and Arizona State. DeRidder started the first home game against Notre Dame and Lethemon was in goal for the second. DeRidder made both starts in Minnesota and in the win and tie vs. Michigan last weekend.
Lethemon has played in nine games, has a 4-5 record, a 2.94 goals-against average and a .906 saves percentage. DeRidder has played eight games, with a 2-4-1 record, a 3.23 GAA and an .989 saves percentage.
UP NEXT: The Spartans play the U.S. National Team Development Program's U-18 team in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. on Saturday at Munn Arena. The U-18 team is loaded with highly skilled players and could have several taken in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
After the U-18 games, Spartan players will head home for holiday break, returning after Christmas to prepare or the Great Lakes Invitational, Dec. 30-31, at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
MSU opens the tournament against Lake Superior State at 4 p.m. on Dec. 30, after Michigan plays Michigan Tech in the first game at 1 p.m. The third-place game is at 11:30 a.m. on Dec. 31, with the GLI championship game starting at 2:30 p.m.
IN THE BIG TEN: In the surprise game of all college hockey on Saturday, No. 9 Penn State (11-5-1, 3-4-1-1 Big Ten) routed Notre Dame 9-1 to earn a split of their series in University Park, Pa. The No. 5/6 Irish (11-5-1, 5-2-0) won on Friday, 5-4.
But on Saturday, the Nittany Lions fell behind 1-0 just 3:35 into the game and then proceeded to score nine straight goals – three in each period.
The nation's highest-scoring forward line of Evan Barratt, Alex Limoges and Liam Folkes had four goals and five assists for nine points. Barrett had a goal and three assists, Limoges two goals and one assist, and Folkes one goal and one assist.
Chase Berger had four points (1-3) and Alec Marsh scored two goals. Eleven of PSU's 12 forwards had at least one point. Surprisingly, the Nittany Lions' seven defensemen accounted for only two assists.
Penn State went 3-for-4 on the power play and outshot Notre Dame, 43-27. Barratt is now the nation's leading scorer with 13 goals and 29 points, while Limoges is second with 28 points (10-18). Michigan State's Taro Hirose, who started the night as the top scorer in the nation, is No. 3 with seven goals and 13 assists for 26 points. Hirose is still No. 1 in assists.
Meanwhile, in Ann Arbor, Minnesota's Brent Gates goal on a deflection with 1:41 left broke a 3-3 tie and the Gophers (5-6-4, 3-2-3-0) held on for a 4-3 victory over No. 15 Michigan (6-7-4, 2-4-3-2). Minnesota took a 2-0 lead early in the first period, only to see the Wolverines tie it before the period was 10 minutes old.
U-M scored the only goal of the second period to go up 3-2, but Minnesota tied it, 3-3, on Tyler Sheehy's goal 55 seconds into the third period. A few minutes before Gates' goal, Michigan had an apparent goal disallowed. The Wolverines outshot the Gophers, 53-28.
Minnesota, 1-0-3 in its last four games, and Michigan, 0-3-4 in its last seven contests, played to a 2-2 tie in the series opener on Friday. The Wolverines captured the extra point in Big Ten play with a goal in the 3-on-3 overtime.
Penn State and Michigan State are the only teams with games remaining before the Christmas break. The Nittany Lions play a non-conference game against Princeton on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, while the Spartans play the U-18 Team in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. Saturday at Munn Arena.
No. 7 Ohio State (9-4-3, 4-2-2-2), which was idle this weekend, returns to action with a non-conference series against Mercyhurst, Dec. 28-29, in Columbus. Minnesota returns from its break to play two non-league games vs. Ferris State, Dec. 28-29 in Minneapolis.
Notre Dame plays a single non-conference game at home against Boston College on Dec. 31. Michigan's next game is against Michigan Tech in the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec 30. Wisconsin is off until Jan. 4-5 when it plays host to Denver.
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