Photo by: Rey Del Rio/MSU Athletic Communications
Neil’s Notebook: Physical Rosburg Helps Anchor Spartan Blue Line
1/18/2019 10:34:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – It was late in the third period and Michigan State was protecting a 5-4 lead last Saturday at Penn State.
Spartans defenseman Jerad Rosburg was in the corner in the defensive zone and got caught flat-footed while trying to win a battle for a loose puck. He took a heavy hit from a Nittany Lion forward. He fell to the ice and the crowd, led by the student second, roared its approval.
Rosburg picked himself up, got back into the play and 15-20 seconds later, he lined up Penn State's Nikita Pavlychev, a 6-foot-7 center, coming down the middle of the ice. He made a crunching hit on the Nittany Lions forward. The crowd got fired up again, this time for a different reason.
Both hits were legal. Just the type of game Rosburg relishes.
"Ever since I was little, I always enjoyed the physicality part of hockey. I like hitting guys. It's fun,'' said the 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt junior who was born in Minneapolis and has lived in and got involved in hockey in Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio and Georgia and now Clarksville, Maryland.
No, he didn't grow up in a military family. It's a football family. His father, Jerry, is a long-time college and NFL coach and just finished his 11th season as the special teams coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. He's also the associate head coach.
"I've always gone after the biggest kid on the ice. So, I thought why not now, and I got a pretty check on (Pavlychev). It was a good battle all weekend at Penn State.''
In his third season as a Spartan, Rosburg has improved his game in all areas, and has made a big impact this season on a team playing three freshmen and one sophomore on defense.
He's playing physical, defending well, contributing more offensively and playing a key role on MSU's second power play with senior defenseman Zach Osburn.
"The older you get, you get a little stronger and figure things out a little more, and now that I'm in the second half of my college career, I've gained more confidence,'' Rosburg said. "I'm a lot stronger, and you have to bring the physicality to the game.
"I think it's a useful tactic to get guys off their game. I look forward to keep bringing that in my game.''
Rosburg hopes he and his teammates can get Minnesota off its game this weekend as Michigan State (7-12-3 overall, 3-7-2-2 Big Ten) plays host to the Gophers (9-8-4, 6-3-3-0) at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday at Munn Arena. Minnesota is coming off a 5-1, 2-1 sweep at Notre Dame and the Spartans played well in a split at Penn State – a 4-2 loss followed by a 6-4 victory.
MSU coach Danton Cole said Rosburg played well at the end of last season and it's carried over into this year.
"When he's physical and aggressive, he plays really well. When he's engaged like that, he's a really good player,'' Cole said. "He's more assertive in every way. He's more physical defensively, he's getting up in the play and shooting the puck more.
"Everything he does has more of a purpose instead of just feeling his way through the game.''
Cole said he had a chat with Rosburg last year about being more aggressive and physical on a consistent basis.
"We laughed about it. I told him that 'You're physical when two things happen – when somebody on the other team runs you and you get mad and you play physical and play really well, or when your dad is at the game,''' the Spartan coach said.
"I said, we have to get your dad to come to every game or I'm going to start running you in warmups and tick you off before the game starts.''
Rosburg's response:
"I think it was a coincidence that my dad was there (that game), but this year I've been doing a better job of getting into it earlier and coming out with a (physical) mentality from the first puck drop. I don't think its been an issue this year.
"My dad hasn't been at any of our games, except the last two (at Penn State). So, I've proven that false,'' Rosburg added with a smile.
In 22 games, Rosburg is MSU's third-highest scoring defenseman with two goals and seven assists for nine points. Freshman Dennis Cesana, Rosburg's regular partner, leads with three goals and 12 assists for 15 points, and Osburn is second with nine points (2-7).
Rosburg missed his freshman year because of a knee injury that required surgery. In his first two seasons on the ice, he had 11 points each year – three goals and eight assists as a red-shirt freshman and one goal and 10 assists as a red-shirt sophomore in 2017-18.
After his first two seasons at MSU, Rosburg was unable to train in the summer because of injuries – because of the knee injury shoulder surgery after the 2016-17 season. Last summer, he was able to train back home in Baltimore with Ravens head strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders, and later at MSU with Mike Vorkapich, the Spartans' associate head strength and conditioning coach.
"You mature with experience and in the offseason. I was able to get stronger and faster and didn't have to worry about any major injuries and that helps a lot,'' Rosburg said. "I watched a lot of NHL clips and my old clips and tried to get stronger.
"I think I put that together with maybe a little more poise. I feel stronger and everything has come together. I'd glad I'm out there contributing more to my team.''
Rosburg and Cesana have made an impact as a solid defensive pairing. Cesana is a highly skilled offensive defenseman and Rosburg is physical, an improving defender and becoming more of a force on offense, especially getting the puck through from the blue line to the net.
"Dennis is really a good player. I think he's grown a lot since the beginning of the year,'' Rosburg said of one of the top rookie defensemen in the Big Ten and nation. "He's starting to hit his stride and get more confidence, as we've seen in the last four or five games. I like playing with him. Our games complement each other well.
"In today's game, a lot of offense starts from the defense. And that's something I wanted to work on in the offseason, and that's being able to contribute to the offense. I think our whole D-corps has been doing a better job of getting pucks to the net and joining in the play.''
Cole is impressed with the Rosburg-Cesana pairing.
"It's been great. They kind of fit together pretty well,'' he said. "We have three freshmen spread out (on different pairings) and Rosburg and Cesana have done a nice job. "Jerad has done a lot better job on offense. When he steps up and zips it down, it's really good. He and Osburn are good together on the power play – when they're moving without the puck, and looking to find a lane and get a shot on net.''
Rosburg says his father's football coaching career has made an impact on his career as a hockey player.
"He grew up playing hockey (in Minnesota) so he knows the game well. It's competitive and he enjoys it,'' Jerad said. "With his football background, he likes hitting, the physical side of it, and I think I get a lot of that from him. It's in my blood to like the physical side of the game.''
Jerry Rosburg has coached as an assistant at Northern Michigan, Western Michigan, University of Cincinnati, University of Minnesota, Boston College, Notre Dame, and in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons before landing in Baltimore in 2008 under John Harbaugh.
"I've been around pro athletes pretty much my whole life, and even though football and hockey are different, there are a lot of similarities,'' Jerad said. "There's the preparation side of it and how pro athletes and coaches train, prepare and get ready for games.
"Also, defensively and defensively, even though the sports are different in that in hockey you're trying to score a goal and in football, it's a touchdown, a lot of tendencies are similar. Like positioning, space awareness and knee bend and ready positions, so it kind of translates from sport to sport. There are more similarities that you can imagine.
"I think I can learn from watching football players and how defensive backs, linebackers and linemen use their bodies with size and strength for leverage and that's helped me as a defenseman.''
When Jerry Rosburg was coaching at Northern Michigan (1981-86), he met two assistant coaches –Tom Izzo and Steve Mariucci, best friends in high school and at NMU. Rosburg became best friends with them. Mariucci was an assistant football coach and Izzo was a basketball assistant. Years later, Rosburg was in Izzo's wedding.
And when the MSU basketball team came to Pegula Arena at Penn State last Saturday to watch and show their support for the hockey team, Izzo sat with the Rosburgs – Jerry and his wife Sherry. The hoops team was in State College to play the Nittany Lions on Sunday.
Jerad says his path to college hockey was "quite a roller coaster ride.''
He moved from Minneapolis to Boston before he was one year old.
"That's when my hockey started. The neighbors (in Boston) played hockey and I was always playing in the driveway,'' he said. "Then we moved to South Bend and that's where I learned to skate. Next, we moved to Cleveland and I played for the Strongsville Mustangs, and that's where I kind of got my love for hockey. I still talk to a lot of my teammates from that team.''
After six years in Cleveland, the Rosburgs moved to Atlanta and Rosburg played for the Thunder for a year-and-half. Maryland was next but he soon left his new home to play junior hockey in Columbus for U-16 and U-18 teams.
Finally, it was time to move on to the United States Hockey League, the route of the many Division I hockey players.
"I went to play in Cedar Rapids (Iowa) for my last year in high school and got traded two months into the season to Sioux City (Iowa), and I was there for a year-and-a-half.
In the fall of 2015, Rosburg started his college career as a Spartan.
"I've played for a lot of teams and coaches but I learned a lot along the way,'' he said. "It's been exciting for sure.''
MSU-MINNESOTA RIVALRY: The Gophers hold a 118-46-16 edge in the series which started with a 2-0 Minnesota win on Feb. 19, 1926. The teams didn't play again until January, 1950, and the Gophers won the next 22 games before the teams tied 5-5 in 1955. MSU's first victory over the Gophers was a 2-1 decision on Feb. 1, 1957. This season, the Spartans and Gophers split a series in Minneapolis over Thanksgiving weekend. Minnesota rolled to a 7-2 victory in the series opener but MSU rallied to win the second game, 4-2. The Gophers have won three-straight games at Munn Arena. The Spartans' last home victory in the series was 5-0 win on March 5, 2016, with senior Jake Hildebrand earning a shutout in his last victory as a Spartan.
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS: Since facing Michigan State in late November, Minnesota is 5-2-3 and has won three straight – one at home vs. Penn State and a 5-1 and 2-1 sweep at Notre Dame. The Gophers, who tied Ohio State twice in late November and tied and won at Michigan in early December, have climbed into second place in the Big Ten with 21 points, two behind the first-place Buckeyes (23) and two in front of Michigan, which has played one more game.
The Gophers' top three scorers are upperclassmen, but freshmen are playing a major role in their recent strong run. Rookie forward Sammy Walker is third in team scoring with five goals and eight assists for 13 points. Forward Sampo Ranta is fifth with four goals and seven assists for 11 points. Freshmen Nathan Burke and Blake McLaughlin also have contributed. In fact, McLaughlin scored the first two goals of his career against Notre Dame, one in each game. He scored the winner on Saturday with 7.8 seconds left in the third period.
Veterans Rem Pitlick, Tyler Sheehy and Brent Gates Jr. lead the Gophers in scoring and play on the same line. The GPS unit has combined for 40 points (17-23) in 12 games since being formed on Nov. 23 against MSU.
Pitlick, a junior, has 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points. Sheehy, a senior, has six goals and 12 assists for 18 points, while Gates Jr., who's from Grand Rapids, Mich., has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points.
Sheehy is the top scorer against the Spartans with nine goals and six assists for 15 points in 14 games.
Brannon McManus, a sophomore and former teammate of MSU's Mitchell Lewandowski with the Chicago Steel of the U.S. Hockey League in 2016-17, has eight goals and three assists for 11 points. The Gophers' McLaughlin was a brief teammate of McManus and Lewandowski. He played 11 games with the Steel in 2016-17.
One of the Gophers' strength is in goal as junior Mat Robson is having an excellent season with a 7-4-4 record, a 2.39 goals-against average and a .931 saves percentage. The 6-3, 190-pound Robson, 22, is the only Canadian on the Gophers' 27-man roster, which includes 20 Minnesotans and one player each from Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, California, Arizona, Alaska and Finland.
Senior Eric Schierhorn, the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year as a freshman and sophomore, has played in only seven games this season. He has a 2-4 record, a 2.10 GAA and a .912 saves percentage. Shierhorn, from Anchorage, Alaska, has only started one game since facing the Spartans in the 4-2 loss on Nov. 24.
Robson is 2-0 against MSU while Schierhorn is 9-2-1.
"It seems like everybody we play lately transitions very well,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "Last week, it was Penn State, and Notre Dame transitions well, Michigan too, and Ohio State may be the best in the Big Ten. And now Minnesota.
"They have guys that can skate and their younger guys – McLaughlin, I know him and he can skate and make plays, and Sammy Walker has had a great start. He skates well and takes it to the net.
"They present a lot of challenges. They always have a lot of talent and Bob (Motzko) is a good coach. They'll be a handful.''
Motzko is in his first season at Minnesota. He took over late last March for the retired Don Lucia, who coached the Gophers for 19 seasons and won NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003.
Motzko was assistant under Lucia for four seasons, including the two championship years. He left Minnesota in 2005 become head coach at St. Cloud State where he compiled a 276-192-49 record in 13 seasons and led the Huskies to eight NCAA Tournament appearances and one Frozen Four in 2013.
Minnesota is averaging 2.86 goals per game, which is No. 6 in the Big Ten and 31st in the nation. Defensively, the Gophers are allowing 2.48 goals a game, third in the conference and 20th nationally. The power play is converting at 21.1 percent (2nd Big Ten, 14th nationally), while penalty killing is a stellar 85.5 percent (No. 1 in the Big Ten, 14th in the nation).
HIROSE 3RD STAR IN BIG TEN: Taro Hirose had four points – two goals and two assists – in last weekend's split at Penn State – and was selected as the Big Ten's No. 3 Star. It's the third time the Michigan State junior left wing has been one of the stars of the week. He was the No. 1 star after MSU's non-conference series sweep at Cornell, Oct. 26-27, and the No. 2 star after the series at Minnesota, Nov. 23-24.
Hirose, who is building a strong case to be among the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, leads the nation and Big Ten in scoring (11 goals and a nation-leading 24 assists for 35 points), and is the top scorer in conference games (6-13-19).
Hirose earned his 100th career point as a Spartan last Saturday with a goal with 5.2 seconds left in the first period. He boosted his point total to 101 with an assist on Mitchell Lewandowski's power-play goal in the third period that gave MSU a 5-3 lead and turned out to be the game-winner in a 6-4 victory.
The 5-10, 165-pound forward from Calgary is the first Spartan since Tim Crowder to hit the century mark, and is the 69th player in team history to reach 100 points.
Hirose has points in five of his last six games and has 21 points (6-15) over the last 13 contests.
12 DOWN, 12 TO GO: The Spartans have hit the halfway point in the Big Ten season. They've 3-7-2-2 in conference play with wins at Minnesota and Penn State, a home victory vs. Michigan and ties at Michigan and home against Ohio State. In the tie with U-M, Michigan State earned two points with a win in the shootout. The tie against OSU ended with the Spartans gaining two points with a victory in the 3-on-3 overtime, while the Buckeyes skated away with one point
The Spartans have played every Big Ten twice. They're 1-0-1 in conference play against Michigan; 1-1 vs. Minnesota; 1-1 with Penn State; 0-1-1 vs. Ohio State, 0-2 against Notre Dame and 0-2 vs. Wisconsin.
The second-half of the schedule has Michigan State home for six games - two-game series with Minnesota, Wisconsin and Penn State - on the road for five games – two games at Notre Dame and Ohio State and one game at Michigan and one game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit vs. Michigan.
MSU heads into this weekend two points behind sixth-place Notre Dame, but the Irish have one game in hand. The Spartans are three points in back of fifth-place Wisconsin, which has played two fewer games than MSU. But with each game worth three points, teams can move up – or down – in the standings very quickly.
Next weekend, Michigan State plays at Notre Dame on Friday and Saturday.
IN THE BIG TEN: No. 4/5 Ohio State, which is in first place, visits fourth-place and No. 13/12 Penn State on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Both teams are coming off series splits – Penn State with MSU and OSU with Michigan.
Fifth-place Wisconsin is home against sixth-place Notre Dame, ranked No. 12/13, on Friday, and the teams meet again on Sunday at the United Center in Chicago. The Badgers are playing their first conference series since Dec. 7-8. They were swept by Denver two weeks ago and lost to the U.S. U-18 team, 6-2, last Saturday.
Michigan is off this weekend. The Wolverines suffered a tough blow this week when it was announced that top-scoring forward Josh Norris is out for the season with an undisclosed injury suffered during his stay with the U.S. Team in the World Junior Championship in British Columbia in late December and early January. Norris had 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points in 17 games with the Wolverines this season, and was the team's second-leading scorer.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – It was late in the third period and Michigan State was protecting a 5-4 lead last Saturday at Penn State.
Spartans defenseman Jerad Rosburg was in the corner in the defensive zone and got caught flat-footed while trying to win a battle for a loose puck. He took a heavy hit from a Nittany Lion forward. He fell to the ice and the crowd, led by the student second, roared its approval.
Rosburg picked himself up, got back into the play and 15-20 seconds later, he lined up Penn State's Nikita Pavlychev, a 6-foot-7 center, coming down the middle of the ice. He made a crunching hit on the Nittany Lions forward. The crowd got fired up again, this time for a different reason.
Both hits were legal. Just the type of game Rosburg relishes.
"Ever since I was little, I always enjoyed the physicality part of hockey. I like hitting guys. It's fun,'' said the 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt junior who was born in Minneapolis and has lived in and got involved in hockey in Massachusetts, Indiana, Ohio and Georgia and now Clarksville, Maryland.
No, he didn't grow up in a military family. It's a football family. His father, Jerry, is a long-time college and NFL coach and just finished his 11th season as the special teams coordinator for the Baltimore Ravens. He's also the associate head coach.
"I've always gone after the biggest kid on the ice. So, I thought why not now, and I got a pretty check on (Pavlychev). It was a good battle all weekend at Penn State.''
In his third season as a Spartan, Rosburg has improved his game in all areas, and has made a big impact this season on a team playing three freshmen and one sophomore on defense.
He's playing physical, defending well, contributing more offensively and playing a key role on MSU's second power play with senior defenseman Zach Osburn.
"The older you get, you get a little stronger and figure things out a little more, and now that I'm in the second half of my college career, I've gained more confidence,'' Rosburg said. "I'm a lot stronger, and you have to bring the physicality to the game.
"I think it's a useful tactic to get guys off their game. I look forward to keep bringing that in my game.''
Rosburg hopes he and his teammates can get Minnesota off its game this weekend as Michigan State (7-12-3 overall, 3-7-2-2 Big Ten) plays host to the Gophers (9-8-4, 6-3-3-0) at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m. on Sunday at Munn Arena. Minnesota is coming off a 5-1, 2-1 sweep at Notre Dame and the Spartans played well in a split at Penn State – a 4-2 loss followed by a 6-4 victory.
MSU coach Danton Cole said Rosburg played well at the end of last season and it's carried over into this year.
"When he's physical and aggressive, he plays really well. When he's engaged like that, he's a really good player,'' Cole said. "He's more assertive in every way. He's more physical defensively, he's getting up in the play and shooting the puck more.
"Everything he does has more of a purpose instead of just feeling his way through the game.''
Cole said he had a chat with Rosburg last year about being more aggressive and physical on a consistent basis.
"We laughed about it. I told him that 'You're physical when two things happen – when somebody on the other team runs you and you get mad and you play physical and play really well, or when your dad is at the game,''' the Spartan coach said.
"I said, we have to get your dad to come to every game or I'm going to start running you in warmups and tick you off before the game starts.''
Rosburg's response:
"I think it was a coincidence that my dad was there (that game), but this year I've been doing a better job of getting into it earlier and coming out with a (physical) mentality from the first puck drop. I don't think its been an issue this year.
"My dad hasn't been at any of our games, except the last two (at Penn State). So, I've proven that false,'' Rosburg added with a smile.
In 22 games, Rosburg is MSU's third-highest scoring defenseman with two goals and seven assists for nine points. Freshman Dennis Cesana, Rosburg's regular partner, leads with three goals and 12 assists for 15 points, and Osburn is second with nine points (2-7).
Rosburg missed his freshman year because of a knee injury that required surgery. In his first two seasons on the ice, he had 11 points each year – three goals and eight assists as a red-shirt freshman and one goal and 10 assists as a red-shirt sophomore in 2017-18.
After his first two seasons at MSU, Rosburg was unable to train in the summer because of injuries – because of the knee injury shoulder surgery after the 2016-17 season. Last summer, he was able to train back home in Baltimore with Ravens head strength and conditioning coach Steve Saunders, and later at MSU with Mike Vorkapich, the Spartans' associate head strength and conditioning coach.
"You mature with experience and in the offseason. I was able to get stronger and faster and didn't have to worry about any major injuries and that helps a lot,'' Rosburg said. "I watched a lot of NHL clips and my old clips and tried to get stronger.
"I think I put that together with maybe a little more poise. I feel stronger and everything has come together. I'd glad I'm out there contributing more to my team.''
Rosburg and Cesana have made an impact as a solid defensive pairing. Cesana is a highly skilled offensive defenseman and Rosburg is physical, an improving defender and becoming more of a force on offense, especially getting the puck through from the blue line to the net.
"Dennis is really a good player. I think he's grown a lot since the beginning of the year,'' Rosburg said of one of the top rookie defensemen in the Big Ten and nation. "He's starting to hit his stride and get more confidence, as we've seen in the last four or five games. I like playing with him. Our games complement each other well.
"In today's game, a lot of offense starts from the defense. And that's something I wanted to work on in the offseason, and that's being able to contribute to the offense. I think our whole D-corps has been doing a better job of getting pucks to the net and joining in the play.''
Cole is impressed with the Rosburg-Cesana pairing.
"It's been great. They kind of fit together pretty well,'' he said. "We have three freshmen spread out (on different pairings) and Rosburg and Cesana have done a nice job. "Jerad has done a lot better job on offense. When he steps up and zips it down, it's really good. He and Osburn are good together on the power play – when they're moving without the puck, and looking to find a lane and get a shot on net.''
Rosburg says his father's football coaching career has made an impact on his career as a hockey player.
"He grew up playing hockey (in Minnesota) so he knows the game well. It's competitive and he enjoys it,'' Jerad said. "With his football background, he likes hitting, the physical side of it, and I think I get a lot of that from him. It's in my blood to like the physical side of the game.''
Jerry Rosburg has coached as an assistant at Northern Michigan, Western Michigan, University of Cincinnati, University of Minnesota, Boston College, Notre Dame, and in the NFL with the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons before landing in Baltimore in 2008 under John Harbaugh.
"I've been around pro athletes pretty much my whole life, and even though football and hockey are different, there are a lot of similarities,'' Jerad said. "There's the preparation side of it and how pro athletes and coaches train, prepare and get ready for games.
"Also, defensively and defensively, even though the sports are different in that in hockey you're trying to score a goal and in football, it's a touchdown, a lot of tendencies are similar. Like positioning, space awareness and knee bend and ready positions, so it kind of translates from sport to sport. There are more similarities that you can imagine.
"I think I can learn from watching football players and how defensive backs, linebackers and linemen use their bodies with size and strength for leverage and that's helped me as a defenseman.''
When Jerry Rosburg was coaching at Northern Michigan (1981-86), he met two assistant coaches –Tom Izzo and Steve Mariucci, best friends in high school and at NMU. Rosburg became best friends with them. Mariucci was an assistant football coach and Izzo was a basketball assistant. Years later, Rosburg was in Izzo's wedding.
And when the MSU basketball team came to Pegula Arena at Penn State last Saturday to watch and show their support for the hockey team, Izzo sat with the Rosburgs – Jerry and his wife Sherry. The hoops team was in State College to play the Nittany Lions on Sunday.
Jerad says his path to college hockey was "quite a roller coaster ride.''
He moved from Minneapolis to Boston before he was one year old.
"That's when my hockey started. The neighbors (in Boston) played hockey and I was always playing in the driveway,'' he said. "Then we moved to South Bend and that's where I learned to skate. Next, we moved to Cleveland and I played for the Strongsville Mustangs, and that's where I kind of got my love for hockey. I still talk to a lot of my teammates from that team.''
After six years in Cleveland, the Rosburgs moved to Atlanta and Rosburg played for the Thunder for a year-and-half. Maryland was next but he soon left his new home to play junior hockey in Columbus for U-16 and U-18 teams.
Finally, it was time to move on to the United States Hockey League, the route of the many Division I hockey players.
"I went to play in Cedar Rapids (Iowa) for my last year in high school and got traded two months into the season to Sioux City (Iowa), and I was there for a year-and-a-half.
In the fall of 2015, Rosburg started his college career as a Spartan.
"I've played for a lot of teams and coaches but I learned a lot along the way,'' he said. "It's been exciting for sure.''
MSU-MINNESOTA RIVALRY: The Gophers hold a 118-46-16 edge in the series which started with a 2-0 Minnesota win on Feb. 19, 1926. The teams didn't play again until January, 1950, and the Gophers won the next 22 games before the teams tied 5-5 in 1955. MSU's first victory over the Gophers was a 2-1 decision on Feb. 1, 1957. This season, the Spartans and Gophers split a series in Minneapolis over Thanksgiving weekend. Minnesota rolled to a 7-2 victory in the series opener but MSU rallied to win the second game, 4-2. The Gophers have won three-straight games at Munn Arena. The Spartans' last home victory in the series was 5-0 win on March 5, 2016, with senior Jake Hildebrand earning a shutout in his last victory as a Spartan.
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS: Since facing Michigan State in late November, Minnesota is 5-2-3 and has won three straight – one at home vs. Penn State and a 5-1 and 2-1 sweep at Notre Dame. The Gophers, who tied Ohio State twice in late November and tied and won at Michigan in early December, have climbed into second place in the Big Ten with 21 points, two behind the first-place Buckeyes (23) and two in front of Michigan, which has played one more game.
The Gophers' top three scorers are upperclassmen, but freshmen are playing a major role in their recent strong run. Rookie forward Sammy Walker is third in team scoring with five goals and eight assists for 13 points. Forward Sampo Ranta is fifth with four goals and seven assists for 11 points. Freshmen Nathan Burke and Blake McLaughlin also have contributed. In fact, McLaughlin scored the first two goals of his career against Notre Dame, one in each game. He scored the winner on Saturday with 7.8 seconds left in the third period.
Veterans Rem Pitlick, Tyler Sheehy and Brent Gates Jr. lead the Gophers in scoring and play on the same line. The GPS unit has combined for 40 points (17-23) in 12 games since being formed on Nov. 23 against MSU.
Pitlick, a junior, has 10 goals and 12 assists for 22 points. Sheehy, a senior, has six goals and 12 assists for 18 points, while Gates Jr., who's from Grand Rapids, Mich., has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points.
Sheehy is the top scorer against the Spartans with nine goals and six assists for 15 points in 14 games.
Brannon McManus, a sophomore and former teammate of MSU's Mitchell Lewandowski with the Chicago Steel of the U.S. Hockey League in 2016-17, has eight goals and three assists for 11 points. The Gophers' McLaughlin was a brief teammate of McManus and Lewandowski. He played 11 games with the Steel in 2016-17.
One of the Gophers' strength is in goal as junior Mat Robson is having an excellent season with a 7-4-4 record, a 2.39 goals-against average and a .931 saves percentage. The 6-3, 190-pound Robson, 22, is the only Canadian on the Gophers' 27-man roster, which includes 20 Minnesotans and one player each from Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin, California, Arizona, Alaska and Finland.
Senior Eric Schierhorn, the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year as a freshman and sophomore, has played in only seven games this season. He has a 2-4 record, a 2.10 GAA and a .912 saves percentage. Shierhorn, from Anchorage, Alaska, has only started one game since facing the Spartans in the 4-2 loss on Nov. 24.
Robson is 2-0 against MSU while Schierhorn is 9-2-1.
"It seems like everybody we play lately transitions very well,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "Last week, it was Penn State, and Notre Dame transitions well, Michigan too, and Ohio State may be the best in the Big Ten. And now Minnesota.
"They have guys that can skate and their younger guys – McLaughlin, I know him and he can skate and make plays, and Sammy Walker has had a great start. He skates well and takes it to the net.
"They present a lot of challenges. They always have a lot of talent and Bob (Motzko) is a good coach. They'll be a handful.''
Motzko is in his first season at Minnesota. He took over late last March for the retired Don Lucia, who coached the Gophers for 19 seasons and won NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003.
Motzko was assistant under Lucia for four seasons, including the two championship years. He left Minnesota in 2005 become head coach at St. Cloud State where he compiled a 276-192-49 record in 13 seasons and led the Huskies to eight NCAA Tournament appearances and one Frozen Four in 2013.
Minnesota is averaging 2.86 goals per game, which is No. 6 in the Big Ten and 31st in the nation. Defensively, the Gophers are allowing 2.48 goals a game, third in the conference and 20th nationally. The power play is converting at 21.1 percent (2nd Big Ten, 14th nationally), while penalty killing is a stellar 85.5 percent (No. 1 in the Big Ten, 14th in the nation).
HIROSE 3RD STAR IN BIG TEN: Taro Hirose had four points – two goals and two assists – in last weekend's split at Penn State – and was selected as the Big Ten's No. 3 Star. It's the third time the Michigan State junior left wing has been one of the stars of the week. He was the No. 1 star after MSU's non-conference series sweep at Cornell, Oct. 26-27, and the No. 2 star after the series at Minnesota, Nov. 23-24.
Hirose, who is building a strong case to be among the 10 finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, leads the nation and Big Ten in scoring (11 goals and a nation-leading 24 assists for 35 points), and is the top scorer in conference games (6-13-19).
Hirose earned his 100th career point as a Spartan last Saturday with a goal with 5.2 seconds left in the first period. He boosted his point total to 101 with an assist on Mitchell Lewandowski's power-play goal in the third period that gave MSU a 5-3 lead and turned out to be the game-winner in a 6-4 victory.
The 5-10, 165-pound forward from Calgary is the first Spartan since Tim Crowder to hit the century mark, and is the 69th player in team history to reach 100 points.
Hirose has points in five of his last six games and has 21 points (6-15) over the last 13 contests.
12 DOWN, 12 TO GO: The Spartans have hit the halfway point in the Big Ten season. They've 3-7-2-2 in conference play with wins at Minnesota and Penn State, a home victory vs. Michigan and ties at Michigan and home against Ohio State. In the tie with U-M, Michigan State earned two points with a win in the shootout. The tie against OSU ended with the Spartans gaining two points with a victory in the 3-on-3 overtime, while the Buckeyes skated away with one point
The Spartans have played every Big Ten twice. They're 1-0-1 in conference play against Michigan; 1-1 vs. Minnesota; 1-1 with Penn State; 0-1-1 vs. Ohio State, 0-2 against Notre Dame and 0-2 vs. Wisconsin.
The second-half of the schedule has Michigan State home for six games - two-game series with Minnesota, Wisconsin and Penn State - on the road for five games – two games at Notre Dame and Ohio State and one game at Michigan and one game at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit vs. Michigan.
MSU heads into this weekend two points behind sixth-place Notre Dame, but the Irish have one game in hand. The Spartans are three points in back of fifth-place Wisconsin, which has played two fewer games than MSU. But with each game worth three points, teams can move up – or down – in the standings very quickly.
Next weekend, Michigan State plays at Notre Dame on Friday and Saturday.
IN THE BIG TEN: No. 4/5 Ohio State, which is in first place, visits fourth-place and No. 13/12 Penn State on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. Both teams are coming off series splits – Penn State with MSU and OSU with Michigan.
Fifth-place Wisconsin is home against sixth-place Notre Dame, ranked No. 12/13, on Friday, and the teams meet again on Sunday at the United Center in Chicago. The Badgers are playing their first conference series since Dec. 7-8. They were swept by Denver two weeks ago and lost to the U.S. U-18 team, 6-2, last Saturday.
Michigan is off this weekend. The Wolverines suffered a tough blow this week when it was announced that top-scoring forward Josh Norris is out for the season with an undisclosed injury suffered during his stay with the U.S. Team in the World Junior Championship in British Columbia in late December and early January. Norris had 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points in 17 games with the Wolverines this season, and was the team's second-leading scorer.
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice HockeyAdam Nightingale Postgame Comments | Michigan | December 6, 2025
Saturday, December 06
Adam Nightingale Postgame Comments | Michigan | December 5, 2025
Friday, December 05
Adam Nightingale Postgame Comments | Colgate | November 26, 2025
Wednesday, November 26
Adam Nightingale Postgame Comments | Wisconsin | November 22, 2025
Saturday, November 22