Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Get B1G Sweep of Minnesota

By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer

EAST LANSING – It had been 43 years since Michigan State last sweep Minnesota in a two-game series. Finally, the Spartans' drought is over.

And here's a shorter drought that has come to and end: MSU's last Big Ten series sweep was in 2016, but that is also history.

The Spartans on Sunday celebrated their best weekend of the season with its second-straight 5-3 victory over the Gophers and first conference sweep of 2018-19 and extended their winning streak to three games.

MSU broke a 2-2 tie midway through the second period on goals by freshman defenseman Cole Krygier – his first of his college career – and Mitchell Lewandowski and went on to defeat Minnesota in front of 5,631 fans at Munn Arena.

And after spending most of the season in seventh place in the Big Ten, the Spartans, with their six-point weekend, have vaulted up the standings into fourth place with 19 points, one behind Penn State, two in back of second-place Minnesota, and one ahead of Michigan and two points in front of Penn State and Wisconsin.

"That's a big sweep for us. It's the Big Ten,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "Cornell was good – they were 8^th in the country and (a sweep in October) on the road that was fun, and we've had some other good moments.

"But this is the Big Ten and Minnesota has had their way with us in recent years. They did last year and we played some decent games with them.''

The Gophers went 4-0 against MSU last year and 3-0-1 in 2016-17. But with a series split in Minneapolis in late November, the Spartans won this year's series, 3-1, including victories in the last three games.

"Trust me, before the weekend I said if we won in regulation and in a (3-on-3) overtime and got five of six points, we'd have taken that deal,'' the Spartan coach said.

Instead Michigan State played two of its best games of the year, getting contributions from lots of players and making big plays at key times, while gobbling up six points.

"Right from the get-go, the guys played hard, we moved the puck and doing some good things, and the one thing we talked about this afternoon was our approach is the same,'' Cole said. "Whatever happens (in the first game of the series), we have to reassess, learn something and try to be better the next night. We know Minnesota was going to come out to be better.

"I thought our guess our guys did that – they matched (the Gophers), and I loved the compete and confidence in our guys.''

Here's what the second-year Spartan coach also loved, or at least liked a lot:

• Balanced scoring: MSU got goals and points from players not known for their scoring. Freshmen center Adam Goodsir and defenseman Cole Krygier scored their first goals as Spartans, and junior captain Sam Saliba got his third goal of the season and first in 20 games. In addition, senior defenseman Zach Osburn had three assists and was on the ice for four goals. The defense had 11 shots on goal, led by five from Jerad Rosburg and four from Osburn.

• KHL magic: The dynamic, high-scoring line of Patrick Khodorenko, Taro Hirose and Mitchell Lewandowski didn't have to carry the team on its back. The trio had 11 shots on goal but didn't find the net until 12 seconds were left in the middle period when Lewandowski finished a tic-tac-toe play with Khodorenko and Hirose to give MSU a 4-2 lead. Lewandowski also scored midway through the third period to make it 5-3 when an Osburn shot went off his skate.

• Good goaltending, solid defense: Goalie John Lethemon, who made 36 saves, was sharp, played with poise and smothered pucks around his net. The defense was solid in the neutral zone, limiting the Gophers' space and time, and worked hard to clear pucks out of the defensive zone."Belief is a huge thing and guys start to see that we can play with pretty good teams,'' Cole said. "And we have been with Penn State and Ohio State and now this. We've been starting to score some goals, and I think there is a little belief in there and it'll carry us a long way.''

The 10 goals against the Gophers is the Spartans' largest offensive output in a series this season. MSU scored nine goals at Cornell in 5-2 and 4-3 victories in late October.

Michigan State's last sweep of Minnesota was in 1976 when it won 4-1 and 5-4 in overtime on Feb. 6-7 at Williams Arena in Minneapolis. The last Spartans' sweep of the Gophers in East Lansing was on Jan. 5-6, 1973, 6-2 and 3-1 victories. But those games were at Demonstration Hall.

MSU had never swept a series with the Gophers at Munn Arena until this weekend.

"It feels special to be part of a team that pulls that off,'' Osburn said when told about MSU's history against Minnesota. "This is huge for us, not just for the PairWise (Rankings), but for the morale of the team. Everybody is fired up. That's a very good team we just beat. Winning three games and losing one against those guys, that's a special thing for this team, especially the sweep at home.''

Michigan State did not sweep a Big Ten series last season or in 2016-17. Its last conference sweep was at Wisconsin (4-3, 3-1) on Feb. 19-20, 2016. The Spartans' last Big Ten sweep at home was also against Wisconsin, on March 6-7, 2015.

Lewandowski, who also scored two goals in Saturday's 5-3 win and now has 11 for the season, said it's important to keep MSU success against the highly skilled Gophers in perspective.

The Spartans have plenty of challenges ahead, starting with a series next weekend at Notre Dame and then two home games against Wisconsin. Both teams swept MSU in late November and early December, respectively.

"We have to treat next weekend as a regular weekend. We really haven't proved anything,'' Lewandowski said. "The Big Ten is so close that if you lose two games, we could be back in seventh.''

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UP NEXT: The Spartans head back out on the road next weekend with their second meeting of the season with Notre Dame. The teams meet at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday at Compton Family Arena. MSU's next home series is Feb. 1-2 against Wisconsin. The Feb. 1 game starts at 7 p.m. but the Saturday, Feb. 2 contest begins at 5:30 p.m. and will be televised by the Big Ten Network.

OSBURN FLOURISHES: Zach Osburn, Michigan State's only senior defenseman, had one of his best games of the season Sunday with a career-high three assists. He was on the ice for four Spartan goals and had four shots on goal. And he was solid defensively as the Spartans held Minnesota's veteran high-scoring line of Rem Pitlick, Brent Gates Jr. and Tyler Sheehy to one goal.

"I got some opportunities that just ended up working out well,'' he said. "It was one of those things that haven't been coming too often for me, but I've been trying to do the right things – play good on defense and make the right plays on offense.

"Tonight, was one of those nights where it started to fall for me.''

Osburn was part of the play that resulted in freshman Adam Goodsir's first collegiate goal just 5:20 into the first period. Osburn rushed the puck down the middle of the ice, drove to his left inside the Minnesota zone and went to the net to put a shot on goal. The puck was then touched by Logan Lambdin, then by Cody Milan, who made the pass out front to Goodsir.

Osburn's shot or pass into the slot hit a stick and caromed to a wide-open Sam Saliba to the left of the crease and he fired it past Minnesota goalie Mat Robson (22 saves over two periods at 2:32 of the second period to give MSU a 2-1 lead.

And after the Gophers tied the game on Rem Pitlick's goal at 10:27 of the middle period, Osburn set up defense partner Cole Krygier with a perfect pass into Krygier's wheelhouse and his slapshot rocketed into the net at 11:48 to put the Spartans up 3-2, a lead MSU would never lose.

But when Minnesota cut its deficit to 4-3 at 9:31 of the third period, the Spartans answered 1:41 later thanks to a shot by Osburn from the right point. The puck glanced off the skate of Mitchell Lewandowski and slid past goalie Eric Schierhorn, who replaced Robson to start the third period.

"All my teammates played really well. Some of our young guys stepped up – Goodsir had his first goal and Cole Krygier got his first,'' Osburn said. "You know that the KHL line (Patrick Khodorenko, Taro Hirose, Lewandowski) at some point is going to make a difference. It was a big help that other guys that had been pretty dry in the points department made some big plays. It's nice to see those guys get rewarded.''

MSU coach Danton Cole likes what he's seeing from Osburn, a 5-foot-10, 203-pounder from Plymouth who has three goals and 10 assists for 13 points in 24 games.

"Energy is never an issue with Oz. He makes coffee nervous,'' Cole said. "His energy and emotion are outstanding. He's settled his game down, and a lot of it is not working harder but just a lot of wrist shots on net and finding lanes.

"He's doing a great job and brings a dynamic element to us. He can break things out and he can get on the plus side offensively that some other guys can't.''

Minnesota senior left wing Brent Gates Jr., who's from Grand Rapids, Mich., played against Osburn in youth and junior hockey is a big fan of his Spartan opponent.

"I grew up playing against him. He's a good guy and I've always liked him,'' Gates said. "He's a nifty little player so I knew he was capable of that. I'm happy for him that he had a good game.''

Of course, Gates wishes that "good game" was against next week against Notre Dame or down the road against Wisconsin or Michigan.

For the Spartans, the big question is whether they can keep their high-level play going, and maybe even challenge for home ice playoff spot by finishing in the top four in the Big Ten.

"We're a good team. This is the best this team has been and we're starting to show that we can hang with anybody,'' Osburn said. "Sweeping Minnesota is not easy to do or any team.

"This is a big step for us and we're going to try to carry the momentum into next weekend at Notre Dame.''

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SCORING TOUCH RETURNS: After scoring only two goals during a 13-game stretch from Nov. 9 to Dec. 30, sophomore right wing Mitchell Lewandowski has six goals and three assists for nine points in the last six games. And in the last three games – one at Penn State and two at home with Minnesota – he has five goals, two each in the games against the Gophers.

"It's been right place, right time and with good puck luck,'' Lewandowski said. "On Saturday, I just put my stick out twice and Taro (Hirose) passes it right to me.

"It's just going in in for me. Pat (Khodorenko) and Taro are making great plays and tonight on our last goal Oz (Zach Osburn) shoots it and it deflects off my foot and it's in the back of the net.''

Lewandowski, a 5-foot-9, 177-pounder from Clarkston, has 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 24 games. Last season, he 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points in 36 games and was selected as the Big Ten's Freshman of the Year.

"Mitch had a good first half but he's been better since Christmas,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "He's practicing harder, forechecking more and in front of the net more. I'll remind him when he's doing those things that this is when you're successful.

"It started coming a couple of series ago when he had 10 or so attempts on net, and he's starting to slide around and get some one-timers and now stuff is coming to him. It's not coming because his luck has changed, it's coming because he's working in straighter lines. He's a good forechecker and he's going to the front of the net and earning them.

"He's got great stick so when he does that, he's going to score.''

STILL NO. 1: Another day, another game, another multi-point outing for Taro Hirose.

The Spartans junior left wing had two assists on Sunday on Mitchell Lewandowski's two goals for a five-point weekend in the 5-3, 5-3 sweep of Minnesota.

Hirose started the weekend with three assists on Saturday, and he continues to lead the nation in scoring, now with 11 goals and 29 assists for 40 points in 24 games. Last season, Hirose had 42 points (12 goals, 30 assists).

Hirose has at least one point in 12 of his last 14 games and six goals and 20 assists for 26 points during that stretch that started against Notre Dame on Nov. 17.

So, back to the national scoring race. Hirose has a seven-point lead on Mercyhurst defenseman Joseph Duszak, who has 11 goals and 22 assists for 33 points. Penn State's Evan Barratt (14-18-32) and Alex Limoges (11-20-31) are third and fourth, respectively. Mason Jobst of Ohio State is fifth with 30 points (14-16). Hirose also leads the nation in points-per-game at 1.67.

IN THE BIG TEN: Notre Dame and Wisconsin played to a 2-2 tie on Sunday night at the United Center in Chicago. After the scoreless 5-on-5, five-minute overtime, Notre Dame earned two points in the Big Ten standings with a victory in the 3-on-3 overtime. Freshman defenseman Spencer Stastney scored from the left circle with 2:03 left in the OT. The Irish won the series opener 6-4 at Wisconsin on Friday to earn five of six points in the two-game series.

Ohio State boosted its lead in the Big Ten to eight points with a weekend sweep of Penn State, winning 4-1 on Friday and 6-4 on Saturday at University Park, Pa.

Michigan had the week off but returns to Big Ten play this week with two games against Penn State – Thursday in Ann Arbor and Saturday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

In the other Big Ten series this week, Wisconsin and Minnesota, two teams coming off rough weekends, collide on Friday and Saturday in Minneapolis. Ohio State is idle this weekend.