Neil’s Notebook: Spartans’ Furious Rally Leads to Exhilarating Finish at Munn

By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer

EAST LANSING – With five minutes left in the third period, Michigan State trailed Ohio State, 7-4. Four minutes and 13 seconds later, it was 7-7

In one of the craziest, bizarre, exciting finishes in the history of 44-year-old Munn Arena, the Spartans on Friday night treated a crowd of 5,585 to a dramatic three-goal rally to escape the Big Ten series opener with a 7-7 tie with the No. 4/7 Buckeyes.

And then to make things even more exciting, MSU's Logan Lambdin scored in the 3-on-3 overtime to give the Spartans the extra point in the Big Ten standings, and touch off a wild celebration on the ice and in the stands.

As jubilant Spartan fans streamed out of Munn Arena, the best way for many to sum up the last five minutes of regulation, the overtime and the 3-on-3 fun, was "Wow.''

"I don't think I've ever been part of game like this,'' said junior left wing Taro Hirose, who had two goals, one assist and seven shots on goal. "This was a crazy one for the books.''

There have been several crazy, thrilling games at Munn Arena and Friday's should be among the most memorable. The only way it could have been better was if MSU would have won it in the regular overtime and it would go down as a victory in its overall and Big Ten record.

"That doesn't feel like a tie. It was pretty interesting game,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "We didn't give up and kept going, kept throwing pucks at the net. We scored a lot of goals against a very good defensive team.''

MSU and Ohio State close out the two-game series at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Munn Arena.

The Spartans (6-10-3, 2-5-2-2 Big Ten) and Buckeyes (11-4-4, 4-2-3-2) on Friday combined for five goals in the period – three by OSU, two by MSU. Only one goal was scored in the second period, as Ohio State took a 4-2 lead.

So, it was pretty much of a normal game at that point. The third period was not so normal.

The teams combined for eight goals – five for the Spartans and three for the Buckeyes, who led 4-3, 5-3, 6-3, 6-4, 7-4 before MSU's late fireworks.

"At that point, we we're playing like we had nothing to lose. We were trying to put the puck on net, keep working and just try to get the next one,'' said junior center Patrick Khodorenko, who had four assists, three in the third period. "I don't know if they thought they had the game in the bag, but we never gave up.

"We got the power-play goal, some good bounces and kept pushing, and the crowd really helped.''

Here's how the Spartans avoided a loss to the Buckeyes:

Twenty-five seconds after Dakota Joshua gave OSU a 7-4 cushion, MSU defenseman Zach Osburn's wrist shot from the top of the right circle deflected high off the left post and into the net at 15:25 to reduce the deficit to two goals at 7-5.

Taro Hirose made it 6-5 with a power-play goal at 16:31, and suddenly the Spartans were within striking distance with 3:29 left and the crowd fired up. Khodorenko's spin-around backhander from the right circle went off Hirose's skate and slid past OSU goalie Sean Romeo.

With goalie Drew DeRidder off for a 6^th attacker, Khodorenko, from behind the net, backhanded the puck out front and it slid all the way to the point in the middle. Defenseman Dennis Cesana moved up and fired and the puck low into the left corner of the net, tying the game with 47 seconds left.

The three MSU goals came within a span of 3 minutes and 48 seconds.
The Spartans outshot the Buckeyes 5-1 in the five-minute overtime but couldn't duplicate their third-period scoring prowess. Khodorenko had a good look from the right circle but Romeo made the save and Khodorenko's follow-up on the rebound hit the side of the net.

But the excitement wasn't over. In the 3-on-3 overtime, the first step in determining which teams earns two points in the Big Ten standings and which comes away with one, MSU controlled the puck for the first few minutes. OSU finally got possession but didn't threaten.

Lambdin had a good chance driving down the right wing and testing Romeo with a backhander. Khodorenko then clanked a shot off the crossbar. A few minutes later, Lambdin got another scoring opportunity. And he didn't miss.

On a 3-on-2 rush, Mitchell Lewandowski skated over the OSU blue line, dropped the puck off to Osburn and drifted to his right. Osburn slid a perfect pass to Lambdin in the left circle. Lambdin skated deep into the circle, saw an opening and fired the puck over Romeo's shoulder and into the middle of the net.

"Lewie had it coming down the wall and he drew the d-man to the middle and dropped it to Ozzie and he did a nice job of squaring up the goalie,'' Lambdin said. "The goalie came out really far and when Ozzie gave me that pass, he gave me pretty much of an open net to bury the puck.

"I was kind of shocked I had the open net and probably waited longer than I should.''

"Logan had a great weekend (at the GLI) and was really skating today,'' Cole said. "I liked that he shot the puck. Too often, we don't shoot it but tonight we did.''

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Lambdin scored to cut OSU's lead to 6-4 at 13:55 of the third period and continue his offensive success against the Buckeyes. With one goal on Friday – his 3-on-3 OT goal doesn't count in NCAA statistics – the 5-foot-8, 177-pound junior left wing from Newport, Mich., now has six goals and two assists for eight points in 12 games against Ohio State.

"I've had some good luck against Ohio State. I don't know why,'' Lambdin said. "I just have to keep building off these games I have against Ohio State and keep it moving forward toward other teams as well.''

Asked what clicked in the last five minutes of the third period, Lambdin just said "it was just desperation.''

"Our guys just thought there was a chance to jump back into it and we jumped all over it,'' he said. "Everyone was going. We got a couple of lucky bounces and with hard work, those bounces come, and tonight they came at the right time.''

MSU's high-scoring KHL line combined for 10 points with three goals and seven assists. Hirose had two goals and one assist, Khodorenko had four assists while Lewandowski had one goal and two assists.

Cesana, Osburn, Milan and Lambdin also scored for MSU. Cesana had two assists and Osburn and Milan also picked up one assist.

The Spartans' defense chipped in offensively with one of its best games of the season, contributing two goals and five assists. Jerad Rosburg and Cole Krygier also picked up assists.

The defensemen were getting pucks through to the net, creating several scoring chances. Cesana was originally credited for MSU's second goal of the first period but it was later given to Lewandowski, who tipped Cesana's shot from the point past Romeo.

"We're so much more dangerous when our D can get the puck through,'' Hirose said. "A lot of our guys like to go to the net to get tips and rebounds. When our defense is shooting for sticks, it makes us more dangerous.''

For sure, both teams will be focusing on fewer turnovers and defensive mistakes and fewer red lights flashing behind their goaltenders in Saturday's rematch.

"They have a lot of good offensive players that can score so we have to work on containing them better,'' Hirose said. "We'd like to score eight goals again, but we'll see.''

Ohio State's top line of senior Mason Jobst and freshmen Gustaf Westlund and Quinn Preston combined or four goals and six assists for 10 points and amazing 20 shots on goal. Jobst had a goal and three assists, Westlund scored two goals – the first two of his college career – and assisted on one, while Preston, who's from Trenton, Mich., had a goal and two assists.

Tanner Laczynski, defenseman Ryan O'Connell and Joshua also scored for the Buckeyes, who are unbeaten in their last six games at 3-0-3.

Jobst has been tough on the Spartans in his career at OSU. With four points Friday, Jobst has 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points in 17 games against MSU.

"When it was 6-4 and 7-4, we had made some big mistakes, and that's the game of hockey,'' Cole said. "We didn't take care things a few times and let Drew (DeRidder) out to dry. But I still thought we were doing an awful lot right. We had a little lull at 6-3, before we got it to 6-4. We had a few shifts where I didn't like the energy.

"Then we had a shift where we had a couple shots on net and there was a little bit of life and I liked it.''

It's doubtful Saturday's rematch will involve 14 goals and eight coming in the third period. But it could still be as exciting, just with fewer goals and more saves by the goalies.

"It's a good win, it's good stuff and now let's build on it,'' Cole said. "Ohio State will be good tomorrow. They're mad and a very good team, and it's going to harder game. I'm looking forward to it. I love games like that.''

STANLEY CUP A BIG HIT: MSU players, coaches and fans in the building were excited to see the Stanley Cup at Munn Arena on Friday night. The lines to get a look at the Cup, and maybe take a picture with it, were long and stretched from the Cup's perch on the north concourse all the way around the east goal to the south concourse toward the west goal. Fans were excited and patient.

Michigan State players got to visit with the Cup in the players' lounge.

"It's a cool feeling to have that here. Everyone went to take a look at it,'' MSU junior left wing Logan Lambdin said. "It's a cool experience to see it when you get the chance.''

MSU coach Danton Cole has his name on the Cup and is one of 11 Spartans to hoist it after winning the Stanley Cup. He won with the New Jersey Devils in 1995 with a sweep of the Detroit Red Wings.

"It was fun. I've seen it a few times since we won it,'' he said. "We had a reunion in 2015 and it was kind of cool. Hockey players and coaches spend their whole lives thinking about (winning the Cup). I think I scored a million Game 7 overtime Stanley Cup winning goals.

"I think it's the most famous of the league trophies. It's a big part of my life. It's not a big part of who I am. I'm a lot more that – seeing my kids and seeing my faith and that's a lot more what I am as a man.

"But it brings back a lot of good memories, and you put a lot into this game and then you have something like that, and my name is on there for a while.''

MSU, OSU NOTES: Taro Hirose, with two goals and an assist, has taken over the national scoring lead with 31 points – nine goals and a nation-leading 22 assists. He's one point ahead of Penn State's Alex Limoges (11-19-30) and two up on the Nittany Lions' Evan Barratt (13-16-29). Limoges had one point – an empty-net goal – on Friday at Wisconsin, while Barratt didn't play for PSU because he's with the U.S. Junior Team in the World Junior Championships in Vancouver. Hirose's first goal on Friday came off a 3-on-2 rush at 3:49 of the first period to tie it, 1-1. Mitchell Lewandowski's pass set up Hirose in front of the net to the left. Hirose cut to his right and easily backhanded the puck past sprawled OSU goalie Sean Romeo.

MSU center Adam Goodsir, a freshman from Okemos, collected his first collegiate point on Friday with an assist on the Spartans' sixth goal at 16:31 of the third period, cutting Ohio State's lead to 7-6. On the same play, freshman defenseman Cole Krygier got the first assist for his second career point.

The goaltenders – Drew DeRidder of MSU and Sean Romeo of OSU – didn't have their best games and, at times, didn't get a lot of help from teammates. Each gave up seven goals. DeRidder made 32 saves in 65 minutes, while Romeo stopped 29 shots. In the third period, Romeo made three saves and allowed five goals.

The last time Michigan State scored seven goals was in a 7-4 victory over New Hampshire at Munn Arena on Nov. 7, 2015. The last time the Spartans allowed seven was last season in a 7-2 loss at Penn State on Nov. 25, 2017.

The last time Ohio State put up seven goals or more was on Dec. 3, 2016, in an 8-3 victory at Minnesota. The last time the Buckeyes allowed seven or more goals was earlier this season in an 8-2 loss at home against Bowling Green on Oct. 26, 2018.

IN THE BIG TEN: No. 7/8 Denver scored three goals in the first five minutes of the third period to break a 2-2 tie and went on to a 6-3 victory over Wisconsin in an opener of a non-conference series in Madison.

Penn State went on the road and defeated Minnesota, 4-2, at Mariucci Arena in Minneapolis. The Nittany Lions carried a 2-1 lead into the third period, went up 3-2 at 1:23, saw their lead trimmed to 3-2 at 7:11, and then held on the rest of the way, scoring an empty-net goal by Alex Limoges with 18 seconds left to seal the win.

Wisconsin and Denver and Penn State and Minnesota complete their series on Saturday night.

Notre Dame and Michigan are playing one conference game this weekend,
outdoors at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday afternoon.