Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography
Neil’s Notebook: Spartan USNTDP Alums Look Forward to Friday’s Matchup
10/17/2019 9:16:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – Patrick Khodorenko is a veteran of exhibition games matching Michigan State and the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-18 team.
The Spartans' senior center has been on both sides of it, playing in this game for the last four seasons. He's won three times with MSU and lost once with the U-18s.
On Friday, Khodorenko will play in his last Michigan State vs. U.S. 18 game, and trying to make it four straight victories against some of the best 17-year-olds in the United States.
The Spartans (1-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) and the U.S. U-18s will meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Munn Arena. The U.S. team is 1-4 against Division I college teams this season and 4-4 overall.
"Playing against Michigan State when I was there was a great experience,'' said Khodorenko, a 6-foot, 198-pounder from Walnut Creek, Calif., who celebrated his 21st birthday last Sunday.
"It was my first game at Munn and that was pretty cool. I wasn't even committed here at that point. But every college game for us was awesome.
"Just experiencing the college atmosphere, the bigger arenas, the student sections and more fans was great. The U.S. team takes these games seriously because they're preparing for international tournaments.''
The Spartans have won the last five games against the NTDP's U-18 team but the games have been competitive and most were close.
When Khodorenko played for Under-18 team, the Spartans pulled out a 3-2 victory in overtime at Munn Arena on Jan. 23, 2016. The U.S. team rallied from a 2-0 deficit and scored twice in the last six minutes of the third period, tying the game with 46 seconds left.
But the Spartans' Thomas Ebbing won it with a power-play goal at 3:09 of overtime.
Khodorenko, playing on a line with Will Lockwood (Michigan) and Keeghan Howdeshell, had two shots on goal but didn't have a point. That U.S. team was coached by current MSU coach Danton Cole.
As a Spartan, Khodorenko is undefeated against the U-18s. MSU won 5-1 on Dec. 4, 2016, 3-0 on Dec. 16, 2017, in Plymouth, and 1-0 last season on Dec. 15, 2018.
"They're always fired up to play us and we have to be fired up to play against them,'' Khodorenko said. "They were a pretty good team last year and we had a close one with them – it was 1-0 and they could have scored a few goals on us but our goalies played pretty well.
"They're always pretty good and pretty fast, so I think it'll be a good test for us.''
Last year's U-18s had eight players drafted in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, and 17 who spent time with the program were drafted overall.
The 2019-20 U.S. 18 Team doesn't have the high-end players like last year but it'll still have a few players drafted early in the NHL Draft next June.
"I still follow the program on social media but I don't really know anyone on the team,'' Khodorenko said. "But (the NTDP) is a great program and they always have a lot of high draft picks so it'll be a good test for us.
"We get to work on some of the things we need to improve on. We have to stick to our game plan. We're bigger, stronger, older and more experienced. They'll make a lot of skilled plays and we have to take advantage of turnovers and capitalize.''
Junior defenseman Tommy Miller and sophomore goalie Drew DeRidder also played for the NTDP's U-18 team and faced the Spartans. Miller is 2-1 and DeRidder 1-1 in the MSU-U-18 rivalry, both losing with the U-18s and winning with the Spartans.
"When you're on the other side, this is really exciting. These are the games you look forward to because you're being challenged,'' said Miller, 20, a 6-2, 193-pounder from West Bloomfield. "And for me playing at Munn for the first time, it was an exciting time. I was looking forward to it all year.
"You're being tested because you're playing older guys. It's nice to see where you stand when you're that young and where you're going to play the next year.
"Now it's fun to go back and play them and see some old faces on the bench and maybe talk to them afterward. I think there are some players on the team whose brothers I played with.''
After splitting their season-opening series at Northern Michigan last weekend – a 5-3 win and 2-0 loss – the Spartans are focused on working on their game, improving and, of course, coming away with a victory against the U.S. team.
"I know how excited they're going to be. I was in their shoes so it's a fun game all around,'' Miller said. "They're going to have a lot of energy and they'll be buzzing around, so we have to play our game, slow them down and not let them get momentum. They have skilled guys and can rack up some points.
"It's a good game for us to play because, instead of a bye week, we have somethings leading up to the end of the week, and stay with it in game mode.''
This year's U-18 team is led by forwards Luke Tuch (Boston University commit), Matthew Beniers (Harvard), Thomas Bordeleau (Michigan), Ty Smilanic (uncommitted), Brett Berard (Providence), Landon Slaggert (Notre Dame), Hunter McKown (uncommitted) defensemen Jake Sanderson (North Dakota), Tyler Kleven (North Dakota), Daniel Laatsch (Wisconsin), and Jacob Truscott (Michigan) and goaltenders Drew Commesso (Boston University) and Noah Grannan (Wisconsin).
"This is the first group coming through that I don't know the guys like I have in the past,'' said Cole, who spent seven seasons (2010-2017) coaching at the National Team Development Program. "But we've seen them play and know what they have.
"There's a lot of high-end guys, they play hard and fast and they're strong. It makes for a good hockey game – a good skating game. They'll make plays and hopefully we'll make plays. It's a good evaluation game. It lets guys get in situations they might not get in, and then we'll head back out on the road the following weekend.''
Next weekend, the Spartans are at Colorado College (1-1), which split its season-opening series with Minnesota. The Tigers won the opener, 3-2, and lost the series finale, 4-3.
"Everything we did well (at Northern Michigan), we want to continue to do it well and there's things we need to improve on,'' Cole said of the focus for this week's practices and the game against the U.S. team. "This week we'll address the things we need to and keep improving.
"It's just getting better. I think we're at a pretty good starting point this year and if we can keep doing it like we have the last couple years, we'll be a pretty dangerous team.''
THE MSU-U.S. U-18 RIVALRY: The Spartans hold a 9-6-1 edge in the series which started with a 6-4 win by the U-18s on Oct. 3, 2000, at Munn Arena. MSU has won the last five meetings. The last time the Spartans lost to the U.S. team was on March 1, 2014 when the U-18s won 4-3 in overtime. Danton Cole was the coach of that U.S. team and goalie Ed Minney, who was an MSU commit, earned the victory, making 20 saves.
Minney, a Spartan from 2013-2017, went 4-0 in the MSU-U.S. U-18 games. He won three times in goal for MSU - 4-1 on Jan. 9, 2015, 3-2 in overtime on Jan. 23, 2016, and 3-0 on Dec. 16, 2017, in Plymouth.
SCOUTING THE U-18S: Team USA is coming off a 4-2 victory at Holy Cross last Sunday to boost its record against college teams to 1-4. The U-18s lost at home to Northern Michigan, 4-3, lost at Notre Dame, 4-2, got shutout 5-0 at Ferris State, lost 2-1 in overtime at Providence before getting a victory at Holy Cross.
The U.S. team is 3-0 in United States Hockey League play in September, starting with an 11-8 victory at Muskegon. They followed up with a 5-2 win at Green Bay and a 4-0 home win against Sioux City.
After eight games, Luke Tuch is the team's top scorer with four goals and five assists for nine points. Thomas Bordeleau (5-3-8) and Brett Berard (4-4-8) at tied for second with eight points. Landon Slaggert (3-2-5), Matthew Beniers (3-2-5) and Chase Yoder (3-2-5) are tied with five points. Ty Smilanic, who's only played in five games, has a goal and two assists.
Goalies Drew Commesso and Noah Grannan are each 2-2 overall.
The U-18 team has a busy weekend ahead. After playing the Spartans, they return home to Plymouth to host the Madison Capitols, a USHL opponent, on Saturday and Sunday.
After facing MSU, the U.S. team will play 12 more games against college teams. They'll play Cornell, Canisius, Miami, Adrian, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Boston University, Maine, Hamline, Minnesota, Michigan and Lake Superior State.
EX-SPARTAN ON U.S. BENCH: Brent Darnell spent four seasons as a player trying to help win hockey games at Michigan State. On Friday, Darnell will be on the opposing team's bench trying to beat the Spartans.
Darnell, an MSU forward from 2011-15, is in his first season as an assistant coach with the National Team Development Program's U-18 team, which is coached by Seth Appert, a former Denver assistant and one-time Rensselaer head coach.
Darnell spent the last three seasons as the director of education for College Hockey Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Division I men's college hockey to prospective players and fans.
Darnell, 27, graduated from MSU in 2015 with a degree in economics.
He was named to NTDP staff as an intern assistant coach last summer.
SPARTAN POTPOURRI: MSU's three seniors from last season are starting this year in the ECHL. Defenseman Zach Osburn is with the Kansas City Mavericks, Brennan Sanford is playing for the Kalamazoo Wings and Cody Milan is with the Cincinnati Cyclones.
Meanwhile, two ex-Spartans are back with Kalamazoo – goalie Jake Hildebrand and forward Tanner Sorenson. Thomas Ebbing is playing for the Greenville (S.C.) Swap Rabbits of the ECHL.
Former Spartan Joe Cox is now in the American Hockey League with the Laval (Quebec) Rocket, a farm team of the Montreal Canadiens. Cox spent the last two seasons in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades. Cox had 27 goals and 61 points last season.
Chris Mueller, a member of MSU's NCAA championship team in 2006-07, is in his first season with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL, after spending the last two years with the Toronto Marlies, also of the AHL. Corey Tropp begins his fourth season with the AHL San Diego Gulls.
Josh Jacobs, a Spartan for one season in 2014-15, is in his third year with the Binghamton Devils of the AHL, a farm team of the New Jersey Devils.
IN THE BIG TEN: In one of college hockey's top series of the weekend, No. 17 (USCHO poll) Wisconsin (1-1, 0-0) plays host to No. 3/2 Minnesota-Duluth in non-conference play on Friday and Saturday. The Bulldogs (1-1) are two-time defending NCAA champions. They started the season ranked No. 1 but were upset last Friday against UMass-Lowell, losing 3-2. UMD rebounded on Saturday, winning 2-1, but slipped in the polls, with Denver (4-0) climbing up to the No. 1 ranking.
Alaska (2-2 overall, 2-0 WCHA) plays a non-conference series at No. 9/8 Penn State (2-0, 0-0) on Thursday and Friday.
In other Friday-Saturday series, Minnesota (1-1, 0-0) plays host to Niagara (0-0); Lake Superior State (2-2, 0-0) is at Michigan (0-1-1, 0-0); and No. 12/13 Ohio State (1-0-1, 0-0) is home against Omaha (2-0).
After just two games into the season, Penn State already has the top scorer in the nation and three players with five points or more.
Senior Nate Sucese has two goals and five assists for a nation-leading seven points after the Nittany Lions swept Sacred Heart, 8-2 and 5-4, last weekend in University Park, Pa.
PSU senior Brandon Biro has two goals and four assists for six points while teammate Cole Hults, a defenseman, had four goals and one assists for five points against Sacred Heart.
The Nitttany Lions were the highest-scoring team in college hockey last season, averaging 4.54 goals per game. This year, they're averaging 6.5.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – Patrick Khodorenko is a veteran of exhibition games matching Michigan State and the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-18 team.
The Spartans' senior center has been on both sides of it, playing in this game for the last four seasons. He's won three times with MSU and lost once with the U-18s.
On Friday, Khodorenko will play in his last Michigan State vs. U.S. 18 game, and trying to make it four straight victories against some of the best 17-year-olds in the United States.
The Spartans (1-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) and the U.S. U-18s will meet at 7 p.m. Friday at Munn Arena. The U.S. team is 1-4 against Division I college teams this season and 4-4 overall.
"Playing against Michigan State when I was there was a great experience,'' said Khodorenko, a 6-foot, 198-pounder from Walnut Creek, Calif., who celebrated his 21st birthday last Sunday.
"It was my first game at Munn and that was pretty cool. I wasn't even committed here at that point. But every college game for us was awesome.
"Just experiencing the college atmosphere, the bigger arenas, the student sections and more fans was great. The U.S. team takes these games seriously because they're preparing for international tournaments.''
The Spartans have won the last five games against the NTDP's U-18 team but the games have been competitive and most were close.
When Khodorenko played for Under-18 team, the Spartans pulled out a 3-2 victory in overtime at Munn Arena on Jan. 23, 2016. The U.S. team rallied from a 2-0 deficit and scored twice in the last six minutes of the third period, tying the game with 46 seconds left.
But the Spartans' Thomas Ebbing won it with a power-play goal at 3:09 of overtime.
Khodorenko, playing on a line with Will Lockwood (Michigan) and Keeghan Howdeshell, had two shots on goal but didn't have a point. That U.S. team was coached by current MSU coach Danton Cole.
As a Spartan, Khodorenko is undefeated against the U-18s. MSU won 5-1 on Dec. 4, 2016, 3-0 on Dec. 16, 2017, in Plymouth, and 1-0 last season on Dec. 15, 2018.
"They're always fired up to play us and we have to be fired up to play against them,'' Khodorenko said. "They were a pretty good team last year and we had a close one with them – it was 1-0 and they could have scored a few goals on us but our goalies played pretty well.
"They're always pretty good and pretty fast, so I think it'll be a good test for us.''
Last year's U-18s had eight players drafted in the first round of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, and 17 who spent time with the program were drafted overall.
The 2019-20 U.S. 18 Team doesn't have the high-end players like last year but it'll still have a few players drafted early in the NHL Draft next June.
"I still follow the program on social media but I don't really know anyone on the team,'' Khodorenko said. "But (the NTDP) is a great program and they always have a lot of high draft picks so it'll be a good test for us.
"We get to work on some of the things we need to improve on. We have to stick to our game plan. We're bigger, stronger, older and more experienced. They'll make a lot of skilled plays and we have to take advantage of turnovers and capitalize.''
Junior defenseman Tommy Miller and sophomore goalie Drew DeRidder also played for the NTDP's U-18 team and faced the Spartans. Miller is 2-1 and DeRidder 1-1 in the MSU-U-18 rivalry, both losing with the U-18s and winning with the Spartans.
"When you're on the other side, this is really exciting. These are the games you look forward to because you're being challenged,'' said Miller, 20, a 6-2, 193-pounder from West Bloomfield. "And for me playing at Munn for the first time, it was an exciting time. I was looking forward to it all year.
"You're being tested because you're playing older guys. It's nice to see where you stand when you're that young and where you're going to play the next year.
"Now it's fun to go back and play them and see some old faces on the bench and maybe talk to them afterward. I think there are some players on the team whose brothers I played with.''
After splitting their season-opening series at Northern Michigan last weekend – a 5-3 win and 2-0 loss – the Spartans are focused on working on their game, improving and, of course, coming away with a victory against the U.S. team.
"I know how excited they're going to be. I was in their shoes so it's a fun game all around,'' Miller said. "They're going to have a lot of energy and they'll be buzzing around, so we have to play our game, slow them down and not let them get momentum. They have skilled guys and can rack up some points.
"It's a good game for us to play because, instead of a bye week, we have somethings leading up to the end of the week, and stay with it in game mode.''
This year's U-18 team is led by forwards Luke Tuch (Boston University commit), Matthew Beniers (Harvard), Thomas Bordeleau (Michigan), Ty Smilanic (uncommitted), Brett Berard (Providence), Landon Slaggert (Notre Dame), Hunter McKown (uncommitted) defensemen Jake Sanderson (North Dakota), Tyler Kleven (North Dakota), Daniel Laatsch (Wisconsin), and Jacob Truscott (Michigan) and goaltenders Drew Commesso (Boston University) and Noah Grannan (Wisconsin).
"This is the first group coming through that I don't know the guys like I have in the past,'' said Cole, who spent seven seasons (2010-2017) coaching at the National Team Development Program. "But we've seen them play and know what they have.
"There's a lot of high-end guys, they play hard and fast and they're strong. It makes for a good hockey game – a good skating game. They'll make plays and hopefully we'll make plays. It's a good evaluation game. It lets guys get in situations they might not get in, and then we'll head back out on the road the following weekend.''
Next weekend, the Spartans are at Colorado College (1-1), which split its season-opening series with Minnesota. The Tigers won the opener, 3-2, and lost the series finale, 4-3.
"Everything we did well (at Northern Michigan), we want to continue to do it well and there's things we need to improve on,'' Cole said of the focus for this week's practices and the game against the U.S. team. "This week we'll address the things we need to and keep improving.
"It's just getting better. I think we're at a pretty good starting point this year and if we can keep doing it like we have the last couple years, we'll be a pretty dangerous team.''
THE MSU-U.S. U-18 RIVALRY: The Spartans hold a 9-6-1 edge in the series which started with a 6-4 win by the U-18s on Oct. 3, 2000, at Munn Arena. MSU has won the last five meetings. The last time the Spartans lost to the U.S. team was on March 1, 2014 when the U-18s won 4-3 in overtime. Danton Cole was the coach of that U.S. team and goalie Ed Minney, who was an MSU commit, earned the victory, making 20 saves.
Minney, a Spartan from 2013-2017, went 4-0 in the MSU-U.S. U-18 games. He won three times in goal for MSU - 4-1 on Jan. 9, 2015, 3-2 in overtime on Jan. 23, 2016, and 3-0 on Dec. 16, 2017, in Plymouth.
SCOUTING THE U-18S: Team USA is coming off a 4-2 victory at Holy Cross last Sunday to boost its record against college teams to 1-4. The U-18s lost at home to Northern Michigan, 4-3, lost at Notre Dame, 4-2, got shutout 5-0 at Ferris State, lost 2-1 in overtime at Providence before getting a victory at Holy Cross.
The U.S. team is 3-0 in United States Hockey League play in September, starting with an 11-8 victory at Muskegon. They followed up with a 5-2 win at Green Bay and a 4-0 home win against Sioux City.
After eight games, Luke Tuch is the team's top scorer with four goals and five assists for nine points. Thomas Bordeleau (5-3-8) and Brett Berard (4-4-8) at tied for second with eight points. Landon Slaggert (3-2-5), Matthew Beniers (3-2-5) and Chase Yoder (3-2-5) are tied with five points. Ty Smilanic, who's only played in five games, has a goal and two assists.
Goalies Drew Commesso and Noah Grannan are each 2-2 overall.
The U-18 team has a busy weekend ahead. After playing the Spartans, they return home to Plymouth to host the Madison Capitols, a USHL opponent, on Saturday and Sunday.
After facing MSU, the U.S. team will play 12 more games against college teams. They'll play Cornell, Canisius, Miami, Adrian, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Boston University, Maine, Hamline, Minnesota, Michigan and Lake Superior State.
EX-SPARTAN ON U.S. BENCH: Brent Darnell spent four seasons as a player trying to help win hockey games at Michigan State. On Friday, Darnell will be on the opposing team's bench trying to beat the Spartans.
Darnell, an MSU forward from 2011-15, is in his first season as an assistant coach with the National Team Development Program's U-18 team, which is coached by Seth Appert, a former Denver assistant and one-time Rensselaer head coach.
Darnell spent the last three seasons as the director of education for College Hockey Inc., a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting Division I men's college hockey to prospective players and fans.
Darnell, 27, graduated from MSU in 2015 with a degree in economics.
He was named to NTDP staff as an intern assistant coach last summer.
SPARTAN POTPOURRI: MSU's three seniors from last season are starting this year in the ECHL. Defenseman Zach Osburn is with the Kansas City Mavericks, Brennan Sanford is playing for the Kalamazoo Wings and Cody Milan is with the Cincinnati Cyclones.
Meanwhile, two ex-Spartans are back with Kalamazoo – goalie Jake Hildebrand and forward Tanner Sorenson. Thomas Ebbing is playing for the Greenville (S.C.) Swap Rabbits of the ECHL.
Former Spartan Joe Cox is now in the American Hockey League with the Laval (Quebec) Rocket, a farm team of the Montreal Canadiens. Cox spent the last two seasons in the ECHL with the Florida Everblades. Cox had 27 goals and 61 points last season.
Chris Mueller, a member of MSU's NCAA championship team in 2006-07, is in his first season with the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL, after spending the last two years with the Toronto Marlies, also of the AHL. Corey Tropp begins his fourth season with the AHL San Diego Gulls.
Josh Jacobs, a Spartan for one season in 2014-15, is in his third year with the Binghamton Devils of the AHL, a farm team of the New Jersey Devils.
IN THE BIG TEN: In one of college hockey's top series of the weekend, No. 17 (USCHO poll) Wisconsin (1-1, 0-0) plays host to No. 3/2 Minnesota-Duluth in non-conference play on Friday and Saturday. The Bulldogs (1-1) are two-time defending NCAA champions. They started the season ranked No. 1 but were upset last Friday against UMass-Lowell, losing 3-2. UMD rebounded on Saturday, winning 2-1, but slipped in the polls, with Denver (4-0) climbing up to the No. 1 ranking.
Alaska (2-2 overall, 2-0 WCHA) plays a non-conference series at No. 9/8 Penn State (2-0, 0-0) on Thursday and Friday.
In other Friday-Saturday series, Minnesota (1-1, 0-0) plays host to Niagara (0-0); Lake Superior State (2-2, 0-0) is at Michigan (0-1-1, 0-0); and No. 12/13 Ohio State (1-0-1, 0-0) is home against Omaha (2-0).
After just two games into the season, Penn State already has the top scorer in the nation and three players with five points or more.
Senior Nate Sucese has two goals and five assists for a nation-leading seven points after the Nittany Lions swept Sacred Heart, 8-2 and 5-4, last weekend in University Park, Pa.
PSU senior Brandon Biro has two goals and four assists for six points while teammate Cole Hults, a defenseman, had four goals and one assists for five points against Sacred Heart.
The Nitttany Lions were the highest-scoring team in college hockey last season, averaging 4.54 goals per game. This year, they're averaging 6.5.
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