Neil’s Notebook: Lethemon’s Saves and Outstanding Defensive Effort Lead to B1G Win at No. 6 Penn State
11/9/2019 9:07:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Michigan State goaltender John Lethemon said "it was just another game."
But really . . . really . . . it wasn't.
Lethemon's game was absolutely brilliant. And arguably the best the Spartans' senior has played at MSU.
And no, Lethemon didn't single-handedly lift Michigan State to a 2-0 victory over No. 6/6 Penn State here Friday. But he definitely was the catalyst.
He made a career high 48 saves and stopped six or seven one-time shots from the faceoff circles, and his teammate battled hard in defending the Nittany Lions' high-powered offense.
The end result was the Spartans earning their most satisfying victory of the season in their first Big Ten game of 2019-20.
With MSU leading 1-0 with 2:15 left in the third period, Lethemon made a spectacular save on Penn State's Nikita Pavlychev on an a highly dangerous one-timer from the right circle.
Thirteen seconds later, MSU senior forward Logan Lambdin scored into an empty net to seal the hard-fought victory over arguably the most dynamic offensive team in the nation.
"I felt good and had some good reads, but it's shots we work on in practice so I'm well-prepared for that,'' said Lethemon, 23, a 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Northville, after earning his fifth career shutout and first since his junior year – a 2-0 win at Wisconsin on Jan. 12, 2018.
"It's just like any game because you're battling for 60 minutes and not getting too high or low. You're keeping your composure and just taking it shot by shot.''
On Friday, in front of a sellout crowd of 6,071 at Pegula Arena, Lethemon saw all sorts of shots from all areas of the ice – from the corners, faceoff circles, a few in the slot and near the crease, several from the point and even some from the neutral zone.
He made 16 saves in the first period, 19 in the second and "only" 13 in the third period in which the Spartans' defense did an excellent job of retrieving pucks getting them out of their zone. Still, every time the Nittany Lions came into the MSU zone, they were a threat to tie the game.
"We've been playing these guys for the last four years and you know how it's going to be,'' Lethemon said. "You try to maintain your focus and be ready for the next shot.''
For sure, the Spartans and Lethemon had some good puck luck around their goal with Penn State missing a few open nets and shots that were blocked by the MSU defense and forwards.
All in all, it was a great bounce back for Michigan State coming off two home losses against Cornell last weekend.
"We didn't get the results we wanted against Cornell so to come in and play another ranked team and get a win is huge for our team and our confidence,'' Lethemon said. "We want to keep things going.''
The Spartans (3-4 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) will try for a sweep when they face the Nittany Lions (6-2, 2-1-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Pegula Arena.
"Soon as we get back to the hotel, we'll start focusing on Saturday,'' Lethemon said. "We didn't come here to win one. We came here to win two.''
Just about every time Lethemon made a big save was a key moment in Friday's game and there were several others, too.
Patrick Khodorenko scored the game-winning goal at 13:39 of the second period, off a faceoff in the right circle in which he won and got the puck back to Mitchell Lewandowski, whose shot caromed off the boards behind the net and came back out front to Khodorenko.
And MSU skated off four power plays, including three in the second period and a crucial 5-on-3 PSU man advantage for two minutes. The Nittany Lions' power play came into the game converting on 31.4 percent of their chances. On Friday, they connected on 0 percent.
MSU coach Danton Cole loved his team's energy, the way it battled and hung in there in a challenging third period in which it moved the puck out of its zone effectively, and, of course, the play by Lethemon.
"I loved that (game). I'd like it to be a little prettier, but that was a pretty gutty effort against a really good team,'' he said. "John was outstanding. He was really quick and going side to side, he did a nice job.
"When goals are scored in the NHL and in college hockey, those passes go across the midline and they had several of them, and Johnny sniffed them out and he was ahead of it. There is some good hockey sense there, along with some great stays, and he held his ground and had a heckuva game.''
When asked during his post-game press conference what he thought of Lethemon's game-saving save on Pavlychev, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound center from Yaroslavl, Russia, Cole had a great reply.
"I liked it. I'm a big fan of goalies,'' he said. "Penn State puts a lot of pressure on you. It's hard for not just the goalies but for the team to keep that focus and keep battling.''
The Nittany Lions love to put shots on net from almost anywhere on the ice and hope for rebounds and good bounces.
On Friday, Penn State was credited with 101 attempted shots. That's an amazing number, as is MSU's 31 blocked shots.
"I thought our guys closed and stayed in their lanes and our sticks were good,'' Cole said. "There were a lot of areas and moments where we did some good things and were able to play some hockey and not just backcheck and defend.
"We have to do more of that. But mentally, the guys were in it for 60. We limited odd-man rushes and their transition game a little. I think we can be even better and I think we can generate more offense as well.''
Michigan State was outshot 16-4 in the first period but actually held a 7-1 edge in shots early in the second period and were only outshot 13-11 in the final 20 minutes. The Spartans finished with 24 shots on goal and 46 attempts.
While Penn State failed to score on four power plays, the fourth in the final 1:29 of the game, Michigan State did not have any power plays.
The last time a Spartan opponent had no penalties was Notre Dame on Dec. 2, 2017 – a 2-0 Irish victory at Munn Arena.
In the end, it didn't matter Friday because Lethemon was superb, MSU's penalty killing was aggressive and solid, the defense and forwards battled hard, winning 1-on-1 battles, blocking shots and diving to chips pucks out of danger.
"We're trying to find ourselves as a team and where we're going to be. We're building a pyramid and that base has to be exceptional hard work and battle, and that's kind of how we're built right now,'' Cole said. "We're not going to get much done if we don't.
"I thought everyone was relentless and resolute and Lethemon was outstanding. Every time we slipped or made a mistake, he was there. You don't get a fluke shutout against Penn State. You're going to have to make some big time saves, probably a few too many. We'll try to eliminate some of those.''
KHODORENKO DELIVERS: Patrick Khodorenko's success against Penn State continued Friday as he scored the only goal MSU needed to shock the Nittany Lions.
The senior center now has 13 points in 13 games vs. PSU – 4 goals and 9 assists.
MSU took a 1-0 lead at 13:39 of the second period when Khodorenko and Mitchell Lewandowski were opportunistic after a faceoff in the right circle in the Penn State zone.
Khodorenko won it, got the puck back to Lewandowski, who moved into the slot. His wrist shot went right wide, bounced off the boards and came back into the crease area. Khodorenko controlled the bouncing puck, moved to his left and tapped it off the pads of goalie Peyton Jones and into the left corner of the net.
"It was kind of a set play to Lewie to get that shot off,'' said Khodorenko, who now has two goals and six assists for a team-leading eight points. "I just won (the faceoff) and got it back to him and Lewie ended up coming around and he shot it.
"He was shooting at the net but the puck came off the boards and I was going to the net. It bounced back out and was still bouncing but I shot it off the goalie's pad and in.
"We'll take 'em any way we can get them.''
Like his teammates, Khodorenko credited goalie John Lethemon and his 48 saves for the victory.
"John played unbelievable,'' Khodorenko said. "We battled hard all the way through and he made a lot of saves for us when we needed them.
"That's their thing. Penn State shoots the puck from everywhere – the corners, the blue line and with their defense, every time they get the puck (in the offensive zone), it's a one-timer.
"But we did a pretty good job of blocking shots and controlling rebounds.''
Khodorenko said that to skate off with a series sweep on Saturday, the Spartans will to play even harder and create more scoring chances and get stellar goaltending.
"We have to play harder, especially in our defensive zone because they're going to come harder than they did tonight,'' he said. "We need to convert more of our rushes. We had some rushes where we didn't get a shot off. We need to get more pucks on net and that'll give us more scoring opportunities.''
SACRIFICING FOR THE WIN: Michigan State did a great job of blocking shots with their bodies and getting sticks on shots to deflect them away from the net.
Overall, the Spartans were credited with 31 blocked shots, with senior defenseman Jerad Rosburg leading the way with six. Senior forward and co-captain Sam Saliba blocked five shots. Junior defenseman Tommy Miller and freshman forward Josh Nodler each blocked three.
LINE CHANGES: The Spartans started the game with changes to the top three forward lines and even changed some of the new lines during the game, depending on second period penalties and different situations.
Center Patrick Khodorenko was back with longtime linemate Mitchell Lewandowski on left wing with Brody Stevens joining the group on right wing.
Tommy Apap centered a pair of freshmen – Nico Müller on right wing and Jagger Joshua on the left.
Meanwhile, freshman center Josh Nodler worked with seniors Logan Lambdin and Sam Saliba. A fourth unit included sophomore Adam Goodsir centering juniors Austin Kamer and Gianluca Esteves, and junior Jake Smith skated as the extra forward.
For parts of the second and third periods, MSU coach Danton Cole had several new combinations out on the ice.
"Those penalties (in the second period) screwed things up and we got back to it in the third period,'' he said. "We got back into a good rhythm. We rolled four lines in the third period and then when down to three with seven minutes left.''
Cole even changed up the defensive pairings at times. Jerad Rosburg usually plays with Dennis Cesana and twins Cole and Christian Krygier have been teamed with each other this season. In the second period, Cole Krygier played with Rosburg and Christian Krygier was teamed with Cesana.
Tommy Miller and Butrus Ghafari stayed together.
IN THE BIG TEN: Notre Dame rallied to tie Ohio State late in the third period and then won 3-2 in overtime on Pierce Crawford's goal at with 61 seconds left.
The No. 9/8 Buckeyes (6-2-1, 2-1-0) broke a 1-1 tie on Carson Meyer's goal with 3:17 left in regulation, but the No. 5/5 Irish (6-0-1, 2-0-1) tied it 1:20 later on Trevor Janicke's goal, forcing overtime at Notre Dame.
In the other conference series, Minnesota (3-4-2, 0-1-2-1) and Michigan (3-4-2, 0-2-1-0) played to a 1-1 tie in Ann Arbor. The Gophers captured the extra point in the Big Ten standings on freshman Jaxon Nelson's goal in the 3-on-3 overtime.
Former Michigan goalie Jack LaFontaine, who transferred to Minnesota this year after playing junior hockey last season, made 33 saves in his return to Yost Arena.
In a non-conference series, No. 12/12 Wisconsin (5-4-0, 0-2-0) defeated No. 20 Omaha (4-2-1), 4-2, in Omaha. The Badgers broke a 1-1 tie with two goals in less than four minutes late in the second period.
Ohio State and Notre Dame, Minnesota and Michigan and Wisconsin and Omaha meet again on Saturday.
MSUSpartans.com
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Michigan State goaltender John Lethemon said "it was just another game."
But really . . . really . . . it wasn't.
Lethemon's game was absolutely brilliant. And arguably the best the Spartans' senior has played at MSU.
And no, Lethemon didn't single-handedly lift Michigan State to a 2-0 victory over No. 6/6 Penn State here Friday. But he definitely was the catalyst.
He made a career high 48 saves and stopped six or seven one-time shots from the faceoff circles, and his teammate battled hard in defending the Nittany Lions' high-powered offense.
The end result was the Spartans earning their most satisfying victory of the season in their first Big Ten game of 2019-20.
With MSU leading 1-0 with 2:15 left in the third period, Lethemon made a spectacular save on Penn State's Nikita Pavlychev on an a highly dangerous one-timer from the right circle.
Thirteen seconds later, MSU senior forward Logan Lambdin scored into an empty net to seal the hard-fought victory over arguably the most dynamic offensive team in the nation.
"I felt good and had some good reads, but it's shots we work on in practice so I'm well-prepared for that,'' said Lethemon, 23, a 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Northville, after earning his fifth career shutout and first since his junior year – a 2-0 win at Wisconsin on Jan. 12, 2018.
"It's just like any game because you're battling for 60 minutes and not getting too high or low. You're keeping your composure and just taking it shot by shot.''
On Friday, in front of a sellout crowd of 6,071 at Pegula Arena, Lethemon saw all sorts of shots from all areas of the ice – from the corners, faceoff circles, a few in the slot and near the crease, several from the point and even some from the neutral zone.
He made 16 saves in the first period, 19 in the second and "only" 13 in the third period in which the Spartans' defense did an excellent job of retrieving pucks getting them out of their zone. Still, every time the Nittany Lions came into the MSU zone, they were a threat to tie the game.
"We've been playing these guys for the last four years and you know how it's going to be,'' Lethemon said. "You try to maintain your focus and be ready for the next shot.''
For sure, the Spartans and Lethemon had some good puck luck around their goal with Penn State missing a few open nets and shots that were blocked by the MSU defense and forwards.
All in all, it was a great bounce back for Michigan State coming off two home losses against Cornell last weekend.
"We didn't get the results we wanted against Cornell so to come in and play another ranked team and get a win is huge for our team and our confidence,'' Lethemon said. "We want to keep things going.''
The Spartans (3-4 overall, 1-0 Big Ten) will try for a sweep when they face the Nittany Lions (6-2, 2-1-0) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Pegula Arena.
"Soon as we get back to the hotel, we'll start focusing on Saturday,'' Lethemon said. "We didn't come here to win one. We came here to win two.''
Just about every time Lethemon made a big save was a key moment in Friday's game and there were several others, too.
Patrick Khodorenko scored the game-winning goal at 13:39 of the second period, off a faceoff in the right circle in which he won and got the puck back to Mitchell Lewandowski, whose shot caromed off the boards behind the net and came back out front to Khodorenko.
And MSU skated off four power plays, including three in the second period and a crucial 5-on-3 PSU man advantage for two minutes. The Nittany Lions' power play came into the game converting on 31.4 percent of their chances. On Friday, they connected on 0 percent.
MSU coach Danton Cole loved his team's energy, the way it battled and hung in there in a challenging third period in which it moved the puck out of its zone effectively, and, of course, the play by Lethemon.
"I loved that (game). I'd like it to be a little prettier, but that was a pretty gutty effort against a really good team,'' he said. "John was outstanding. He was really quick and going side to side, he did a nice job.
"When goals are scored in the NHL and in college hockey, those passes go across the midline and they had several of them, and Johnny sniffed them out and he was ahead of it. There is some good hockey sense there, along with some great stays, and he held his ground and had a heckuva game.''
When asked during his post-game press conference what he thought of Lethemon's game-saving save on Pavlychev, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound center from Yaroslavl, Russia, Cole had a great reply.
"I liked it. I'm a big fan of goalies,'' he said. "Penn State puts a lot of pressure on you. It's hard for not just the goalies but for the team to keep that focus and keep battling.''
The Nittany Lions love to put shots on net from almost anywhere on the ice and hope for rebounds and good bounces.
On Friday, Penn State was credited with 101 attempted shots. That's an amazing number, as is MSU's 31 blocked shots.
"I thought our guys closed and stayed in their lanes and our sticks were good,'' Cole said. "There were a lot of areas and moments where we did some good things and were able to play some hockey and not just backcheck and defend.
"We have to do more of that. But mentally, the guys were in it for 60. We limited odd-man rushes and their transition game a little. I think we can be even better and I think we can generate more offense as well.''
Michigan State was outshot 16-4 in the first period but actually held a 7-1 edge in shots early in the second period and were only outshot 13-11 in the final 20 minutes. The Spartans finished with 24 shots on goal and 46 attempts.
While Penn State failed to score on four power plays, the fourth in the final 1:29 of the game, Michigan State did not have any power plays.
The last time a Spartan opponent had no penalties was Notre Dame on Dec. 2, 2017 – a 2-0 Irish victory at Munn Arena.
In the end, it didn't matter Friday because Lethemon was superb, MSU's penalty killing was aggressive and solid, the defense and forwards battled hard, winning 1-on-1 battles, blocking shots and diving to chips pucks out of danger.
"We're trying to find ourselves as a team and where we're going to be. We're building a pyramid and that base has to be exceptional hard work and battle, and that's kind of how we're built right now,'' Cole said. "We're not going to get much done if we don't.
"I thought everyone was relentless and resolute and Lethemon was outstanding. Every time we slipped or made a mistake, he was there. You don't get a fluke shutout against Penn State. You're going to have to make some big time saves, probably a few too many. We'll try to eliminate some of those.''
KHODORENKO DELIVERS: Patrick Khodorenko's success against Penn State continued Friday as he scored the only goal MSU needed to shock the Nittany Lions.
The senior center now has 13 points in 13 games vs. PSU – 4 goals and 9 assists.
MSU took a 1-0 lead at 13:39 of the second period when Khodorenko and Mitchell Lewandowski were opportunistic after a faceoff in the right circle in the Penn State zone.
Khodorenko won it, got the puck back to Lewandowski, who moved into the slot. His wrist shot went right wide, bounced off the boards and came back into the crease area. Khodorenko controlled the bouncing puck, moved to his left and tapped it off the pads of goalie Peyton Jones and into the left corner of the net.
"It was kind of a set play to Lewie to get that shot off,'' said Khodorenko, who now has two goals and six assists for a team-leading eight points. "I just won (the faceoff) and got it back to him and Lewie ended up coming around and he shot it.
"He was shooting at the net but the puck came off the boards and I was going to the net. It bounced back out and was still bouncing but I shot it off the goalie's pad and in.
"We'll take 'em any way we can get them.''
Like his teammates, Khodorenko credited goalie John Lethemon and his 48 saves for the victory.
"John played unbelievable,'' Khodorenko said. "We battled hard all the way through and he made a lot of saves for us when we needed them.
"That's their thing. Penn State shoots the puck from everywhere – the corners, the blue line and with their defense, every time they get the puck (in the offensive zone), it's a one-timer.
"But we did a pretty good job of blocking shots and controlling rebounds.''
Khodorenko said that to skate off with a series sweep on Saturday, the Spartans will to play even harder and create more scoring chances and get stellar goaltending.
"We have to play harder, especially in our defensive zone because they're going to come harder than they did tonight,'' he said. "We need to convert more of our rushes. We had some rushes where we didn't get a shot off. We need to get more pucks on net and that'll give us more scoring opportunities.''
SACRIFICING FOR THE WIN: Michigan State did a great job of blocking shots with their bodies and getting sticks on shots to deflect them away from the net.
Overall, the Spartans were credited with 31 blocked shots, with senior defenseman Jerad Rosburg leading the way with six. Senior forward and co-captain Sam Saliba blocked five shots. Junior defenseman Tommy Miller and freshman forward Josh Nodler each blocked three.
LINE CHANGES: The Spartans started the game with changes to the top three forward lines and even changed some of the new lines during the game, depending on second period penalties and different situations.
Center Patrick Khodorenko was back with longtime linemate Mitchell Lewandowski on left wing with Brody Stevens joining the group on right wing.
Tommy Apap centered a pair of freshmen – Nico Müller on right wing and Jagger Joshua on the left.
Meanwhile, freshman center Josh Nodler worked with seniors Logan Lambdin and Sam Saliba. A fourth unit included sophomore Adam Goodsir centering juniors Austin Kamer and Gianluca Esteves, and junior Jake Smith skated as the extra forward.
For parts of the second and third periods, MSU coach Danton Cole had several new combinations out on the ice.
"Those penalties (in the second period) screwed things up and we got back to it in the third period,'' he said. "We got back into a good rhythm. We rolled four lines in the third period and then when down to three with seven minutes left.''
Cole even changed up the defensive pairings at times. Jerad Rosburg usually plays with Dennis Cesana and twins Cole and Christian Krygier have been teamed with each other this season. In the second period, Cole Krygier played with Rosburg and Christian Krygier was teamed with Cesana.
Tommy Miller and Butrus Ghafari stayed together.
IN THE BIG TEN: Notre Dame rallied to tie Ohio State late in the third period and then won 3-2 in overtime on Pierce Crawford's goal at with 61 seconds left.
The No. 9/8 Buckeyes (6-2-1, 2-1-0) broke a 1-1 tie on Carson Meyer's goal with 3:17 left in regulation, but the No. 5/5 Irish (6-0-1, 2-0-1) tied it 1:20 later on Trevor Janicke's goal, forcing overtime at Notre Dame.
In the other conference series, Minnesota (3-4-2, 0-1-2-1) and Michigan (3-4-2, 0-2-1-0) played to a 1-1 tie in Ann Arbor. The Gophers captured the extra point in the Big Ten standings on freshman Jaxon Nelson's goal in the 3-on-3 overtime.
Former Michigan goalie Jack LaFontaine, who transferred to Minnesota this year after playing junior hockey last season, made 33 saves in his return to Yost Arena.
In a non-conference series, No. 12/12 Wisconsin (5-4-0, 0-2-0) defeated No. 20 Omaha (4-2-1), 4-2, in Omaha. The Badgers broke a 1-1 tie with two goals in less than four minutes late in the second period.
Ohio State and Notre Dame, Minnesota and Michigan and Wisconsin and Omaha meet again on Saturday.
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