No. 18 Spartans Meet No. 16 Sun Devils Saturday and Sunday at Munn

Saturday, December 14

East Lansing, Mich.

7 P.M.

Michigan State University

Arizona State

No. 18 Spartans Meet No. 16 Sun Devils Saturday and Sunday at Munn

12/12/2019 11:32:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey

Games 17-18: #16/15 Arizona State (8-4-2) at #18 Michigan State (8-7-1, 6-3-1-0 B1G)
Dates | Times: Saturday, Dec. 14 | 7 p.m. // Sunday, Dec. 15 | 5 p.m.
Location: East Lansing, Mich. | Munn Ice Arena
Tickets: MSUSpartans.com
Promotions:
Saturday – Heroes Night, Family Four Pack
Sunday – Scouts Night, Family Four Pack
Web Stream: BTNPlus.com & BTN + app
Radio: Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) | Local: WJIM 1240-AM & 106.9-FM
SSN Mobile App: iPhone/iPad | Android
Game Notes: Michigan State | Arizona State | Big Ten

On The Fly…
• The No. 18 Spartans host No. 16/15 Arizona State in their last series before the Christmas break this Saturday and Sunday at Munn Ice Arena.

• Michigan State is coming off a sweep of Wisconsin last weekend that moved the Spartans to 6-3-1 in the Big Ten and tied for second place with Ohio State with 19 points – two behind conference-leading Penn State.

• This weekend's series with Arizona State marks the fourth consecutive weekend the Spartans will face a USCHO.com Poll top-20 opponent … The Spartans are 3-2-1 in their last six games.

• In going 6-3-1 – all in Big Ten play – over the last 10 games, the Spartans have allowed an average of just 2.10 goals per game, which is the best in the Big Ten and 14th best nationally over the stretch.

• The Spartans killed all seven Badger power plays last weekend and haven't allowed a goal on the man-advantage in seven of the last eight games, extinguishing 24-of-26 (.923) opponent power plays over the span ... In Big Ten play, MSU leads the conference in penalty kill percentage at .906.

• Goaltender John Lethemon was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week for the second time this season on Tuesday … Lethemon posted his league-leading third shutout of the season and a .949 save percentage in last weekend's sweep of Wisconsin.

• Lethemon leads the B1G and ranks third in the country in save percentage at .941, while his 2.01 GAA is second best in the conference and his three shutouts are tied for third in the nation.

• USA Hockey announced on Tuesday that Spartan sophomore defenseman Christian Krygier has been named to the U.S. National Junior Team preliminary roster for the World Junior Championship … Krygier will begin practice with the U.S. team early next week in Plymouth.

• Patrick Khodorenko recorded his fifth multi-point game of the season and 24th of his career with two goals – including the OT game-winner – and an assist last Saturday … Khodorenko's 16 points are tied for fifth in the Big Ten, while his eight goals are fourth best.

• The Spartans rank seventh nationally in faceoff winning percentage at .542 … Tommy Apap ranks second in the Big Ten in faceoff winning percentage at .587.

• Seven different players have accounted for the Spartans' eight game-winning goals.

• MSU ranks eighth nationally in strength of schedule and is currently 18th in the Pairwise rankings.

About Arizona State
ASU is unbeaten in its last five games at 3-0-2 and is coming off a win (4-1) and tie (2-2) with then No. 4 Denver last weekend at home … The Sun Devils are 19th nationally in goals per game at 3.07, while 14th in goals against at 2.29 … Junior forward James Sanchez leads the team in points (18) and assists (13), while junior forward Johnny Walker leads in goals at (9) … ASU has 17.7% conversion rate on the power play and it's PK percentage is 81.7 … Sophomore goaltender Evan Debrouwer is 7-4-2 with a 2.10 GAA and .930 save percentage.

MSU-ASU matchup

Wisconsin Series Recap
The Spartans earned their second Big Ten sweep of the season, marking the first time since 2014-15 that MSU has had at least two conference sweeps … The Spartans recorded their two highest shot on goal totals of the season – 36 and 44, respectively, and they improved to 4-0 when generating at least 30 shots on net … The Spartans' eight combined goals were their most in a series this season … Patrick Khodorenko had his third two-goal game of the season in the 5-4 OT win … John Lethemon had a .949 save percentage ... In the 5-4 OT win, MSU scored three goals in the third for the first time this season and first time since Jan. 12, 2018 in a win at Penn State.

The Wall of Lethemon
Since the Nov. 8 shutout at Penn State, senior goaltender John Lethemon has a .949 save percentage, which ranks third in the nation over the span. More impressively, Lethemon has faced the most shots of any goaltender in the nation over that 10-game span. He is 6-3-1 with a 1.79 GAA over the stretch.

On the season, Lethemon leads the B1G and ranks third in the country in save percentage at .941, while his 2.01 GAA is second best in the conference and his three shutouts are tied for third nationally. He was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week for the second time this season on Tuesday after posting his league-leading third shutout of the year and a .949 save percentage in a sweep of Wisconsin. His other shutouts came at Penn State (48 saves) and vs. Michigan (35 saves).

B1G Lockdown
The Spartans rank second the Big Ten in goals against per game, yielding an average of just 2.10. Since league play began for the Spartans on Nov. 8 at Penn State, MSU has allowed three or fewer goals in eight of 10 games.

On the season, MSU's goals against per game average continues to tick downward as the Spartans now rank 21st nationally at 2.44, which is 0.95 lower than its season average from 2018-19. The Spartans allowed three or fewer goals from Nov. 9 – Dec. 6, marking the first time MSU has allowed three or fewer in seven consecutive games since the 2013-14 season.

PK Big In the B1G
Since the start of conference play on Nov. 8 at Penn State, the Spartans have posted a league-best 90.6% penalty kill percentage, which ranks seventh nationally over the span. More impressive is that against the two teams in the league with the highest season power-play percentages (Penn State, 31.3% and Ohio State, 22.9%), MSU extinguished a combined 12-of-13 power plays.

Plenty of Gas in the Tank
Another key to the Spartans' success over the first 10 conference games has been their ability to outscore opponents over the final two periods. Over the last 10 games, MSU has outscored opponents by a combined margin of 23-15 in the second and third periods. Further, in the third period of second games of a series, MSU holds a 7-4 edge, while three of those four opponent goals have been empty-netters.

Lambdin Producing…And at the Right Time
While Logan Lambdin had the best point-producing spurt of his career come to an end on Nov. 30, the senior enters Saturday tied for third on the team with nine points (4g, 5a). Lambdin's six-game piont streak from Nov. 8-23 tied with Patrick Khodorenko for the longest by a Spartan this season as he produced six points (3g, 3a) over the span.

Lambdin's points came at big moments over the six-game span. The streak started Nov. 8 at No. 6 Penn State where he sealed the MSU win with an empty-net goal. Against Michigan, Lambdin broke a 3-3 tie by scoring the game-winning goal on the power play in the third period of a 4-3 win. Two nights later, he helped set up the game-winning goal. Last weekend against Notre Dame, he scored the game-tying goal with 6:12 to go in the third period of the Spartans 3-2 come-from-behind win. MSU is 7-1-1 in games Lambdin has recorded a point this season.

The Captain Comes Through
Second-year team captain Sam Saliba scored three of the Spartans' four goals in the series against Notre Dame and was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week on Nov. 26 for his efforts. Last Saturday against Wisconsin, Saliba tied the game in the third period with a shorthanded goal.

Against Notre Dame, Saliba, who had three assists entering the series, scored his first goal of the year in the 1-1 tie. In the 3-2 victory, he tied the game, 1-1, in the second period, and then got the game-winner with 1:10 play in third period. Saliba has a team-best three game-winning points this season (1g, 2a).

Michigan State vs. Wisconsin, Dec. 6, 2019 Sam Saliba

Michigan State vs. Wisconsin, Dec. 6, 2019 Sam Saliba

In Big Ten Games, MSU…
• Ranks second in goals against per game at 2.10
• Is third in total goals allowed at 21.
• Leads the league in penalty kill percentage at .906.
• Ranks second in faceoff winning percentage at .528.
• Is second in goals per game at 2.6.

Patty Paces the Offense
Patrick Khodorenko leads the Spartans in goals (8), assists (8) and points (16) and is coming off his fifth multi-point game of the season and 24th of his career in last Saturday's 5-4 OT win. Khodorenko scored the Spartans' first goal; assisted on the second; and then got the first overtime winner of his career to cap the three-point night.

Earlier this season, Khodorenko compiled a career best six-game point streak (6-6--12) from Oct. 26 - Nov. 14 over which he produced 12 points (6g, 6a).

Khodorenko's second goal at Michigan on Nov. 14 was his 100th career point. With 46 career goals, he's the first Spartan since Matt Berry to register at least 40 as Berry had 48 in 130 games from 2011-15.