Spartans Close Regular Season at No. 7 Ohio State

Michigan State (11-16-5, 7-11-4-2 B1G/7th) at No. 7/7 Ohio State (19-8-5, 12-6-4-3 B1G/1st)
Dates | Times: Friday, March 1 | 6:30 p.m. // Saturday, March 2 | 5 p.m.
Location: Value City Arena | Columbus, Ohio
TV: Fri. – BTN
Web Stream: Fri. – BTN2Go | Sat. - BTN Plus on BTN2Go ($)
Radio: Spartan Sports Network | Local: WJIM-AM 1240
Live Stats: MSUSpartans.com
Game Notes: Michigan State | Ohio State | Big Ten
Social Media: @MSU_Hockey

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On The Fly…
• Michigan State heads into the final weekend of the regular season by visiting No. 7 Ohio State on Friday and Saturday in Columbus ... OSU clinched the regular season league title last weekend, while the Spartans enter the weekend in seventh place – one point out of sixth place and five points out of fifth place.

• The Spartans (27 points) can finish as high as fifth place, which is currently occupied by Penn State (32 points), but cannot catch any of the teams in the second through fourth-place spots.

• Taro Hirose, the nation's leading scorer since Jan. 5, enters the final weekend of the regular season with 50 points – seven more than any other player – and 35 assists – five more than any other player … Hirose's 50 points are the most by a Spartan since John-Michael Liles had the same number in 2002-03.

• Hirose also leads the country in points per game (1.56) and is second in assists per game (1.09) … He leads the country in nine different statistical categories.

• Hirose has points in 11 of the last 12 games with 19 (6g, 13a) over the span.

• The KHL line of Taro Hirose (15-35--50), Patrick Khodorenko (17-19--36) and Mitchell Lewandowski (15-18--32) has combined for 119 points, which is the most of any line in the country.

• Khodorenko, who had a goal and two assists in the series against Penn State, is tied for the Big Ten lead and is eighth in the country in goals with 17, while his 36 points are tied for 14th in the NCAA and fifth in the conference.

• Lewandowski's 33 points are tied for ninth in the Big Ten.

• Defensemen Dennis Cesana is tied for the Big Ten lead in points among freshmen with 22, while he leads all rookies in assists with 19 … Cesana is tied for fourth among all league defensemen in points.

• The Spartans rank eighth in the country and third in the Big Ten in power play percentage at .239 and have a goal one the man-advantage in each of the last three games (4-for-8) and in five of the last six (6-for-19) … The Spartans'' 27 power-play goals are their most since 2010-11 when they had 28.

• Since the beginning of January, Michigan State is averaging 3.43 goals per game, which ranks 12th over the span and is 0.46 above its season average.

• The Spartans' current 2.97 goals per game average ranks 24th nationally, while thier 95 total goals are the most since 2011-12.

• Sophomore Tommy Apap leads the Big Ten in faceoff wins (359) and is fourth among the league's regular centermen in winning percentage at .581.

About Ohio State
The seventh-ranked Buckeyes clinched the Big Ten regular season title – and a bye in the opening round of the conference tournament – last weekend at Michigan (L, 4-2; T, 3-3 – 3x3 OTW) … OSU is 1-3-1 in its last five games after winning seven straight from Jan. 12 – Feb. 9 … The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in goals-against per game at 2.25, which ranks 12th nationally … Mason Jobst, one of nine seniors on the team, leads OSU in goals (17), assists (19) and points (36) … Tommy Nappier (11-2-3, .937, 1.82) and Sean Romeo (8-6-2, .904, 2.55) have split time in goal.

Against Ohio State
The Spartans are 0-1-1-1 against OSU this season … The Spartans came back from two separate three-goal deficits in the third period on Jan. 4 to tie, 7-7, and then win the 3-on-3 overtime … The Spartans fell the following night, 6-0, in what was their fourth game in seven nights … Patrick Khodorenko is the Spartans' active leader in points against Ohio State with 13 (4g, 9a) in 13 career games … Sam Saliba has seven goals and nine points in13 games vs. OSU.

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Of Note vs. Penn State (Feb. 15-16)
The Spartans' five goals in the 5-3 win marked seventh game this season when they scored at least five goals … John Lethemon made a career-high 44 saves in the 5-3 win … MSU was 3-for-5 on the power play … Adam Goodsir scored in back-to-back games for the first time in his career.

Hirose Continuing to Lead the Nation
Junior Hobey Baker Award candidate Taro Hirose has proven to be one of the most consistent offensive producers in the country and for the eighth straight week he leads the country in points (50), assists (35) and points per game (1.56). He has a nation leading 15 multi-point games; MSU is 10-4-1 when he records multiple points, and 7-1-1 when he has three points.

Hirose has points in all but six games this season, including in 20 of the last 23. He had a career best nine-game point streak from Jan. 11 – Feb. 8 over which he had 16 points (6g, 10a).

For Comparison's Sake…
Hirose's 50 points, which are the most by a Spartan since John Michael Liles had the same amount in 2002-03, are one shy of what last year's Hobey Baker Award winner, Adam Gaudette, had through 32 games in 2017-18. Hirose also has five more assists (35) than any other player through 30 games last season.

Khodorenko's Scoring Touch
Patrick Khodorenko is having his best season for the Green and White with a career-high 17 goals and 36 points, which rank eighth and 14th, respectively, in the country. In the 14 games since the beginning of January, Khodorenko has 19 points (5g, 14a).

The native of Walnut Creek, California, who played for Danton Cole with the USNTDP has found a good amount of success on the power play as his eight goals on the man-advantage are tied for the most in the Big Ten and are sixth most in the nation.

Khodorenko is coming off a three-point weekend vs. Penn State (1g, 2a). He had four points vs. Wisconsin (Feb. 1-2), including two goals in the 4-1 win. On Jan. 4 vs. Ohio State he became the first Spartan since Greg Wolfe in 2011 to have four assists in a game. It was his second four-point game of the season as he was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week on Nov. 6 for the first time in his career after a hat trick and assist on Nov. 2 in a win over Ferris State.

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Hirose On Pace With Elite Spartans
Taro Hirose's offensive pace is placing him with some of the best Spartan point-producers since 2000. With 116 points in 102 games, he became just 15th Spartan to hit the 100-point mark since 2000 (69th in program history).

Most impressively are Hirose's points and assists-per-game averages. Of the 15 Spartans to reach 100 career points since 2000, Hirose has the highest point-per-game average at 1.14, above even Jim Slater (1.1 points per game/172 career points) and Shawn Horcoff (0.98 points per game/152 career points).

With 83 total helpers, Hirose's 0.81 assist per game average is the highest of any Spartan that reached the 100 point mark since 2000. The 83 assists are the sixth most by a Spartan since 2000.

In his career (102 games), Hirose has more games with multiple points (32) than games without a point (28).

In B1G Play…
Taro Hirose leads the conference with 34 points, while his league-best 24 assists are one shy of the record (25, JT Compher 2015-16) ... Hirose also leads in points per game (1.55) … Mitchell Lewandowski is second in goals (12) and eighth in points (24) … Patrick Khodorenko is tied for third in points (28) and is fifth in goals (11) … Tommy Apap leads in faceoff wins (249) and his .578 faceoff winning percentage is third highest.

New Year Brings Goals
The Spartan offense has trended upward with the beginning of the new calendar year as since the beginning of January, MSU is averaging 3.43 goals per game, which ranks 12th over the span and is 0.46 above its season average. The Spartans' 29 goals in January were tied for the fifth most in the country during the month.

MSU scored at least five goals in three straight games from Jan. 12-20 for the first time since Feb. 2008. Their 10 total goals in the sweep of Minnesota were their most in a series since an Oct. 2017 sweep of Lake Superior State (4-3, 6-0).

Currently, the Spartans are averaging 2.97 goals per game, which ranks 24th in the country and is 0.44 higher than their average from last season. The last time MSU averaged more than 2.97 goals per game was 2009-10 at 3.03 (115 goals in 38 games).

Cesana Leading B1G Rookies
Rookie Dennis Cesana has made a significant impact on the Spartan blue line this season as he leads all freshmen in the Big Ten with 19 assists, while he's tied for first in points among rookies with 22. His 22 points are the most by a Spartan freshman defenseman since Jeff Petry's 24 in 2007-08.

The native of Providence, R.I., who led all defensemen in the AJHL in points (75) last season, has produced three three-point games since Dec. 30. Cesana had a goal and two assists against Lake Superior State in the GLI; scored the tying goal with 47 seconds to play - and added two helpers - in the 7-7 tie vs. Ohio State on January 4; and had three assist in the Jan. 19 5-3 win over Minnesota. He has 14 points (2g, 12a) over the last 16 games.

Lewandowski Heats Up
After being held without a point in the final three games of December, Mitchell Lewandowski has been on a hot streak with 17 points over of the last 14 games, since the beginning of January. His 10 goals over the stretch are tied for fourth most in the country since January began.

He had a career best eight-game point streak from Jan. 11 - Feb. 2, over which he produced 12 points (7g, 5a). On the season, his 33 points (15g, 18a) rank 27th in the NCAA and are one shy of his total from last season.

Last year's Big Ten Rookie of the Year was named the league's second star of the week on Jan. 22 after scoring two goals in both games of the sweep of Minnesota.

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Rosburg Having a Career Best Season
After posting 11 points in each of his first two seasons, redshirt junior defenseman Jerad Rosburg has 15 (4g, 11a) this season, which is the second most among Spartan blue liners. Four of Rosburg's points (1g, 3a) have come in the six games. He also leads the Spartans in blocked shots with 62.

College Hockey's Highest-Scoring Line
Since playing together in the first game of last season, Patrick Khodorenko (17-19--36), Taro Hirose (15-35--50) and Mitchell Lewandowski (15-18--33) have combined to form one of college hockey's most dangerous lines.

• Has combined for eight game-winning goals this season
• Combined for 119 of 254 (47%) of the Spartans' total points, up from 108 (44g, 64a) last season in 36 games … That's a combined 227 points in 68 career games playing together (3.3/gm)
• Combined for a season-high 10 points on Jan. 4 vs. Ohio State

They've been one of the best lines in college hockey over the past two seasons. What makes the KHL line so good? Take a look ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/8qoPSxwRQE
— MSU_Hockey (@MSU_Hockey) February 27, 2019

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Players Mentioned

Tommy Apap

Dennis Cesana

Adam Goodsir

Taro Hirose

Patrick Khodorenko

John Lethemon

Mitchell Lewandowski

Jerad Rosburg

Sam Saliba