Spartans and Wolverines Resume Rivalry This Weekend

Michigan State (10-13-5, 6-8-4-2 B1G) vs. Michigan (10-11-6, 6-7-4-2 B1G)
Game 29: Friday, Feb. 8 | 7:30 p.m. // Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor
Game 30: Saturday, Feb. 9 | 7 p.m. // Little Caesars Arena, Detroit

Tickets (Sat.): TicketMaster
TV (Sat.): Fox Sports Detroit
Web Stream: Friday – BTN Plus | Saturday – BTN2Go
Live Stats: MSUSpartans.com
Radio: Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) | WJIM 1240-AM
Game Notes: Michigan State | Michigan | Big Ten
Social Media: @MSU_Hockey

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On The Fly…
• Michigan State takes on Michigan in the second series of the season between the teams this Friday in Ann Arbor and then Saturday at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit … The Spartans are coming off a win (4-1) and tie (2-2, shootout loss) with Wisconsin last weekend, taking four of six possible points in the series.

• The Spartans are 4-1-2 over their last seven games and are tied with Michigan for fourth place in the Big Ten standings with 24 points apiece.

• Taro Hirose had four points (2g, 2a) last weekend and continues to lead the country in both points (46) and assists (31), while he's tied for seventh in goals (15) … Hirose's 46 points and 31 assists are the most by a Spartan since Jim Slater had 48 and 32, respectively, in 2004-05.

• Hirose is currently on a career best eight-game point streak over which he has put up 15 points (6g, 9a).

• With 112 points (33g, 79a) in 98 career games, Hirose's 1.14 points per game average is the highest among all Spartans that have hit the 100-point mark since 2000.

• Michigan State is the only team in the country to boast three 30-plus point scorers in linemates Taro Hirose (15-31--46), Patrick Khodorenko (16-17--33) and Mitchell Lewandowski (13-18--31) … The KHL line has combined for 110 points, which surpasses their combined total from last season in 36 games.

• Mitchell Lewandowski, who had a goal and assist in each game vs. Wisconsin, also brings a career best eight-game point streak into Friday's game as he has produced 12 points (7g, 5a) over the stretch … Lewandowski's 31 points (13g, 18a) are tied for 15th in the country.

• Patrick Khodorenko had two goals and two assists in the series vs. Wisconsin and his 33 points are tied for sixth in the country, while his 16 goals are tied for fifth in the NCAA and are one shy of the Big Ten lead.

• Since the beginning of January, the Spartans are averaging 3.5 goals per game, which is 13th best in the country and third in the Big Ten over the span … MSU is also averaging 35.0 shots on goal per game over its last 10 games, which is seventh best of any team in the country in the new calendar year.

• The Spartans rank 12th in the country in power play percentage at .225 (23-for-102) … MSU went 1-for-4 on the man-advantage in both games vs. Wisconsin and the Spartans have power-play goals in six of the last eight games, going 8-for-27 (.296) over the stretch.

• Dennis Cesana is second among all B1G freshmen in points (20) and is tied for the most assists (17) among league rookies.

• Freshman Drew DeRidder started both games against Wisconsin and posted a .963 save percentage and 1.44 GAA in the series.

About Michigan
The Wolverines are tied with the Spartans for fourth place in the Big Ten with 24 points apiece … Michigan is coming off a split on the road last weekend at Minnesota (W, 4-2; L, 4-3) and is 4-4 over its last eight games … Michigan is second nationally in shots on goal per game at 37.19 … Sophomore defenseman Quinn Hughes leads the team in both points (25) and assists (21), while Will Lockwood leads in goals (11) … Goaltenders Hayden Lavigne (.890 Sv. %, 2.99 GAA) and Strauss Mann (.896 Sv. %, 2.86 GAA) have split time in goal.

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Against The Wolverines
Michigan State-Michigan is college hockey's most-played rivalry as the two teams have met 322 times … MSU is 1-0-2 against Michigan this season … The Spartans are 22-33-7 all-time against the Wolverines in games played in Detroit (20-30-6 at Joe Louis Arena; 1-1 at Olympia; 1-0 at Comerica Park; 0-2-1 at Little Caesars Arena) … MSU is 4-for-15 (26.7%) on the power play against Michigan this season, while the Spartans have extinguished 10-of-13 (76.9%) U-M power play opportunities … Taro Hirose is the Spartans' active leader in points (18) and assists (13) against the Wolverines, while Patrick Khodorenko leads in goals (6) … Drew DeRidder has a 1.90 GAA and .953 save percentage in playing all three games against U-M this season.

Hirose Continuing to Lead the Nation
Junior Taro Hirose has proven to be one of the most consistent offensive producers in the country and for the fifth straight week he leads the country in both points (46) and assists (31). He has had multiple points in half of the Spartans' 28 games this season and dating back to the end of last season, he has points in 31 of the Spartans' last 37 games.

Hirose has points in all but four games this season, including in 17 of the last 19, and brings a career best eight-game point streak into Friday's game. Hirose has 15 points over the eight-game stretch (since Jan. 11) and nine of his 15 goals on the season have come during the streak.

Over the last 19 games (since Nov. 17), he has produced 32 points, including 22 assists, both of which are the most in the country over the span.

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>> You can vote for Taro Hirose for the Hobey Baker Award right here through March 10.

For Comparison's Sake…
Hirose's 46 points, which are the most by a Spartan since Jim Slater's 48 in 2004-05, are four more than last year's Hobey Baker Award winner, Adam Gaudette, had through 28 games (42) in 2017-18. Hirose also has six more assists (31) than any other player through 28 games last season.

Khodorenko's Scoring Touch
Patrick Khodorenko is having the best season of his career with 26 points (11g, 14a) over the last 20 games, and points in seven of the last eight games (4-8--12) heading into this weekend's series. His team-leading 16 goals are tied for fifth nationally and second in the Big Ten.

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 seven goals on the man-advantage are tied for the Big Ten lead and are fourth most in the nation.

Khodorenko had four points against Wisconsin last weekend, 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.

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 111 points in 98 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 79 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 79 assists are the sixth most by a Spartan since 2000.

In his career (98 games), Hirose has more games with multiple points (31) than games without a point (27). Hirose has 14 multi-point games this season, including an NCAA-best nine three-point games.

January Brings Goals
The Spartan offense has heated up with the beginning of the new calendar year. The Spartans' 29 goals in January were tied for the fifth most in the country during the month, and their average of 3.62 during the month ranked ninth in the country and third in the Big Ten over the span.

MSU scored at least five goals in three straight games (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 2.93 goals per game, which ranks 29th in the country and is 0.40 higher than their average from last season.

Cesana Leading Spartan Rookies
Rookie Dennis Cesana has made a significant impact on the Spartan blue line this season as he ranks second in the Big Ten among all freshmen with 20 points, and is tied for the lead among all league rookies with 17 assists. His 20 points are the most by a Spartan freshman defenseman since Torey Krug's 21 in 2009-10.

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 12 points (2g, 10a) over the last 12 games.

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Lewandowski Regains Form
After being held without a point in the final three games of December, Mitchell Lewandowski has started 2019 with points in nine of 10 games (8-7--15) and enters Friday's game on a career best eight-game point streak (7-5--12). 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.

In B1G Play…
Taro Hirose leads the league in points (30) and is tied for the lead in assists (20) … Patrick Khodorenko is third in points (25) and is tied with Lewandowski and Hirose for second in goals (10) … Tommy Apap leads in faceoff wins (207) and his .586 faceoff winning percentage is third highest.

Young on the Back End
For the second straight year, the Spartans have just one senior defenseman in Zach Osburn. While Osburn is the Spartans' active leader in games played at 133, he is surrounded by youth with three freshmen – Dennis Cesana, Cole Krygier and Christian Krygier – and a sophomore – Tommy Miller – in the regular playing group. Redshirt junior Jerad Rosburg has played in all 28 games, while junior Butrus Ghafari has played in 20.

The KHL Line - College Hockey's Highest-Scoring Line
Since playing together in the first game of last season, Patrick Khodorenko (16-17--33), Taro Hirose (15-31--46) and Mitchell Lewandowski (13-18--27) have combined to form one of college hockey's most dangerous lines.

• The trio makes MSU the only team in the country with three 30-plus point scorers
• Had 12 (6g, 6a) of the Spartans'15 points last weekend vs. Wisconsin
• Combined for 110 of 221 (49.7%) of the Spartans' total points, up from 108 (44g, 64a) last season in 36 games … That's a combined 218 points in 64 career games playing together (3.4/gm)
• Combined for a season-high 10 points on Jan. 4 vs. Ohio State

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DeRidder the Nation's Youngest Goaltender
Freshman Drew DeRidder, the youngest goaltender in college hockey (DOB: 5/1/00), has made 14 starts this season, sporting a .914 save percentage and 2.99 GAA. DeRidder has started each of the last three games, helping MSU go 1-0-2 over the span. Over the three games, DeRidder has a 1.26 goals-against average and .966 save percentage. He made 52 saves in the 2-2 tie vs. Wisconsin on Feb. 2, marking the first time a Spartan goaltender made at least 50 stops since Jeff Lerg in Jan. 2009.

The native of Fenton was named the Big Ten Second Star of the Week the first week of December after turning away 78 of 82 shots against Michigan, Nov. 30-Dec. 1. He has three games this season with at least 40 saves and eight with at least 30.

Of Note vs. Wisconsin (Feb. 1-2)
The Spartans scored power-play goals in both games of a weekend series for the second time in its last four series and finished the weekend 2-for-8 on the man-advantage … MSU didn't allow a power-play goal, extinguishing all seven UW power plays, marking the first time it held an opponent without a power-play goal in a weekend series since Nov. 2-3 vs. Ferris State … The KHL line accounted for 12 of the Spartans' 15 total points … Drew DeRidder's 52 saves in the 2-2 tie were the most by a Spartan goaltender since Jeff Lerg made 54 saves in Jan. 2009 at Miami.

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Players Mentioned

Tommy Apap

Dennis Cesana

Drew DeRidder

Butrus Ghafari

Taro Hirose

Patrick Khodorenko

Christian Krygier

Cole Krygier

Mitchell Lewandowski

Tommy Miller

Zach Osburn

Jerad Rosburg