Neil's Notebook: Spartans Cruise by Ferris State to End 2019 on Positive Note

By Neil Koepke

MSUSpartans.com staff writer

DETROIT – Michigan State closed out 2019 on a positive note on New Year's Eve at Little Caesars Arena.

While it may not make up for not coming home with a Great Lakes Invitational title, the Spartans at least bounced back from a tough 4-2 semifinal loss to Michigan Tech on Monday and cruised past Ferris State, 5-2, in the GLI third-place game on Tuesday.

MSU (10-9-1, 6-3-1-0 Big Ten) took control early with three goals in the first period, within a span of 4 minutes and 46 seconds, and added two more in the second to go up 5-1 after 40 minutes.

For once, the Spartans had a third period in which they weren't in a tense setting, protecting a slim lead or rallying from a one- or two-goal deficits.

MSU, with sights on ending its GLI title drought, took Monday's loss to Michigan Tech very hard. The Spartans were in a good position to beat the Huskies and play for the title, but a few mistakes here and there led to another semifinal loss, this one especially disappointing.

But Michigan State came together and were determined to come away with something positive – a victory that lifted MSU back over the .500 mark.

"Yesterday, we competed hard but we didn't play as a full team for a full 60 minutes,'' said MSU sophomore defenseman Dennis Cesana, who had a goal and two assists. "We wanted to come in here today and work hard and play together, and we had success doing that.

"When we're all on the same page, we play better as a team. It shows success for us.''

Cesana was selected to the GLI All-Tournament team for the second year in a row.

In Tuesday's GLI final, Michigan Tech rallied from a 2-1 deficit with three goals in the third period – the last into an empty net – to defeat Michigan, 4-2, for its first tournament championship since 2012.

Meanwhile, Coach Danton Cole was impressed with the way his team rebounded from Monday's defeat in which the Spartans carried a 2-1 lead into the third period and saw Michigan Tech scored three unanswered goals, ignited by a shorthanded goal just over a minute into the period.

"Winning is always good. It cures a lot of problems,'' Cole said. "It makes everybody a little bit taller, a little stronger. Last night was depressing. But I liked our players' mentality. I was glad they were down and ticked off that we didn't win.

"That's an evolution of where we want to be as a team and a program where you come in and you know you're not going to win every game, but you expect to win every game. It's a good mindset.

"But that being said, if we come out and lay an egg today, that means we have 10 days to sit around. We have 14 Big Ten games (ahead) and those games are going to be playoff games. The players' determination to come back and play a good hockey game, I think that means a lot to them.''

The victory was the Spartans' first in the GLI since 2014 when they defeated Ferris State, 2-0, in the semifinals. And it was MSU's first win at Little Caesars Arena since it opened in 2017. The Spartans are now 1-6-1 at LCA.

"We got a great bounce back. I thought we competed hard yesterday but didn't focus on the details as much as we should have,'' said senior center Patrick Khodorenko, who had a goal and an assist. "But carrying the lead into the third period, like we did yesterday, today we stuck with it and played for a full 60 minutes, unlike against Michigan Tech.

"We were ready to play the game. I know we had a little bit more rest (than Ferris State) and maybe that was a factor. We played our game and were able to get pucks by them and make plays.''

Michigan State was in sync from the start and dominated the first period, outshooting the Bulldogs 17-9. But the Spartans' goal barrage didn't come until the last five-and-a-half minutes of the opening period.

Senior defenseman Jerad Rosburg started it with a shot from the left point that caught the top right corner of the net at 14:36.

MSU got a gift goal two minutes later while killing a penalty when FSU goalie Roni Salmenkangas, in an attempt to clear the puck away from pressure in front of the crease created by MSU's Tommy Apap, accidentally shot the puck away from Apap and into the net.

The goal was awarded to junior defenseman Tommy Miller, who was the last Spartan to touch the puck before Salmenkangas handled it behind the net and brought it out front.

"That was a weird one. I had to watch it again to see if it went off a (FSU) defenseman,'' Cole said. "You have to feel bad (for him). That's not what he intended to do. I've seen a lot of weird things and goalies do definitely score own-goals.

"But it was good. I'm glad we got it, and usually when you get a shorthanded goal, it's a good omen for the rest of the game. It was like that for Tech last night.''

Less than three minutes after FSU goalie's gaffe, the Spartans struck again, with 38 seconds left in the period. Khodorenko was battling for control of the puck with a Bulldog forward in the left circle after a faceoff.

When the puck settled down, senior right wing Sam Saliba swooped in, picked up the loose puck, took a stride or two and was alone in front of Salmenkangas, and he quickly rifled the puck into the lower left corner for a 3-0 lead.

Cesana was the third MSU defenseman to get credited with a goal. He moved down low into the left circle, found himself alone, and took a pass from Mitchell Lewandowski. He moved to the net untouched and fired the puck over Salmenkangas' shoulder at 5:59 of the second period for a 4-0 cushion.

After the Bulldogs' Jake Transit beat MSU goalie John Lethemon from the slot at 15:17, Khodorenko boosted the lead to 5-1 with his team-high 10th goal of the season with 1:39 left in the period. Khodorenko fired the puck from the slot wide to the right of the net but it bounced off the backboards and came back out front to Khodorenko, who fired it into the net.

FSU defenseman Nate Kallen scored a power-play goal at 11:53 of the third period to close out the scoring.

"I think our energy was really good, and the other thing I thought we did well was we worked hard without the puck,'' Cole said. "On the defensive side, it's easy to figure out how to work hard without the puck. But offensively, if you look at the good lines, you always have three guys in your triangle and aspects of the offense and getting there.

"I thought our guys did a real good job away from the puck, in supporting and overlapping. We had the puck a lot today and made some strong plays. That was good to see. It's something you want guys to do but you have to have a lot of confidence to play that way and I thought we did a nice job with that.''

Lethemon made 22 saves and while he wasn't tested a lot, he did make some good saves on a few quality chances by the Bulldogs. Salmenkangas faced 36 shots and stopped 31.

MSU went 0-for-2 on the power play while Ferris State was 1-for-4.

In the end, MSU got five goals from five players and all four lines contributed in various ways. Balanced scoring is a must if the Spartans are to finish high in the Big Ten standings and be in the mix for a NCAA Tournament berth.

"To be a really good team, you need other guys hopping in,'' Cole said. "In our bigger games, Patty's (Khodorenko's) line does a great job, but we need those other contributions. That's huge. And that's what we got today, even from the defensemen. We actually got three.

"It's important (to be balanced). It's everyone and if you play the right way and go through the process, good things happen. If you cheat doing things the right way, you're on the wrong side. If you get on the plus side of the puck when it's a defensive situation, it ends up in your net.''

UP NEXT: The Spartans are off this weekend and it's all Big Ten games the rest of the way, starting with a home series against Minnesota, Jan. 10-11. MSU is tied for second place with Ohio State, each with 6-3-1 records and 19 points. The No. 17 Spartans and No. 6/7 Buckeyes are five points behind first-place Penn State but the No. 8/8 Nittany Lions have played two more games.

Ferris State's next assignment is a WCHA series at Bemidji State on Friday and Saturday.

UP NEXT IN THE GLI: Next year's "guest team,'' joining MSU, Michigan and Michigan Tech, is Northern Michigan. The Wildcats last played in the GLI in 2015. They lost to Michigan, 3-2, in the semifinals and edged the Spartans, 2-1, in overtime in the third-place game. NMU will be making its seventh appearance in the tourney. The Wildcats are 4-8 in the GLI.

The Spartans will play Northern Michigan in the 2020 semifinals, while Michigan Tech faces Michigan.

CESANA STANDS OUT: Coach Danton Cole says sophomore defenseman Dennis Cesana is becoming "more of a complete player" and smarter in his decision making in leading the rush or following the rush.

He's the Spartans' best offensive defenseman, and with his skill as a puck-handler and passer, he's been anchoring the top power play since arriving as a freshman last year.

Cesana, 21, a 5-foot-9, 195-pounder from Providence, has also developed into a solid defender and is used in all situations – to help get the big goal or prevent the late goal.

"He continued to improve from the first half of last year to the second half,'' Cole said. "I thought his defensive game has improved, his angles and his closes have come a long way, and he continues to improve on that.''

In Tuesday's 5-2 win over Ferris State in the GLI third place game Cesana had a goal and two assists and three shots on goal. He also had three shots on net in Monday's semifinal against Michigan Tech.

"He's more confident with the puck, and the other thing I like is when he gets too far ahead of the rush sometimes, and works so hard to get back, he's starting to realize that there's a right time and right place to do that,'' Cole said.

"He's smart in that sense and he's starting to realize you can be a lot more effective and get a lot more done offensively and not work quite as hard. That's a hard thing to get a young man to understand. That's a tricky mindset to have.''

Cesana is MSU's third-leading scorer with four goals and 10 assists for 14 points, one point behind Mitchell Lewandowski (6-9-15).

TECH REIGNS IN GLI FINAL: Michigan Tech used the same formula for defeating Michigan in Tuesday's Great Lakes Invitational championship as it did to upend Michigan State in the semifinals on Monday:

Trailing 2-1 entering the third period, the Huskies tied the game in the second minute of the period, go ahead 3-2 with four minutes left and score into an empty net to defeat the Wolverines, 4-2.

That's how they did it against the Spartans and it worked nearly the same way against Michigan, except the Huskies didn't ignite their comeback with a shorthanded goal.

Freshman center Logan Pietila, who had one goal coming into the game, scored three goals, including the tying goal and go-ahead goals in the third period to lead Michigan Tech to its first GLI championship since 2012. In the decisive third period, MTU outshot U-M, 15-7.

Since 2012, the Huskies reached the GLI final five times in the last six years, only to lose, including the last four years.

Goalie Matt Jurusik made 35 saves, including 20 in the first period, and was voted to the GLI All-Tournament team.

Only one penalty was called in the game, to Michigan in the second period, and Tech failed to convert.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: For the second straight year, MSU sophomore defenseman Dennis Cesana was voted to the GLI All-Tournament Team. He had an excellent all-around tournament and made an impact offensively in Tuesday's third-place game with a goal and two assists in the Spartans' 5-2 victory over Ferris State.

The complete All-Tournament team:

Goalie: Matt Jurusik, Michigan Tech; Defense: Dennis Cesana, Michigan State; Eric Gotz, Michigan Tech; Forwards: Logan Pietila, Michigan Tech; Trenton Bliss, Michigan Tech, and Jake Slaker, Michigan.

MVP: Logan Pietila, Michigan Tech.

The last MSU player to land on the GLI All-Tournament team two years in a row was defenseman John-Michael Liles in 2001 and 2002.

The Spartans' last GLI MVP was Brett Perlini in 2009. Perlini also made the all-tourney team in 2011. Goalie Drew Palmisano also earned spots on the 2009 and 2011 All-Tournament teams.

IN THE BIG TEN: Wisconsin on Wednesday plays its first game since losing to Michigan State, 5-4 in overtime, on Dec. 7at Munn Arena. The Badgers meet the U.S. Under-18Team in an exhibition game at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth.

Wisconsin is missing four of its best players. Freshman forwards Cole Caufield and Alex Turcotte and sophomore defensemen K'Andre Miller and Ty Emberson are with the U.S. Junior National team in the World Junior Championships in the Czech Republic.

Notre Dame and Western Michigan meet in a home-and-home series – at Notre Dame on Friday and at WMU on Sunday.

Penn State plays host to Niagara in a non-conference series on Friday and Saturday.

Ohio State is in Las Vegas this weekend playing in the Fortress Invitational at T-Mobile Arena. The Buckeyes play No. 2 Cornell on Friday and either Providence or Army in the championship or third-place game on Saturday.

Minnesota, along with MSU and Michigan, are idle this weekend.