No. 20 Spartans Resume B1G Play This Weekend at Munn vs. Minnesota

Games 21-22: Minnesota (7-9-4, 2-4-4-3 B1G) at #20/- Michigan State (10-9-1, 6-3-1-0 B1G)
Dates | Times: Friday, Jan. 10 | 6 p.m. // Saturday, Jan. 11 | 7 p.m.
Location: East Lansing, Mich. | Munn Ice Arena
Tickets: MSUSpartans.com
Promotions:
Friday – MSUFCU Night, Youth Jersey Night
Saturday – Sophomores and juniors postgame autographs
TV: BTN
Web Stream: FOX Sports App
Radio: Spartan Sports Network (Listen Live) | Local: WJIM 1240-AM & 106.9-FM
SSN Mobile App: iPhone/iPad | Android
Game Notes: Michigan State | Minnesota | Big Ten

On The Fly…
• No. 20 Michigan State starts the New Year by hosting Minnesota this Friday and Saturday at Munn Ice Arena … The series will be the first of a six-game month for the Spartans as they'll play at Munn four times in January.

• MSU has 14 regular-season contests remaining, all of which are conference games.

• The Spartans are 7-4-1 since Nov. 14, including going 4-3 in December … MSU is currently 17th in the PairWise rankings.

• Patrick Khodorenko leads the Spartans in goals (10) and points (20) and is tied with Dennis Cesana for the lead in assists (10) … The senior's 10 goals are tied for second among Big Ten skaters … In Big Ten play, Khodorenko ranks second in goals (7) and 10th in points (9).

• Senior John Lethemon leads the Big Ten in save percentage at .938 – which ranks seventh in the nation - while ranking third in the league in goals against average at 2.06 … Lethemon's four shutouts lead the Big Ten and are second most in the country.

• Four Spartans had points in both games of the GLI – Sam Saliba (2g), Jagger Joshua (2a), Logan Lambdin (1g, 1a) and Tommy Miller (1g, 1a).

• Mitchell Lewandowski, who ranks second on the team with 15 points (6g, 9a), has been held without a point just once in the last five games and has a 3-3--6 scoring line over the five games … He started the five-game stretch with a season-high three points (2g, 1a) in a 5-4 win over Wisconsin, and two games later scored the OT winner against Arizona State

• Dennis Cesana's 14 points and 10 assists are both tied for second among Big Ten defensemen … Cesana had his first three-point game of the season (1g, 2a) and fourth of his career the last time out against Ferris State, earning a spot on the GLI All-Tournament team.

• Michigan State has extinguished 27-of-29 opponent power plays over the last eight games, good for a 93.1% penalty kill percentage … In Big Ten play, MSU leads the league with a 90.6% penalty kill percentage (29-of-32).

• Michigan State ranks seventh in the country in faceoff winning percentage at .534 … Junior Tommy Apap leads the Big Ten in faceoff wins with 218 and winning percentage at .586.

• Eight different players have accounted for the Spartans' 10 game-winning goals.

• The Spartans are averaging 36 shots on goal over the last six games – 7.55 above their season average.

About Minnesota
The Gophers are coming off winning the Mariucci Classic title, Dec. 28-29, defeating Bemidji State (5-2) and then St. Cloud State (4-1) … In their last conference series before the break, Minnesota took OSU to overtime twice on the road, falling 3-2 the first night and then playing to a 1-1 tie, and winning the 3-on-3, in game two … In the Big Ten, Minnesota is 2-4-4-3 and in fifth place with 13 points … Sophomore Sammy Walker leads the Gophers in points (13), while freshman Ben Meyers leads in assists (9) and junior Scott Reedy leads in goals (9) … Jack LaFontaine has started 12 games in goal, posting a 2.85 GAA and .908 save percentage … Minnesota is tied for the top penalty kill percentage in the league at .862.

vs. Minnesota matchup graphic

From the GLI
Michigan State tied a season-high with three first-period goals in the 5-2 win over Ferris State … The Spartans 17 shots on goal in the first period were their most in any game this season … MSU averaged 32.5 shots on goal in the two games … Dennis Cesana was named to the GLI All-Tournament team for the second straight year after tying a career high with three points (1g, 2a) in the win.

Patty Paces the Offense
After being among the top Spartan scorers the last two seasons, Patrick Khodorenko leads the team this year in goals (10) and points (20), and is tied for the lead in assists (10). His 10 goals are tied for second in the Big Ten, while his seven goals in conference play are also second most.

Khodorenko has points in four of the last five games with a 4-3--7 scoring line over the span. This span includes scoring an OT game-winner vs. Wisconsin on Dec. 7, and drawing the primary assists on Mitchell Lewandowski's OT winner against Arizona State on Dec. 15. He leads MSU with five game-winning points this season.

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).

… And Approaching 50
With 48 career goals, Patrick Khodorenko has the highest goal total of any Spartan since Matt Berry had 48 from 2011-15. The last Spartan to hit the 50-goal mark was Tim Crowder, who had 50 in 151 games from 2005-09.

Earlier this season Khodorenko hit the 100-career point mark when he second goal at Michigan in a 4-3 win on Nov. 14.

The Wall of Lethemon
Senior goaltender John Lethemon starts 2020 near the top of the country in both save percentage, where his .938 ranks seventh, and shutouts, as he's tied for second with four. Both of those marks also lead all Big Ten goaltenders.

In the month of December, Lethemon sported a 1.99 GAA and .940 save percentage, while earning two shutouts and yielding two or fewer goals in four of seven games.

Lethemon, who is 10-6-1 on the year, has stepped up significantly this season. His current .938 save percentage is .040 higher than his career average entering this season, while his 2.06 GAA is 1.07 lower than his career average entering the year.

Lethemon has been named the Big Ten First Star of the Week twice, and most recently was named the league's No. 2 star after his performance vs. Arizona State. His shutouts this season have come at Penn State (48 saves); vs. Michigan (35 saves); vs. Wisconsin (41 saves) and vs. Arizona State (36 saves).

B1G Lockdown
The Spartans rank third the Big Ten in goals against per game, yielding an average of just 2.39. Since league play began for the Spartans on Nov. 8 at Penn State, MSU has allowed three or fewer goals in eight of 10 conference games.

On the season, MSU's goals-against per game average continues to tick downward as the Spartans now rank 21st nationally at 2.45, which is .94 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.

Michigan State vs. Arizona State, Dec. 14 John Lethemon

Michigan State vs. Arizona State, Dec. 14 John Lethemon

In the Rankings
The Spartans slipped to No. 20 in the USCHO.com top-20 poll after ending the calendar year at 18. For first time since Oct. 7, 2012, Michigan State appeared in the USCHO poll on Nov. 25, coming in at No. 20, following a tie and win with Notre Dame.

PK Getting The Job Done
The Spartans have a league-best 90.6% penalty kill percentage in conference play; the last power-play goal the Spartans allowed in Big Ten play was on Nov. 23 against Notre Dame. Over the last eight games, MSU has extinguished 93.1% (27-of-29) of opponent power plays. Earlier this season, MSU went six consecutive games without allowing a power play goal, killing 20 consecutive power plays form Nov. 30 – Dec. 15.

On the season, MSU ranks 30th in the country with an 81.0% PK percentage, which is just over 4% above its average from last season.

Over the Last 12 Games, the Spartans Have a…
• .902 penalty kill percentage (fourth in the country)
                .092 above season average
• 2.08 goals against per game (14th in the country)
                .37 below season average
• 31.17 shots on goal per game average (19th in the country)
                2.72 above season average

Sure, We'll Go To OT
The Spartans have two overtime wins this season – both coming in December – for the first time since 2011-12 when they also had two. The Spartans topped Wisconsin, 5-4, on Dec. 8 to complete a sweep of the Badgers. A week later on Dec. 15, MSU earned a split with No. 16 Arizona State with the first 1-0 OT win in program history.

The same three players have accounted for the two OT goals as Patrick Khodorenko – set up by Mitchell Lewandowski and Dennis Cesana – got the winner vs. Wisconsin, while Lewandowski – via Khodorenko and Cesana – gave MSU the win over ASU.

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

Michigan State vs. Arizona State, Dec. 14

Michigan State vs. Arizona State, Dec. 14

Spartans, Apap Strong in the Dot
The Spartans rank seventh in the country in faceoff winning percentage at .534. Tommy Apap, who went 17-2 in the circle the last time out vs. Ferris State, leads the Big Ten in winning percentage at .586. The Spartans have won more faceoffs than their opponents in 12 of 20 games, including taking a season-high 69% of draws in a 5-1 win at Colorado College on Oct. 26.

The Captain Comes Through
Second-year team captain Sam Saliba has three goals and four points over the last five games, which started with a shorthanded goal and assist in a 5-4 win over Wisconsin on Dec. 7. He added a goal in each game of the GLI last week, including getting the game-winner against Ferris State.

With 10 points (6g, 4a), Saliba has already equaled his point total from last season. Earlier this season against Notre Dame, he scored three of the Spartans' four goals in the series – including the game-winner on Nov. 23 with 1:10 to play – and was subsequently named the Big Ten First Star of the Week for his efforts.

Arizona State Series Recap
In their fourth consecutive series against a USCHO.com Poll top-20 opponent, the Spartans split a pair of games at Munn with then No. 15/16 ASU … The Spartans trailed 2-0 and 3-1 in the opener before rallying to tie the game in the third period … MSU outshot ASU 35-25 in the 4-3 loss and then both teams had 36 shots on goal in the 1-0 OT win … Mitchell Lewandowski's OT winner was the first of his career … The Spartans killed all six ASU power plays in the series, including three in each game.

No. 20 Spartans Resume B1G Play This Weekend at Munn vs. Minnesota

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tommy Apap

Dennis Cesana

Jagger Joshua

Patrick Khodorenko

Logan Lambdin

John Lethemon

Mitchell Lewandowski

Tommy Miller

Sam Saliba

No. 20 Spartans Resume B1G Play This Weekend at Munn vs. Minnesota

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Tommy Apap

Dennis Cesana

Jagger Joshua

Patrick Khodorenko

Logan Lambdin

John Lethemon

Mitchell Lewandowski

Tommy Miller

Sam Saliba

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