Photo by: Ric Kruszynski
Neil’s Notebook: Spartans’ Barrage of Shots Not Enough in Bid for Sweep
11/30/2020 8:32:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
Michigan State's quest for it first series sweep of the season fell short on Sunday against Ohio State. But it wasn't for a lack of shots on goal and scoring chances.
The problem? Not enough shots got past Buckeyes senior goaltender Tommy Nappier, who made 42 saves, including 20 in the third period.
In the end, OSU's two power-play goals and a converted 2-on-1 goal off a turnover in the neutral zone in the second period sparked the Buckeyes to a 4-2 victory over the Spartans at Value City Arena in Columbus and a split of their Big Ten series
"The guys did a good job. Every game is a little different but the one thing I liked is that they battled hard. We threw another 44 shots goal, we skated well and did some other things well,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said.
"They didn't cheat us on effort. We know it's hard (to sweep). That's a desperate (OSU) team over there and they found a way. I'm not down on the guys at all. There's lots to build on.''
The Spartans (2-1-1 overall, 1-1-0-1-0-0 Big Ten) trailed 1-0 after the first period and 2-1 after the second.
Ohio State (1-3-0, 1-3-0-0-1-0) went up 3-1 with its second power-play goal midway through the third period, but MSU's Charlie Combs cut the deficit to 3-2 with a power-play goal with 7:30 left.
Michigan State had a few good chances late but couldn't solve Nappier, and OSU added an empty-net goal with 5.6 seconds left to earn its first victory of the season and end a three-game losing streak.
MSU goaltender Drew DeRidder made 27 saves, including 10 in each of the second and third periods.
In the series opener, the Spartans had 45 shots on goal in a 3-2 victory in overtime on Saturday.
Mitchell Mattson scored MSU's first goal at 9:32 of the first period to tie the game 1-1. It was Mattson's second goal of the season and third point in four games.
The Spartans' forward line of Josh Nodler centering A.J. Hodgins and Combs combined for a team-leading 14 shots on goal. Combs had six, and Hodges and Nodler each had four.
Defenseman Dennis Cesana also had six shots on goal, while Mitchell Lewandowski had four. Lewandowski's shot on Nappier during the third-period power play came loose in front and Combs pounced on it and fired it past the OSU goaltender.
"When I get done with the scoring chances (on video), I'm going to look at this game and say we should have won,'' Cole said. "We played well enough. If they give us that every night … Hockey is just that way. It doesn't always go our way.
"We'll figure out ways to win games like this. The guys did a lot of things well.''
Ohio State was 2-for-5 on the power play. MSU was 1-for-4. The Spartans went into the game without having allowed a power-play goal - skating off all 10 opponents' power plays in the first three games.
"We hadn't been scored on (while shorthanded) and we've done a good job. But they made a couple plays where we wanted to pressure them and the puck pops out both times,'' Cole said. "We just got caught in a press situation where we didn't keep it under us and gave them pretty good shots. Those things are going to happen.''
Quinn Preston gave OSU a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 13:53 of the first period. After Mattson tied it, set up with a nice pass by Kyle Haskins into the slot, at 9:32 of the second period, the Buckeyes took the lead for good at 14:33.
Tate Singleton intercepted a pass in the neutral zone along the right boards and speed into the MSU on a 2-on-1. He slid the puck into the slot to a wide-open Joe Dunlap, who fired it past Drew DeRidder.
OSU defenseman Grant Gabrielle made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 10:24 of the third period, but the Spartans got it back two minutes later with a power-play goal by Combs to make it a one-goal game.
Nappier was solid over the last seven minutes, making a few good saves and not allowing any rebounds.
"We had two untimely turnovers in the neutral zone that led to two goals. That's something we have to clean up,'' Cole said. "Other than that, we were pretty clean.
"Four games in, we're pretty happy. But there's a lot to build on – there's a lot of good things. It makes me optimistic how this team is going to be. I like their battle, their confidence and execution. Those are all really good things.''
UP NEXT: The Spartans won't have much rest before their next challenge. MSU plays host to No. 8/7 Minnesota at 8 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday at Munn Arena. Both games will be televised by Fox Sports Detroit.
The Gophers (4-0-0 overall) already own series sweeps at home against Penn State and Ohio State. They last played on Nov. 23-24 vs. OSU, winning 4-1 and 2-0.
After facing Minnesota, Michigan State will host Wisconsin, Dec. 8-9.
Then, the Spartans will close out the early Big Ten schedule with two games at Notre Dame, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 19-20.
SHOTS ON GOAL SURGE: Last season, Michigan State had two games in which it put 40 shots or more on goal. The Spartans managed 44 against Wisconsin in December and 43 vs. Penn State in January.
This season, MSU has more than 40 shots on goal in its last three games – 40 in a 2-0 win over Arizona State, 45 in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win at Ohio State and then 44 in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Buckeyes.
Getting pucks to the net has been an emphasis this season as Michigan State strives to create more offense and put itself in better position to win games.
This season, with a mix of newcomers and returnees, the Spartans are getting shots from several different forwards and defensemen and trying to improve their execution and finish.
MSU is getting solid input from graduate transfer Charlie Combs and freshmen A.J. Hodgins, Kristof Papp and Kyle Haskins and sophomores Josh Nodler and Nicolas Mueller.
Senior Mitchell Lewandowski, MSU's highest-scoring returning forward, is being counted on for lots of shots and goals, and junior defenseman Dennis Cesana, who leads lots of rushes and quarterbacks the power play, plays a major role in improving the offense.
Meanwhile, juniors Mitchell Mattson and Adam Goodsir, known for their defensive talents, have showed a bit of offensive flash in the first four games.
"I think our guys have done a very good job,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "And I'll give our (assistant) coaches, coach (Joe) Exter and coach (Chris) Luongo, a lot of credit. We've worked on our offensive zone entries.
"We've got a little more depth, we've got a little more skill. If you look at Kristof Papp, Kyle Haskins and A.J. Hodgins, they bring a little bit of skill and zip on each line. And our sophomores (Nodler, Mueller, Jagger Joshua) are a year older, and Mattson's line has been really good.
"The guys have a good idea and they're working hard. It's good to see them rewarded. We have to keep doing it.''
The role of MSU's fourth line – Mattson, Goodsir and Haskins – is to be solid defensively and hard to play against. Thus far, they've found a good scoring touch.
In fact, the trio is among MSU's top four scorers, along with Combs, with three points apiece.
The Mattson unit has combined for three goals, six assists and nine points in four games. They have 23 shots goal. Mattson has two goals and one assist, Goodsir a goal and two assists and Haskins has three assists. Mattson has nine shots on net, Haskins has eight and Goodsir checks in with six.
"They've played really well,'' Cole said. "That was a great pass by Haskins on the backside to set up Mattson's goal, but Goodie driving through (the offensive zone) opened that up. They done real nice job and they can handle things defensively.''
IN THE BIG TEN: Wisconsin had a tough weekend against Arizona State in a non-conference series in Madison. After getting stunned by the Sun Devils, 8-5, on Saturday, the No. 14/15 Badgers' bid to salvage a split was thwarted by ASU, which built a 2-0 lead in the first period and went on to a 3-1 victory on Sunday.
In the other Big Ten series, Notre Dame swept No. 4/3 Michigan, 3-2 and 2-1, on Friday and Saturday in Ann Arbor.
This week in the Big Ten:
Michigan plays at Penn State on Wednesday and Thursday and Ohio State plays host to Wisconsin on Thursday and Friday. Notre Dame plays a non-conference home series against Arizona State on Thursday and Friday.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
Michigan State's quest for it first series sweep of the season fell short on Sunday against Ohio State. But it wasn't for a lack of shots on goal and scoring chances.
The problem? Not enough shots got past Buckeyes senior goaltender Tommy Nappier, who made 42 saves, including 20 in the third period.
In the end, OSU's two power-play goals and a converted 2-on-1 goal off a turnover in the neutral zone in the second period sparked the Buckeyes to a 4-2 victory over the Spartans at Value City Arena in Columbus and a split of their Big Ten series
"The guys did a good job. Every game is a little different but the one thing I liked is that they battled hard. We threw another 44 shots goal, we skated well and did some other things well,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said.
"They didn't cheat us on effort. We know it's hard (to sweep). That's a desperate (OSU) team over there and they found a way. I'm not down on the guys at all. There's lots to build on.''
The Spartans (2-1-1 overall, 1-1-0-1-0-0 Big Ten) trailed 1-0 after the first period and 2-1 after the second.
Ohio State (1-3-0, 1-3-0-0-1-0) went up 3-1 with its second power-play goal midway through the third period, but MSU's Charlie Combs cut the deficit to 3-2 with a power-play goal with 7:30 left.
Michigan State had a few good chances late but couldn't solve Nappier, and OSU added an empty-net goal with 5.6 seconds left to earn its first victory of the season and end a three-game losing streak.
MSU goaltender Drew DeRidder made 27 saves, including 10 in each of the second and third periods.
In the series opener, the Spartans had 45 shots on goal in a 3-2 victory in overtime on Saturday.
Mitchell Mattson scored MSU's first goal at 9:32 of the first period to tie the game 1-1. It was Mattson's second goal of the season and third point in four games.
The Spartans' forward line of Josh Nodler centering A.J. Hodgins and Combs combined for a team-leading 14 shots on goal. Combs had six, and Hodges and Nodler each had four.
Defenseman Dennis Cesana also had six shots on goal, while Mitchell Lewandowski had four. Lewandowski's shot on Nappier during the third-period power play came loose in front and Combs pounced on it and fired it past the OSU goaltender.
"When I get done with the scoring chances (on video), I'm going to look at this game and say we should have won,'' Cole said. "We played well enough. If they give us that every night … Hockey is just that way. It doesn't always go our way.
"We'll figure out ways to win games like this. The guys did a lot of things well.''
Ohio State was 2-for-5 on the power play. MSU was 1-for-4. The Spartans went into the game without having allowed a power-play goal - skating off all 10 opponents' power plays in the first three games.
"We hadn't been scored on (while shorthanded) and we've done a good job. But they made a couple plays where we wanted to pressure them and the puck pops out both times,'' Cole said. "We just got caught in a press situation where we didn't keep it under us and gave them pretty good shots. Those things are going to happen.''
Quinn Preston gave OSU a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 13:53 of the first period. After Mattson tied it, set up with a nice pass by Kyle Haskins into the slot, at 9:32 of the second period, the Buckeyes took the lead for good at 14:33.
Tate Singleton intercepted a pass in the neutral zone along the right boards and speed into the MSU on a 2-on-1. He slid the puck into the slot to a wide-open Joe Dunlap, who fired it past Drew DeRidder.
OSU defenseman Grant Gabrielle made it 3-1 with a power-play goal at 10:24 of the third period, but the Spartans got it back two minutes later with a power-play goal by Combs to make it a one-goal game.
Nappier was solid over the last seven minutes, making a few good saves and not allowing any rebounds.
"We had two untimely turnovers in the neutral zone that led to two goals. That's something we have to clean up,'' Cole said. "Other than that, we were pretty clean.
"Four games in, we're pretty happy. But there's a lot to build on – there's a lot of good things. It makes me optimistic how this team is going to be. I like their battle, their confidence and execution. Those are all really good things.''
UP NEXT: The Spartans won't have much rest before their next challenge. MSU plays host to No. 8/7 Minnesota at 8 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday at Munn Arena. Both games will be televised by Fox Sports Detroit.
The Gophers (4-0-0 overall) already own series sweeps at home against Penn State and Ohio State. They last played on Nov. 23-24 vs. OSU, winning 4-1 and 2-0.
After facing Minnesota, Michigan State will host Wisconsin, Dec. 8-9.
Then, the Spartans will close out the early Big Ten schedule with two games at Notre Dame, Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 19-20.
SHOTS ON GOAL SURGE: Last season, Michigan State had two games in which it put 40 shots or more on goal. The Spartans managed 44 against Wisconsin in December and 43 vs. Penn State in January.
This season, MSU has more than 40 shots on goal in its last three games – 40 in a 2-0 win over Arizona State, 45 in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win at Ohio State and then 44 in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Buckeyes.
Getting pucks to the net has been an emphasis this season as Michigan State strives to create more offense and put itself in better position to win games.
This season, with a mix of newcomers and returnees, the Spartans are getting shots from several different forwards and defensemen and trying to improve their execution and finish.
MSU is getting solid input from graduate transfer Charlie Combs and freshmen A.J. Hodgins, Kristof Papp and Kyle Haskins and sophomores Josh Nodler and Nicolas Mueller.
Senior Mitchell Lewandowski, MSU's highest-scoring returning forward, is being counted on for lots of shots and goals, and junior defenseman Dennis Cesana, who leads lots of rushes and quarterbacks the power play, plays a major role in improving the offense.
Meanwhile, juniors Mitchell Mattson and Adam Goodsir, known for their defensive talents, have showed a bit of offensive flash in the first four games.
"I think our guys have done a very good job,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "And I'll give our (assistant) coaches, coach (Joe) Exter and coach (Chris) Luongo, a lot of credit. We've worked on our offensive zone entries.
"We've got a little more depth, we've got a little more skill. If you look at Kristof Papp, Kyle Haskins and A.J. Hodgins, they bring a little bit of skill and zip on each line. And our sophomores (Nodler, Mueller, Jagger Joshua) are a year older, and Mattson's line has been really good.
"The guys have a good idea and they're working hard. It's good to see them rewarded. We have to keep doing it.''
The role of MSU's fourth line – Mattson, Goodsir and Haskins – is to be solid defensively and hard to play against. Thus far, they've found a good scoring touch.
In fact, the trio is among MSU's top four scorers, along with Combs, with three points apiece.
The Mattson unit has combined for three goals, six assists and nine points in four games. They have 23 shots goal. Mattson has two goals and one assist, Goodsir a goal and two assists and Haskins has three assists. Mattson has nine shots on net, Haskins has eight and Goodsir checks in with six.
"They've played really well,'' Cole said. "That was a great pass by Haskins on the backside to set up Mattson's goal, but Goodie driving through (the offensive zone) opened that up. They done real nice job and they can handle things defensively.''
IN THE BIG TEN: Wisconsin had a tough weekend against Arizona State in a non-conference series in Madison. After getting stunned by the Sun Devils, 8-5, on Saturday, the No. 14/15 Badgers' bid to salvage a split was thwarted by ASU, which built a 2-0 lead in the first period and went on to a 3-1 victory on Sunday.
In the other Big Ten series, Notre Dame swept No. 4/3 Michigan, 3-2 and 2-1, on Friday and Saturday in Ann Arbor.
This week in the Big Ten:
Michigan plays at Penn State on Wednesday and Thursday and Ohio State plays host to Wisconsin on Thursday and Friday. Notre Dame plays a non-conference home series against Arizona State on Thursday and Friday.
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