Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Ready to Challenge No. 5 Minnesota
12/2/2020 9:00:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – After playing four games against two teams which had trouble creating quality scoring chances and scoring goals, Michigan State is preparing to face an offensively skilled opponent which is more than capable of developing good scoring opportunities and putting the puck in the net.
Minnesota, currently ranked No. 5 in college hockey's two major polls, was picked by the Big Ten coaches to finish first in the conference due to several factors.
The Gophers return several talented forwards, a solid defense which contributes to offense, and they believe they've found the right goaltender. Plus, Minnesota, unlike a few other Big Ten teams, won't have to rely on freshmen in key roles.
Thus, the Spartans (2-1-1 overall, 1-1-0-1-0-0 Big Ten) will face their biggest challenge of the early season when they face the Gophers (4-0-0, 4-0-0-0-0-0) in a Big Ten series at 8 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday at Munn Arena. Both games will be televised by Fox Sports Detroit.
"They play the game the right way. They play fast, they move the puck and you have to be ready for them defensively,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "Offensively, you have to work to get your chances. I'm impressed with them as a team.''
Both the Spartans and the Gophers have played four games. MSU is coming off a split at Ohio State last weekend, winning 3-2 in overtime and losing 4-2 in the series finale. Minnesota has played two home series – a 4-1, 3-2 sweep of Notre Dame, Nov. 19-20, and won two games vs. Ohio State, 4-1, 2-0, Nov. 23-24.
Over the last two seasons, MSU is 5-3 against the Gophers. The Spartans won three of the four games played in 2018-19 and split the series 2-2 last year, with each team winning one at home and one on the road.
"I think it comes down to being very physical against them,'' MSU junior left wing Adam Goodsir. "I don't think it has to be those big open-ice hits, but every time they get the puck, it's get a body on them. Just a quick bump into them when they get the puck.
"Those little checks and physical plays start to add up on the defensemen and the forwards. With their defensemen good at moving the puck, we have to force them to make mistakes. Adding a lot of pressure on the forecheck and getting pucks behind them is important.''
Minnesota was picked No. 1 in the Big Ten Coaches Pre-Season Poll while Michigan was second.
"I definitely thought they'd be a team that would be in contention,'' Cole said. "They finished really strong last year and have a good corps (of forwards) coming back. Their goaltending has been good and their D-corps was good to start. By the end of end of last year, Ryan Johnson and Jackson Lacombe were two of the best defensemen in the league as freshmen.
"I like their forward lines. They drive hard to the net. Sammy Walker is as good a player as there is in the Big Ten. They're a handful.''
Walker, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound junior, was the Gophers' top scorer last season with 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points. This season, he's one of five players with three points – two goals and one assist in four games.
"They're a pretty offensive team so one of the formulas (to winning) is to slow down their offense, stopping their attack,'' said senior defenseman Tommy Miller. "I think we do a pretty good job at that, especially here at Munn with the smaller ice. It's easier to contain that speed and offensive push with not much room out there compared to playing at Minnesota on the huge ice (100 feet wide, 200 feet in length).
"We just have to play our game. Stop their offense, and the best defense is a good offense. Last weekend, we put a lot of shots on Ohio State and that's one of our goals this week.''
Cole said he liked his team's play in the split at Ohio State and hopes his team can build on the positives from that series.
"We picked up where we left off after our second game with Arizona State and I thought we did a lot of things well (at OSU),'' the Spartans coach said. "Week-to-week, we got a little better. We were consistent both nights.
"We did a decent job and it wasn't a drop off in play (from Saturday to Sunday). We knew Ohio State was going to be hard and hungry the second night. We handled that well and gave ourselves a good chance to win. We just couldn't get one (more) by their goaltender, who had a good second night.''
A home series against an exciting team like Minnesota would usually make for a great atmosphere at Munn Arena, but that won't be the case this week with no fans allowed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"They're in first place, they're one of the highest-ranked teams in the country and playing well,'' Cole said. "We kind of like how we're playing, so it would have been a good series for our fans.''
THE SPARTANS-GOPHERS RIVALRY: Minnesota holds a 120-50-6 edge in the series which officially started on Feb. 19, 1926 – a 2-0 home loss for MSU. The teams didn't play again until January, 1950.
The Spartans are 5-3 over the last two seasons but the Gophers hold a 13-6-1 edge in the last five years.
Last season, the teams split at Munn Area in January with MSU winning the first game, 4-1 and Minnesota earning a 2-0 victory in the second game. A month later, the teams split at Mariucci Arena – the Gophers winning the series opener, 4-1, and the Spartans rallying for a 4-2 victory the second night.
In 2018-19, Michigan State had its best success against the Gophers since 1976 with a sweep at Munn Arena, 5-3, 5-3. In the first series that season, the Spartans lost 7-2 in the series opener in Minneapolis, but rallied in the second game to pull out a 4-2 win.
Before the Big Ten was formed in 2014-15, MSU and Minnesota rarely played a non-conference series. From 1993 through 2011, they played once a year in the College Hockey Showcase over Thanksgiving, and Minnesota held a 10-4-5 edge.
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS: Minnesota has 14 NHL draft picks on its roster, including five of its nine defensemen and senior goalie Jack LaFontaine, who's in his second season with the Gophers after spending two years at Michigan and another back in junior hockey in Canada before transferring to Minnesota.
Offensively, the team is led by juniors Sammy Walker (11-19-30 last season), Blake McLaughlin (8-16-24), Sampo Ranta (12-8-20) and Bryce Brodzinski (7-5-12), seniors Brannon McManus (9-18-27) and Scott Reedy and sophomore Ben Meyers (10-16-26).
McManus, a close friend and a former junior hockey teammate of MSU senior left wing Mitchell Lewandowski, was injured in the Gophers' series with Ohio State and is expected to miss the MSU series.
The defense is anchored by sophomores Jackson LaCombe (3-10-13), Ryan Johnson (0-8-8) and Matt Staudacher, junior Ben Brinkman and freshmen Brock Faber and Mike Koster.
LaFontaine played in 25 games last season and compiled a 9-9-6 record, a 2.55 goals-against average and a .919 saves percentage. He's played in all four games this season, allowing only four and has a 1.00 GAA and a .961 saves percentage.
The Gophers are 3-for-12 (25%) on the power play and haven't given up a power-play goal in nine shorthanded situations.
Coach Bob Motzko is in his third season with the Gophers. He has a 38-30-11 record at Minnesota and is 314-222-60 in 15-plus seasons in coaching. Motzko, a former Gophers assistant, spent 13 seasons coaching his alma mater – St. Cloud State.
FACEOFF EXCELLENCE: Michigan State is No. 1 in the nation in faceoff wins. The Spartans have won 61.8% of their faceoffs in four games, with senior center and co-captain Tommy Apap leading the way at 65.8%. Sophomore center Josh Nodler is second, winning 58.8% of his faceoffs.
In last Saturday's 3-2 overtime win at Ohio State, MSU went 43-20 in the faceoff circle with Apap winning 15 of 22. On Sunday, the Spartans held a 38-24 edge, led by Nodler going 15-5.
"It's an area we take pride in. It's led by Tommy Apap – he's been one of the best in the country and he will be again this year,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "Sam Saliba took a lot of draws on the right side for us last year. Those were our go-to guys.
"We weren't sure (with Saliba graduating) who the right-handed centerman was going to be to get the job done, but Josh Nodler has done a great job.
"Winning 61% is probably a little lofty (for MSU as a team). You don't see too many individuals that stick around that level, let alone teams. But it's an important part of the game. You win that draw, you take away scoring chances (in your own zone). Offensively, you get chances. The biggest thing is puck possession.''
Cole says winning faceoffs isn't just about center in the circle. It's also about how the other two forwards and two defensemen react once the puck is dropped.
"The centers have done a good job but the other four guys on the ice have had a good line of scrimmage mentality and really jump off the drop of the puck,'' he said. "It really is five guys winning draws.''
Minnesota is the second-best faceoff team in the nation. The Gophers success rate is 61.5 percent.
CHECKERS OR SCORERS OR BOTH: The Spartans' forward line of junior Mitchell Mattson centering junior left wing Adam Goodsir and freshman Kyle Haskins on right wing is entrusted with the key role of playing smart, aggressive defense. Thus far this season, the unit not only carrying out its duty, it's also chipping in with much-needed offense.
The unit has combined for three goals, six assists and 23 shots on goal in four games.
Mattson has already scored two goals – the first and second of his MSU career – and has one assist. Goodsir has one goal – MSU's second goal in its 3-2 overtime win at Ohio State last Saturday – and two assists. Haskins already has three assists in his brief Spartan career.
"Mitch and Adam Goodsir and Nicolas Müller were really good for us at the end of last year. They didn't capitalize on a ton but their chances for and against were very good,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "We felt, hopefully, something would come of that.
"(This year) Kyle Haskins has done a nice job on that line. He drives hard and pushes the pace of play. With him and Adam on the wings, there is a little bit of zip on that line, with good intensity and physicalness.
"If they keep playing that way, you figure that it's a win if you move the puck from zone to zone, it's a win if you forecheck more than you backcheck and it's a win if you put the puck in the net.
"I don't know if they'll score a goal a game but they'll get chances if they continue to play that way. I like where they're at mentally and that usually leads to good things.''
While Goodsir has only missed only two games in his first two seasons, Mattson played in only 14 as a freshman and 22 last season, earning a spot in the lineup for the last 16 games.
Despite not getting a lot of playing time, Mattson persevered and worked his way into the lineup in early January, 2020, and played well in a defensive role.
"I thought our line played well, I got some opportunities and I started to get a little trust with coach,'' Mattson said. "This year has been a weird but I've tried to trust the process – coach talks about it a lot. I've focused on myself and controlled what I can control – being a good teammate and working as hard as I can.
"I've gotten some good bounces this year and have been on the receiving end of some good plays. So far, it's been good.''
Mattson didn't have a point as a freshman and had one assist as a sophomore. This season, he's shown he can chip in offensively, as have Goodsir and Haskins.
"I've seen Mitch play a long time. He was one of the birth-year guys I had at the NTDP (National Team Development Program) and I've seen him do some stuff,'' Cole said. "He has a tremendous shot, he does have a good feel (for the game), and it was a matter of him being able to create those opportunities.''
Despite the early offensive surge, Mattson says he and his linemates are still putting a priority on defense.
"The biggest responsibility that our line has is to be good defensively, and so far this season, we've done that,'' he said. "We've scored goals, which is great and that helps the team, but I think being defensive is really an important aspect.
"That's something we can continue to build on and that gains trust with any coach. If we can score here and there, great. But ultimately, I just want to help the team win.''
IN THE BIG TEN: All seven teams are involved in Wednesday-Thursday or Thursday-Friday series this week.
No. 16 Notre Dame (2-2-0 overall, 2-2-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) is the only team not playing in a conference series. The Irish play host to Arizona State (2-3-1) on Thursday and Friday at Notre Dame, Indiana.
No. 7/7 Michigan (4-2-0, 2-2-0-1-0-0) plays at Penn State (0-4-0, 0-4-0-0-0-0) on Wednesday and Thursday and No. 14 Wisconsin (4-4-0, 4-2-0-0-1-0) is at No. 13/14 Ohio State (1-3-0, 1-3-0-0-1-0) on Thursday and Friday.
The early standings – with one team with six games played, five with four games and one with two – has Wisconsin in first place with 13 points. Minnesota is second with 12, followed by Notre Dame (6), Michigan (5), Ohio State (4), MSU (2) and Penn State (0).
Regulations victories are worth 3 points. Overtime and shootout wins earn 2 points, while a 3-on-3 overtime or shootout loss comes away with 1 point.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – After playing four games against two teams which had trouble creating quality scoring chances and scoring goals, Michigan State is preparing to face an offensively skilled opponent which is more than capable of developing good scoring opportunities and putting the puck in the net.
Minnesota, currently ranked No. 5 in college hockey's two major polls, was picked by the Big Ten coaches to finish first in the conference due to several factors.
The Gophers return several talented forwards, a solid defense which contributes to offense, and they believe they've found the right goaltender. Plus, Minnesota, unlike a few other Big Ten teams, won't have to rely on freshmen in key roles.
Thus, the Spartans (2-1-1 overall, 1-1-0-1-0-0 Big Ten) will face their biggest challenge of the early season when they face the Gophers (4-0-0, 4-0-0-0-0-0) in a Big Ten series at 8 p.m. Thursday and 8 p.m. Friday at Munn Arena. Both games will be televised by Fox Sports Detroit.
"They play the game the right way. They play fast, they move the puck and you have to be ready for them defensively,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "Offensively, you have to work to get your chances. I'm impressed with them as a team.''
Both the Spartans and the Gophers have played four games. MSU is coming off a split at Ohio State last weekend, winning 3-2 in overtime and losing 4-2 in the series finale. Minnesota has played two home series – a 4-1, 3-2 sweep of Notre Dame, Nov. 19-20, and won two games vs. Ohio State, 4-1, 2-0, Nov. 23-24.
Over the last two seasons, MSU is 5-3 against the Gophers. The Spartans won three of the four games played in 2018-19 and split the series 2-2 last year, with each team winning one at home and one on the road.
"I think it comes down to being very physical against them,'' MSU junior left wing Adam Goodsir. "I don't think it has to be those big open-ice hits, but every time they get the puck, it's get a body on them. Just a quick bump into them when they get the puck.
"Those little checks and physical plays start to add up on the defensemen and the forwards. With their defensemen good at moving the puck, we have to force them to make mistakes. Adding a lot of pressure on the forecheck and getting pucks behind them is important.''
Minnesota was picked No. 1 in the Big Ten Coaches Pre-Season Poll while Michigan was second.
"I definitely thought they'd be a team that would be in contention,'' Cole said. "They finished really strong last year and have a good corps (of forwards) coming back. Their goaltending has been good and their D-corps was good to start. By the end of end of last year, Ryan Johnson and Jackson Lacombe were two of the best defensemen in the league as freshmen.
"I like their forward lines. They drive hard to the net. Sammy Walker is as good a player as there is in the Big Ten. They're a handful.''
Walker, a 5-foot-11, 165-pound junior, was the Gophers' top scorer last season with 11 goals and 19 assists for 30 points. This season, he's one of five players with three points – two goals and one assist in four games.
"They're a pretty offensive team so one of the formulas (to winning) is to slow down their offense, stopping their attack,'' said senior defenseman Tommy Miller. "I think we do a pretty good job at that, especially here at Munn with the smaller ice. It's easier to contain that speed and offensive push with not much room out there compared to playing at Minnesota on the huge ice (100 feet wide, 200 feet in length).
"We just have to play our game. Stop their offense, and the best defense is a good offense. Last weekend, we put a lot of shots on Ohio State and that's one of our goals this week.''
Cole said he liked his team's play in the split at Ohio State and hopes his team can build on the positives from that series.
"We picked up where we left off after our second game with Arizona State and I thought we did a lot of things well (at OSU),'' the Spartans coach said. "Week-to-week, we got a little better. We were consistent both nights.
"We did a decent job and it wasn't a drop off in play (from Saturday to Sunday). We knew Ohio State was going to be hard and hungry the second night. We handled that well and gave ourselves a good chance to win. We just couldn't get one (more) by their goaltender, who had a good second night.''
A home series against an exciting team like Minnesota would usually make for a great atmosphere at Munn Arena, but that won't be the case this week with no fans allowed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"They're in first place, they're one of the highest-ranked teams in the country and playing well,'' Cole said. "We kind of like how we're playing, so it would have been a good series for our fans.''
THE SPARTANS-GOPHERS RIVALRY: Minnesota holds a 120-50-6 edge in the series which officially started on Feb. 19, 1926 – a 2-0 home loss for MSU. The teams didn't play again until January, 1950.
The Spartans are 5-3 over the last two seasons but the Gophers hold a 13-6-1 edge in the last five years.
Last season, the teams split at Munn Area in January with MSU winning the first game, 4-1 and Minnesota earning a 2-0 victory in the second game. A month later, the teams split at Mariucci Arena – the Gophers winning the series opener, 4-1, and the Spartans rallying for a 4-2 victory the second night.
In 2018-19, Michigan State had its best success against the Gophers since 1976 with a sweep at Munn Arena, 5-3, 5-3. In the first series that season, the Spartans lost 7-2 in the series opener in Minneapolis, but rallied in the second game to pull out a 4-2 win.
Before the Big Ten was formed in 2014-15, MSU and Minnesota rarely played a non-conference series. From 1993 through 2011, they played once a year in the College Hockey Showcase over Thanksgiving, and Minnesota held a 10-4-5 edge.
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS: Minnesota has 14 NHL draft picks on its roster, including five of its nine defensemen and senior goalie Jack LaFontaine, who's in his second season with the Gophers after spending two years at Michigan and another back in junior hockey in Canada before transferring to Minnesota.
Offensively, the team is led by juniors Sammy Walker (11-19-30 last season), Blake McLaughlin (8-16-24), Sampo Ranta (12-8-20) and Bryce Brodzinski (7-5-12), seniors Brannon McManus (9-18-27) and Scott Reedy and sophomore Ben Meyers (10-16-26).
McManus, a close friend and a former junior hockey teammate of MSU senior left wing Mitchell Lewandowski, was injured in the Gophers' series with Ohio State and is expected to miss the MSU series.
The defense is anchored by sophomores Jackson LaCombe (3-10-13), Ryan Johnson (0-8-8) and Matt Staudacher, junior Ben Brinkman and freshmen Brock Faber and Mike Koster.
LaFontaine played in 25 games last season and compiled a 9-9-6 record, a 2.55 goals-against average and a .919 saves percentage. He's played in all four games this season, allowing only four and has a 1.00 GAA and a .961 saves percentage.
The Gophers are 3-for-12 (25%) on the power play and haven't given up a power-play goal in nine shorthanded situations.
Coach Bob Motzko is in his third season with the Gophers. He has a 38-30-11 record at Minnesota and is 314-222-60 in 15-plus seasons in coaching. Motzko, a former Gophers assistant, spent 13 seasons coaching his alma mater – St. Cloud State.
FACEOFF EXCELLENCE: Michigan State is No. 1 in the nation in faceoff wins. The Spartans have won 61.8% of their faceoffs in four games, with senior center and co-captain Tommy Apap leading the way at 65.8%. Sophomore center Josh Nodler is second, winning 58.8% of his faceoffs.
In last Saturday's 3-2 overtime win at Ohio State, MSU went 43-20 in the faceoff circle with Apap winning 15 of 22. On Sunday, the Spartans held a 38-24 edge, led by Nodler going 15-5.
"It's an area we take pride in. It's led by Tommy Apap – he's been one of the best in the country and he will be again this year,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "Sam Saliba took a lot of draws on the right side for us last year. Those were our go-to guys.
"We weren't sure (with Saliba graduating) who the right-handed centerman was going to be to get the job done, but Josh Nodler has done a great job.
"Winning 61% is probably a little lofty (for MSU as a team). You don't see too many individuals that stick around that level, let alone teams. But it's an important part of the game. You win that draw, you take away scoring chances (in your own zone). Offensively, you get chances. The biggest thing is puck possession.''
Cole says winning faceoffs isn't just about center in the circle. It's also about how the other two forwards and two defensemen react once the puck is dropped.
"The centers have done a good job but the other four guys on the ice have had a good line of scrimmage mentality and really jump off the drop of the puck,'' he said. "It really is five guys winning draws.''
Minnesota is the second-best faceoff team in the nation. The Gophers success rate is 61.5 percent.
CHECKERS OR SCORERS OR BOTH: The Spartans' forward line of junior Mitchell Mattson centering junior left wing Adam Goodsir and freshman Kyle Haskins on right wing is entrusted with the key role of playing smart, aggressive defense. Thus far this season, the unit not only carrying out its duty, it's also chipping in with much-needed offense.
The unit has combined for three goals, six assists and 23 shots on goal in four games.
Mattson has already scored two goals – the first and second of his MSU career – and has one assist. Goodsir has one goal – MSU's second goal in its 3-2 overtime win at Ohio State last Saturday – and two assists. Haskins already has three assists in his brief Spartan career.
"Mitch and Adam Goodsir and Nicolas Müller were really good for us at the end of last year. They didn't capitalize on a ton but their chances for and against were very good,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "We felt, hopefully, something would come of that.
"(This year) Kyle Haskins has done a nice job on that line. He drives hard and pushes the pace of play. With him and Adam on the wings, there is a little bit of zip on that line, with good intensity and physicalness.
"If they keep playing that way, you figure that it's a win if you move the puck from zone to zone, it's a win if you forecheck more than you backcheck and it's a win if you put the puck in the net.
"I don't know if they'll score a goal a game but they'll get chances if they continue to play that way. I like where they're at mentally and that usually leads to good things.''
While Goodsir has only missed only two games in his first two seasons, Mattson played in only 14 as a freshman and 22 last season, earning a spot in the lineup for the last 16 games.
Despite not getting a lot of playing time, Mattson persevered and worked his way into the lineup in early January, 2020, and played well in a defensive role.
"I thought our line played well, I got some opportunities and I started to get a little trust with coach,'' Mattson said. "This year has been a weird but I've tried to trust the process – coach talks about it a lot. I've focused on myself and controlled what I can control – being a good teammate and working as hard as I can.
"I've gotten some good bounces this year and have been on the receiving end of some good plays. So far, it's been good.''
Mattson didn't have a point as a freshman and had one assist as a sophomore. This season, he's shown he can chip in offensively, as have Goodsir and Haskins.
"I've seen Mitch play a long time. He was one of the birth-year guys I had at the NTDP (National Team Development Program) and I've seen him do some stuff,'' Cole said. "He has a tremendous shot, he does have a good feel (for the game), and it was a matter of him being able to create those opportunities.''
Despite the early offensive surge, Mattson says he and his linemates are still putting a priority on defense.
"The biggest responsibility that our line has is to be good defensively, and so far this season, we've done that,'' he said. "We've scored goals, which is great and that helps the team, but I think being defensive is really an important aspect.
"That's something we can continue to build on and that gains trust with any coach. If we can score here and there, great. But ultimately, I just want to help the team win.''
IN THE BIG TEN: All seven teams are involved in Wednesday-Thursday or Thursday-Friday series this week.
No. 16 Notre Dame (2-2-0 overall, 2-2-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) is the only team not playing in a conference series. The Irish play host to Arizona State (2-3-1) on Thursday and Friday at Notre Dame, Indiana.
No. 7/7 Michigan (4-2-0, 2-2-0-1-0-0) plays at Penn State (0-4-0, 0-4-0-0-0-0) on Wednesday and Thursday and No. 14 Wisconsin (4-4-0, 4-2-0-0-1-0) is at No. 13/14 Ohio State (1-3-0, 1-3-0-0-1-0) on Thursday and Friday.
The early standings – with one team with six games played, five with four games and one with two – has Wisconsin in first place with 13 points. Minnesota is second with 12, followed by Notre Dame (6), Michigan (5), Ohio State (4), MSU (2) and Penn State (0).
Regulations victories are worth 3 points. Overtime and shootout wins earn 2 points, while a 3-on-3 overtime or shootout loss comes away with 1 point.
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