Photo by: Matthew Mitchell Photography
Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Improve, But Fall Short vs. No. 5 Minnesota
12/5/2020 10:03:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – Coach Danton Cole promised that his Michigan State hockey team would play a much better game on Friday than it did in a frustrating 3-1 loss to Minnesota on Thursday.
For sure, the Spartans were vastly improved and made the No. 5-ranked Gophers work hard in their bid to stay undefeated.
MSU fell behind 2-0 in the first period but rebounded to tie it 2-2 in the second. After Minnesota capitalized on a power play with six minutes left in the middle period to take a 3-2 lead, the Gophers were challenged by a strong third-period surge by the Spartans.
And Minnesota survived, spoiled MSU's comeback bid and held on for a 4-2 victory at Mun Arena and a sweep of the Big Ten series. After the Spartans missed a boat-load of good chances in the 90 seconds, the Gophers sealed it with an empty-net goal with 11 seconds left.
"We were on our heels a bit and spent a lot of time in our own zone at first, but we battled out of it and righted the ship,'' Cole said. "That's as good of a defense as you'll see in the country. Those six guys back there can skate and make plays and they're elite defenders.
"We did a lot of good things. Minnesota's a good hockey team and we gave them all they can handle. It's a good marker for us.''
Michigan State improved on just about every area of its game Thursday. It broke the puck out better in the defensive zone and its offensive zone entries led to better scoring chances, especially in the second and third periods. Defensive zone coverage, with a couple of exceptions, was better, too.
At one point, Minnesota held a 20-8 edge in shots on goal. But the Spartans outshot the Gophers 15-14 in the second period and 11-7 in the third.
Minnesota goalie Jack LaFontaine, who faced few quality shots on Thursday, had to be sharp on Friday as he made 31 saves. He was very good in the third period.
"I was a little disappointed with our execution on Thursday but everything we talked about, we did much better tonight,'' Cole said. "It was a good battle.
"Our breakouts were way better. I think our D-men made a big jump tonight. In the last few years, we've been one of the better breakout teams in the country but we didn't do a good job last night.
"Our neutral zone offense tonight was night and day from Thursday, and not turning the puck over and getting it in and behind (their defense) gave us a chance. We just needed one puck to go in, and we thought we had it with (Josh) Nodler with the goalie pulled.''
In the final five minutes, MSU's Tyler Haskins, A.J. Hodges and Nodler had good opportunities to tie it, but LaFontaine made some clutch saves and some shots went whizzing by the net.
His best save may have been a point-blank stop on Haskins with 3:19 left. Nodler's one-timer from the left circle toward the open left corner of the net that was either blocked by a Gopher defenseman or LaFontaine.
"With (goalie Drew DeRidder) pulled, we were in their zone for about a minute and 30 seconds and ran some great plays,'' Cole said. "Nodler thought (his shot) was in. The guys didn't cheat us.''
After Minnesota's Ben Meyers (power play) and Jaxon Nelson scored in the first period at 5:03 and 15:27, respectively, Michigan State got back into the game just 19 seconds after Nelson's goal.
Haskins, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound freshman forward from Huntington, Vermont, scored his first collegiate goal from in front of the net, beating LaFontaine to the left corner.
The Spartans tied it just 3:50 into the second period on defenseman Dennis Cesana's first goal of the season. He slid in from the blue line and took a pass in the slot from Nodler, controlled the puck with his skate, and fired it into the lower left corner, beating LaFontaine, who appeared to be screened by one of his defensemen.
The game remained tied for the next 10 minutes, but the Gophers capitalized on a power play to regain the lead at 3-2. Just four seconds into a power play, Minnesota won the faceoff and defenseman Jackson Lacombe's shot from the point was deflected by Scott Reedy and went between DeRidder's legs at 14:14.
The third period may have been the Spartans' best 20 minutes of the weekend. They were energized, used their speed to create dangerous rushes into the offensive zone and won puck battles behind the net.
MSU had some good looks at the net but couldn't get the puck past the 6-foot-3, 210-pound LaFontaine.
"We're a good forechecking team and last night we just didn't give ourselves a chance to do it,'' Cole said. "We were able to change sides in the offensive zone and get the puck moving to create some great chances. There's tons of positives there and good steps forward.''
Minnesota was 1-for-3 on the power play. MSU was 0-for-2, with one power play being only 1 minute and 7 seconds. The Gophers have not given up a power-play goal all season, skating off all 15 opportunities by three opponents – Ohio State, Penn State and MSU.
DeRidder, playing in his sixth straight game, made 32 saves, including 13 in each of the first two periods.
"That's a really good team over there and we bounced back pretty well tonight,'' said senior forward Mitchell Lewandowski, who assisted on Haskins' goal. "It seemed like we were chasing the whole game on Thursday. We had a different feel tonight.
"Our forecheck was really good, causing turnovers and leading to more offense for us. Offensively, we need to score more goals to win. Two goals isn't going to get it done against some teams.''
Said Cesana: "They have a good team with a lot of guys who can move the puck and skate well. On Thursday, we came out flat and today we bounced back. It just goes to show you that we can play with the best teams.
"When we play as group of five, we can play with anybody. If we play as a group, move our feet well and make smart choices, we're a really good team. And if we can get our forecheck going like we did tonight, we can be tough to handle.''
UP NEXT: The Spartans are back on the ice for the start of another series in four days. They play host to Wisconsin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and 4 p.m. on Friday at Munn Arena. These will be MSU's fifth and sixth games in the last 11 and 12 days.
The Badgers halted a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over Ohio State on Friday in Columbus. Wisconsin is also on verge of playing six games in 12 days.
After the Wisconsin series, MSU will have nine days off before playing at Notre Dame, Dec. 19-20. That will be the last of the Spartans' early 10-game schedule. The January-March portion of the Big Ten schedule has not been announced.
LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS: Coach Danton Cole gave his team a new look on offense Friday with changes to two forward lines.
He moved sophomore Nicolas Müller from right wing to center in place of freshman Kristof Papp, who was a healthy scratch. Mitchell Lewandowski switched from left wing to right wing, while freshman Kyle Haskins joined the unit on left wing.
Haskins' right wing spot on his former line with Mitchell Mattson at center and Adam Goodsir on left wing was taken by senior Jake Smith, playing in his first game of the season.
The Charlie Combs-Josh Nodler-A.J. Hodgins line and the Jagger Joshua-Tommy Apap-Brody Stevens unit remained intact.
"Nicolas Müller had a hell of a game for us at center,'' Cole said. "He played very well. The (Minnesota) line that gave us problems on Thursday was (Scott) Reedy's line (with Sampo Ranta and Mason Nevers on the wings). Müller and his line did a fantastic job playing against them tonight.''
The Haskins-Müller-Lewandowski line teamed up to score MSU's first goal late in the opening period.
From the right point, Lewandowski sent a quick pass to Müller low in the right circle. Müller quickly hit Haskins with a perfect pass in the slot, and Haskins beat Minnesota goalie Jack LaFontaine to the left corner for his first goal as a Spartan. It cut MSU's deficit to 2-1.
"It was awesome to see Haskins get on the board,'' Lewandowski said. "He kind of drove our line tonight with his skating. I thought we had a good game all together.''
Lewandowski also was impressed with Müller's play as a centerman.
"I've never seen Nico play better than he did tonight,'' he said. "I thought he was awesome. Every time I had the puck, it seemed like he was open, and the same for Haskins.''
Cole said taking Papp out of the lineup was not to be viewed as a punishment.
"I wanted to give Kristof a night just to watch. It was a learning thing,'' he said. "It's just to get up there and watch the game and see how hard it has to be. He's a talented young man, he cares and works and he's going to be a great player for us.''
Cole said he remembers sitting out a game early in his freshman season at MSU by Coach Ron Mason in 1985.
"I sat out one game in my career here. It was against Miami at home, and the next night Coach Mason put me back in and I scored my first goal,'' Cole said. "Donnie McSween and I hold the record for most games played here so I never missed another one.''
Cole (1985-89) and McSween (1983-87) share the record for most games played as a Spartan with 180.
Smith, making his season debut, had a strong game teaming with Mattson and Goodsir.
"He was fast, played hard and banged around and created some offense. And good for him,'' Cole said. "I know guys don't like sitting out. I have a lot of empathy. I spent a lot of time not playing hockey when I was under contract so I know that feeling. Credit to him to stay in there and stay positive.''
IN THE BIG TEN: Wisconsin bounced back from Thursday's 4-2 loss at Ohio State and edged the Buckeyes 3-1 on Friday night in Columbus to earn a series split. The No. 14 Badgers broke a 1-1 tie on Brock Caufield's power-play goal with seven minutes left in the second period.
Jack Gorniak's goal early in the third period boosted Wisconsin's lead to 3-1. Freshman goalie Cameron Rowe, making his first college start, made 40 saves for the Badgers (5-5-0 overall, 5-3-0-0-1-0 Big Ten).
Travis Treloar, a freshman forward from Norway, scored the only goal for the No. 13/14 Buckeyes (2-4-0, 2-4-0-0-1-0).
In non-conference play, Notre Dame defenseman Nick Leiverman's goal with five seconds left capped a three-goal rally and gave the No. 16 Irish a 5-4 victory over Arizona State on Friday at Notre Dame. ASU won the series opener, 6-3, on Thursday.
The No. 20 Sun Devils (3-4-1) fell behind 2-0, then scored the next four goals to take a 4-2 lead into the third period. The Irish (3-3-0, 2-2-0-0-0-0) tied it 4-4 on goals at 11:22 and 12:39 and won it on Leiverman's unassisted goal.
Notre Dame outshot Arizona State, 47-37.
In a Wednesday-Thursday series, No. 7 Michigan (5-3-0, 3-3-0-1-0-0) defeated Penn State, 3-1, in the first game, but the Nittany Lions (1-5-0, 1-5-0-0-0-0) erupted for an 9-5 victory on Thursday for its first win of the season. PSU outshot U-M, 43-28.
All Big Ten teams are off until next Tuesday and Wednesday when Wisconsin plays at Michigan State and Michigan plays host to Minnesota.
Arizona State is at Penn State next Friday and Saturday, and Notre Dame is home against Ohio State next Saturday and Sunday.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – Coach Danton Cole promised that his Michigan State hockey team would play a much better game on Friday than it did in a frustrating 3-1 loss to Minnesota on Thursday.
For sure, the Spartans were vastly improved and made the No. 5-ranked Gophers work hard in their bid to stay undefeated.
MSU fell behind 2-0 in the first period but rebounded to tie it 2-2 in the second. After Minnesota capitalized on a power play with six minutes left in the middle period to take a 3-2 lead, the Gophers were challenged by a strong third-period surge by the Spartans.
And Minnesota survived, spoiled MSU's comeback bid and held on for a 4-2 victory at Mun Arena and a sweep of the Big Ten series. After the Spartans missed a boat-load of good chances in the 90 seconds, the Gophers sealed it with an empty-net goal with 11 seconds left.
"We were on our heels a bit and spent a lot of time in our own zone at first, but we battled out of it and righted the ship,'' Cole said. "That's as good of a defense as you'll see in the country. Those six guys back there can skate and make plays and they're elite defenders.
"We did a lot of good things. Minnesota's a good hockey team and we gave them all they can handle. It's a good marker for us.''
Michigan State improved on just about every area of its game Thursday. It broke the puck out better in the defensive zone and its offensive zone entries led to better scoring chances, especially in the second and third periods. Defensive zone coverage, with a couple of exceptions, was better, too.
At one point, Minnesota held a 20-8 edge in shots on goal. But the Spartans outshot the Gophers 15-14 in the second period and 11-7 in the third.
Minnesota goalie Jack LaFontaine, who faced few quality shots on Thursday, had to be sharp on Friday as he made 31 saves. He was very good in the third period.
"I was a little disappointed with our execution on Thursday but everything we talked about, we did much better tonight,'' Cole said. "It was a good battle.
"Our breakouts were way better. I think our D-men made a big jump tonight. In the last few years, we've been one of the better breakout teams in the country but we didn't do a good job last night.
"Our neutral zone offense tonight was night and day from Thursday, and not turning the puck over and getting it in and behind (their defense) gave us a chance. We just needed one puck to go in, and we thought we had it with (Josh) Nodler with the goalie pulled.''
In the final five minutes, MSU's Tyler Haskins, A.J. Hodges and Nodler had good opportunities to tie it, but LaFontaine made some clutch saves and some shots went whizzing by the net.
His best save may have been a point-blank stop on Haskins with 3:19 left. Nodler's one-timer from the left circle toward the open left corner of the net that was either blocked by a Gopher defenseman or LaFontaine.
"With (goalie Drew DeRidder) pulled, we were in their zone for about a minute and 30 seconds and ran some great plays,'' Cole said. "Nodler thought (his shot) was in. The guys didn't cheat us.''
After Minnesota's Ben Meyers (power play) and Jaxon Nelson scored in the first period at 5:03 and 15:27, respectively, Michigan State got back into the game just 19 seconds after Nelson's goal.
Haskins, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound freshman forward from Huntington, Vermont, scored his first collegiate goal from in front of the net, beating LaFontaine to the left corner.
The Spartans tied it just 3:50 into the second period on defenseman Dennis Cesana's first goal of the season. He slid in from the blue line and took a pass in the slot from Nodler, controlled the puck with his skate, and fired it into the lower left corner, beating LaFontaine, who appeared to be screened by one of his defensemen.
The game remained tied for the next 10 minutes, but the Gophers capitalized on a power play to regain the lead at 3-2. Just four seconds into a power play, Minnesota won the faceoff and defenseman Jackson Lacombe's shot from the point was deflected by Scott Reedy and went between DeRidder's legs at 14:14.
The third period may have been the Spartans' best 20 minutes of the weekend. They were energized, used their speed to create dangerous rushes into the offensive zone and won puck battles behind the net.
MSU had some good looks at the net but couldn't get the puck past the 6-foot-3, 210-pound LaFontaine.
"We're a good forechecking team and last night we just didn't give ourselves a chance to do it,'' Cole said. "We were able to change sides in the offensive zone and get the puck moving to create some great chances. There's tons of positives there and good steps forward.''
Minnesota was 1-for-3 on the power play. MSU was 0-for-2, with one power play being only 1 minute and 7 seconds. The Gophers have not given up a power-play goal all season, skating off all 15 opportunities by three opponents – Ohio State, Penn State and MSU.
DeRidder, playing in his sixth straight game, made 32 saves, including 13 in each of the first two periods.
"That's a really good team over there and we bounced back pretty well tonight,'' said senior forward Mitchell Lewandowski, who assisted on Haskins' goal. "It seemed like we were chasing the whole game on Thursday. We had a different feel tonight.
"Our forecheck was really good, causing turnovers and leading to more offense for us. Offensively, we need to score more goals to win. Two goals isn't going to get it done against some teams.''
Said Cesana: "They have a good team with a lot of guys who can move the puck and skate well. On Thursday, we came out flat and today we bounced back. It just goes to show you that we can play with the best teams.
"When we play as group of five, we can play with anybody. If we play as a group, move our feet well and make smart choices, we're a really good team. And if we can get our forecheck going like we did tonight, we can be tough to handle.''
UP NEXT: The Spartans are back on the ice for the start of another series in four days. They play host to Wisconsin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday and 4 p.m. on Friday at Munn Arena. These will be MSU's fifth and sixth games in the last 11 and 12 days.
The Badgers halted a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over Ohio State on Friday in Columbus. Wisconsin is also on verge of playing six games in 12 days.
After the Wisconsin series, MSU will have nine days off before playing at Notre Dame, Dec. 19-20. That will be the last of the Spartans' early 10-game schedule. The January-March portion of the Big Ten schedule has not been announced.
LINEUP ADJUSTMENTS: Coach Danton Cole gave his team a new look on offense Friday with changes to two forward lines.
He moved sophomore Nicolas Müller from right wing to center in place of freshman Kristof Papp, who was a healthy scratch. Mitchell Lewandowski switched from left wing to right wing, while freshman Kyle Haskins joined the unit on left wing.
Haskins' right wing spot on his former line with Mitchell Mattson at center and Adam Goodsir on left wing was taken by senior Jake Smith, playing in his first game of the season.
The Charlie Combs-Josh Nodler-A.J. Hodgins line and the Jagger Joshua-Tommy Apap-Brody Stevens unit remained intact.
"Nicolas Müller had a hell of a game for us at center,'' Cole said. "He played very well. The (Minnesota) line that gave us problems on Thursday was (Scott) Reedy's line (with Sampo Ranta and Mason Nevers on the wings). Müller and his line did a fantastic job playing against them tonight.''
The Haskins-Müller-Lewandowski line teamed up to score MSU's first goal late in the opening period.
From the right point, Lewandowski sent a quick pass to Müller low in the right circle. Müller quickly hit Haskins with a perfect pass in the slot, and Haskins beat Minnesota goalie Jack LaFontaine to the left corner for his first goal as a Spartan. It cut MSU's deficit to 2-1.
"It was awesome to see Haskins get on the board,'' Lewandowski said. "He kind of drove our line tonight with his skating. I thought we had a good game all together.''
Lewandowski also was impressed with Müller's play as a centerman.
"I've never seen Nico play better than he did tonight,'' he said. "I thought he was awesome. Every time I had the puck, it seemed like he was open, and the same for Haskins.''
Cole said taking Papp out of the lineup was not to be viewed as a punishment.
"I wanted to give Kristof a night just to watch. It was a learning thing,'' he said. "It's just to get up there and watch the game and see how hard it has to be. He's a talented young man, he cares and works and he's going to be a great player for us.''
Cole said he remembers sitting out a game early in his freshman season at MSU by Coach Ron Mason in 1985.
"I sat out one game in my career here. It was against Miami at home, and the next night Coach Mason put me back in and I scored my first goal,'' Cole said. "Donnie McSween and I hold the record for most games played here so I never missed another one.''
Cole (1985-89) and McSween (1983-87) share the record for most games played as a Spartan with 180.
Smith, making his season debut, had a strong game teaming with Mattson and Goodsir.
"He was fast, played hard and banged around and created some offense. And good for him,'' Cole said. "I know guys don't like sitting out. I have a lot of empathy. I spent a lot of time not playing hockey when I was under contract so I know that feeling. Credit to him to stay in there and stay positive.''
IN THE BIG TEN: Wisconsin bounced back from Thursday's 4-2 loss at Ohio State and edged the Buckeyes 3-1 on Friday night in Columbus to earn a series split. The No. 14 Badgers broke a 1-1 tie on Brock Caufield's power-play goal with seven minutes left in the second period.
Jack Gorniak's goal early in the third period boosted Wisconsin's lead to 3-1. Freshman goalie Cameron Rowe, making his first college start, made 40 saves for the Badgers (5-5-0 overall, 5-3-0-0-1-0 Big Ten).
Travis Treloar, a freshman forward from Norway, scored the only goal for the No. 13/14 Buckeyes (2-4-0, 2-4-0-0-1-0).
In non-conference play, Notre Dame defenseman Nick Leiverman's goal with five seconds left capped a three-goal rally and gave the No. 16 Irish a 5-4 victory over Arizona State on Friday at Notre Dame. ASU won the series opener, 6-3, on Thursday.
The No. 20 Sun Devils (3-4-1) fell behind 2-0, then scored the next four goals to take a 4-2 lead into the third period. The Irish (3-3-0, 2-2-0-0-0-0) tied it 4-4 on goals at 11:22 and 12:39 and won it on Leiverman's unassisted goal.
Notre Dame outshot Arizona State, 47-37.
In a Wednesday-Thursday series, No. 7 Michigan (5-3-0, 3-3-0-1-0-0) defeated Penn State, 3-1, in the first game, but the Nittany Lions (1-5-0, 1-5-0-0-0-0) erupted for an 9-5 victory on Thursday for its first win of the season. PSU outshot U-M, 43-28.
All Big Ten teams are off until next Tuesday and Wednesday when Wisconsin plays at Michigan State and Michigan plays host to Minnesota.
Arizona State is at Penn State next Friday and Saturday, and Notre Dame is home against Ohio State next Saturday and Sunday.
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