Photo by: Matthew Mitchell
Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Drop a Heartbreaker in Home Finale
2/23/2020 9:51:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – Things were looking good for Michigan State as the clock ticked down late in the third period.
Leading 2-1, the Spartans were playing good defense and battling hard in an effort to send the seniors out with a victory on Senior Night on Saturday at Munn Arena.
But a couple of mistakes turned into Ohio State goals, and just like that – within 1 minute and 28 seconds – Michigan State was behind 3-2.
A few minutes later, Ohio State was celebrating a come-from-behind 4-2 Big Ten victory and a series sweep in front of a sellout crowd of 6,745.
It was a heartbreaking loss for a Spartans team that scratched and clawed their way to a 2-1 lead late in the first period, and maintained it until 15:11 of the third period. Then 88 seconds later, Ohio State took the lead with a power-play goal.
The Buckeyes held on the rest of the way, adding an empty-net goal, to earn the victory and sweep the Spartans for the second time this season.
"Clearly, a tough break there at the end,'' said senior center Patrick Khodorenko, who scored the first MSU goal and assisted on the second.
"It goes to show you that you can't take your foot off the gas at any time.''
For about 55 minutes, the Spartans played a strong, competitive, feisty game, and then two hiccups spoiled the night and put a dent in MSU's quest for at least a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten and the right to host a first-round playoff series.
"At a key time of the game, they were able to make plays and we didn't,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "I thought we battled hard and did a lot of things really well.
"We did a nice job in the third period and had things in control. When the scored the goal with 3½ minutes left, that was only their third shot on goal of the period.
"All of sudden, you're down 3-2 in a game that you were up 2-1. But we didn't stop battling. We were getting pucks in the (offensive) zone right to the end with the goalie pulled. We just couldn't get the next (goal).
"It's a tough senior night. But I've got no complaints. They played like Spartans tonight.''
Michigan State played with a lot more energy and with a higher compete level than it did in Friday's 1-0 loss in which most of the team was hampered by flu-like issues. Goalie John Lethemon and left wing Logan Lambdin sat out because of illness. But they were back in the lineup on Saturday.
Except for one shot, Lethemon had an excellent night, making 37 saves, including 22 in the first period.
With MSU up 2-1, Ohio State freshman Jaedon Leslie shot the puck toward the net from the right corner along the goal line. The puck seemed to go off Lethemon's back, just below his number, and deflect into the net at 15:11 of the third period to tie it 2-2.
MSU's bad luck continued 15 seconds later when Gino Esteves was penalized for tripping. Ohio State capitalized just 1:13 later as Carson Meyer worked the puck free along the left boards, passed it into the slot where Tanner Laczynski moved in and fired it past Lethemon at 16:39.
Despite getting outshot 23-12 in the first period, the Spartans came away with 2-1 lead on goals by Khodorenko at 12:53 and Jagger Joshua with 10.3 seconds left in the period.
Ohio State scored a power-play goal at 16:10 by Quinn Preston to tie it 1-1 before Joshua gave MSU the lead.
On Khodorenko's goal – his 16th of the season – he batted the puck out of mid-air in front of OSU goalie Tommy Nappier and it wound up in the back of the net for MSU's first goal of the weekend.
Sam Saliba, from behind the net, backhanded the out front and Mitchell Lewandowski shot it off the left goal post and the puck bounced above the net as Khodorenko swooped into the slot.
The Spartans feasted on an Ohio State turnover to take a 2-1 lead. Khodorenko intercepted an OSU clearing attempt in the left circle, drove to the net with Joshua in the right spot to his left. He deked Nappier and slid the puck to Joshua who tapped it into the net.
"On the first one, we had good forechecking going and the puck was kind of air-lifted in front of their goalie and I skated right into it and batted it in,'' Khodorenko said. "On the second (goal), it was a great forecheck by Jagger (Joshua) and (Logan) Lambdin.
"I don't know if they passed it (out front) or if the puck just bounced in there. I made a little deke on the goalie and Jagger was backdoor. And I just slid it to him.''
Joshua easily slid it past Nappier.
The Spartans outshot the Buckeyes 13-6 in the second period but both teams failed to score. MSU played a strong defensive game in the third period except for the brief stretch late in the period when an apparent crucial victory turned into a gut-wrenching defeat.
"Sure, you want a play here or there. But if they don't cheat us in effort and attitude, then we're all right and we'll figure out the rest,'' Cole said. "We still have some hockey to play. I'm not sure we're a team that people are looking to play in the first round.''
Michigan State started the weekend tied with Ohio State for fourth place and comes out of it in sixth place with 31 points and out of contention for a first-place finish, but still with an outside chance of earning a home playoff berth.
The Spartans are two points in back of fifth-place Michigan (33 points), four in back of fourth-place Notre Dame (35) and six behind Minnesota (37) and Ohio State (37), who are tied for second place.
Michigan State, which plays at Notre Dame next weekend, still has a shot of hosting a first-round Big Ten playoff series. The Spartans have to sweep the Irish to get to 37 points, and have either Ohio State to lose twice against Wisconsin or Michigan to do no better than a win and tie and 3-on-3 or shootout loss at Minnesota.
For sure, it's a longshot, but it's still possible in the bizarre conference race.
KHODORENKO LINE RISES UP: Michigan State's top line of Patrick Khodorenko, Mitchell Lewandowski and Sam Saliba was major force in Saturday's final regular-season home game. Khodorenko had a goal and an assist as the Spartans built a 2-1 lead but lost it late in the third period and ended up with a disappointing 3-2 loss.
"They did a lot of stuff that we didn't do last night,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "They have to understand when teams play them that they'll be jammed up and not get a lot of 3-on-2s. Other teams will have a high guy all the time. But if they can get pucks behind them, that's when Patrick is really good - when he's on the forecheck, and when he's below the goal line, he's tough to handle. It's the same with Lewie.
"They've created a lot that way. And it's a hard thing for young guys to learn, especially talented guys. But that's the way you have to play sometimes.
"They got us that 2-1 lead, and for a while it looked like it would hold up.''
Khodorenko, Lewandowski and Saliba combined for 10 shots on goal. Khodorenko and Lewandowski each had four while Saliba had two.
Khodorenko continues to lead MSU in scoring with 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points in 32 games. He's fourth in the Big Ten in overall scoring, five points behind leader Nate Sucese (11-27-38).
In Big Ten games, Khodorenko is tied for third with 22 points – a league-leading 13 goals and nine assists. He has a good chance at winning the league scoring title because the leaders, Alex Limoges (9-14-23) and Sucese (8-15-23) of Penn State have finished their conference schedule.
In addition, PSU's Evan Barratt, who's tied with Khodorenko with 22 points (10-12) is done with Big Ten play.
Cole Caufield also has 22 points (11-11) and, like Khodorenko, he has two games remaining – at Ohio State.
Michigan's Jake Slaker (9-11) and Minnesota's Brannon McManus (7-13), with 20 points, are two points behind Khodorenko and Caufield, and their teams play each other next weekend.
SENIORS SALUTED: Nine seniors and two senior managers were honored in post-game ceremonies on Saturday night.
The players included forwards Patrick Khodorenko, Sam Saliba and Logan Lambden, defensemen Jerad Rosburg, Butrus Ghafari, Damian Chrcek and Anthony Scarsella and goaltenders John Lethemon and Spencer Wright.
The senior managers are Cam Stevenson and Tony Fedrizzi.
"These guys get a lot of nice stuff for playing here but they give up an awful lot. They spend a lot of time (at Munn Arena) and a lot of extra hours and a lot of blood, sweat and tears,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "This university means a lot to them. I hope everyone who leaves here feels the same about Michigan State as the student-athletes do.
"They sacrifice a lot and invest a lot in what they're trying to do.''
The Spartan seniors were freshman-turning-sophomores when Cole took over as coach in April 2017, and played a big part in establishing the culture of the program.
"This is their fourth year and my third year, so I've spent a lot of time with them,'' Cole said. "They're good young men and they'll do well when they leave here. But they still have a little bit of work to do.''
MSU still has two regular-season games left at Notre Dame next weekend and a best-of-three first-round playoff series, March 6-8.
"Collectively as a group, what they've done when I got the job is they bought in (to his program) and did an unbelievable job with leadership, all nine of them,'' Cole said. "They've left a pretty good imprint on our program.''
For sure, it was an emotional night for the seniors who've gone through lots of ups and downs over the last four seasons, and probably won't play another home game at Munn Arena. And most of the "ups" were from this season.
"I've had a fun four years here with this group of guys. It's tough to go out like that,'' Khodorenko said of Saturday's 4-2 loss to Ohio State. "I thought we played a real good game – Spartan hockey for most of it.
"We battled all game and a couple of bounces didn't go our way. That's kind of how it works.''
Khodorenko said what he'll miss the most is "coming to the rink every day, working to get better with all the guys, especially my roommates – Butrus (Ghafari), Leth (John Lethemon), (Taro) Hirose last year and Dennis (Cesana) this year, and all the other guys, too.
"We had a blast and we're not done yet.''
UP NEXT: The Spartans close out the regular season with a two-game series at fourth-place Notre Dame (35 points) at 7 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday at Compton Family Arena in Notre Dame, Ind.
In their first meeting of the season, Michigan State tied and defeated the Irish, 1-1 (losing the shootout) and 3-2, Nov. 22-23, respectively. Notre Dame, with 35 points, is four points ahead of MSU (31), and six behind first-place Penn State but can't finish first because of the tie-breaker – league victories.
Ohio State wraps up its season with a home series against Wisconsin, also next Friday and Saturday. The Buckeyes can still finish as high as first place and low as sixth.
BIG TEN RACE: Penn State boosted its lead in the chase for first place with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Minnesota on Saturday in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions (41 points), who tied the Gophers on Friday 3-3 and earned the extra point with a 3-on-3 win, are four points up on second-place Minnesota (37) and Ohio State (37). But PSU has finished its Big Ten regular season and has a bye next weekend.
The Nittany Lions can only watch the three other series next week with two other teams who could finish first and earn a first-round bye – Minnesota and Ohio State.
The Gophers took a 2-0 lead in the first period and were up 2-1 starting the third. But Penn State scored two goals in 31 seconds midway through the period to take the lead.
In the other series in the Big Ten, Notre Dame stunned Michigan for the second straight game with a 3-0 victory and a series sweep in Ann Arbor. Both games were scoreless after two periods.
The Irish scored two goals in the third period on Friday, gave up a late goal but held on for a 2-1 victory. On Saturday, Notre Dame broke the 0-0 tie with two goals in 1 minute and 36 seconds midway through the third period and later added an empty-net goal.
Notre Dame and Michigan split their season series, 2-2, with each team winning two on the road losing both games at home.
The Irish, with a sweep of MSU, could still tie Penn State for first place but would not get the top seed and first-round bye in the playoffs because the Nittany Lions would have more conference victories – the first tiebreaker.
Michigan, now out of the running for a first-place finish, could still wind up in second place and as low as sixth. The Wolverines close out the regular season at Minnesota next Friday and Saturday.
Ohio State (37 points) could finish in first place with a sweep of Wisconsin, and even if Minnesota (37 points) wins two from Michigan, the Buckeyes would get the higher seed because of more conference wins than the Gophers.
Meanwhile, seventh-place Wisconsin ended its home season with a non-conference series sweep of No. 9 Arizona State, 7-6, on Friday and 6-2 on Saturday.
The Badgers, as the No. 7 seed, will play the second-place team in the first round of the playoffs. Possible opponents include Penn State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan but not MSU.
The playoff pairings will come into better focus after next Friday's games, but the final standings and playoff matchups won't be set until after next Saturday's three conference games are completed.
The regular-season ending series on Friday and Saturday:
Michigan State at Notre Dame; Michigan at Minnesota and Wisconsin at Ohio State.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – Things were looking good for Michigan State as the clock ticked down late in the third period.
Leading 2-1, the Spartans were playing good defense and battling hard in an effort to send the seniors out with a victory on Senior Night on Saturday at Munn Arena.
But a couple of mistakes turned into Ohio State goals, and just like that – within 1 minute and 28 seconds – Michigan State was behind 3-2.
A few minutes later, Ohio State was celebrating a come-from-behind 4-2 Big Ten victory and a series sweep in front of a sellout crowd of 6,745.
It was a heartbreaking loss for a Spartans team that scratched and clawed their way to a 2-1 lead late in the first period, and maintained it until 15:11 of the third period. Then 88 seconds later, Ohio State took the lead with a power-play goal.
The Buckeyes held on the rest of the way, adding an empty-net goal, to earn the victory and sweep the Spartans for the second time this season.
"Clearly, a tough break there at the end,'' said senior center Patrick Khodorenko, who scored the first MSU goal and assisted on the second.
"It goes to show you that you can't take your foot off the gas at any time.''
For about 55 minutes, the Spartans played a strong, competitive, feisty game, and then two hiccups spoiled the night and put a dent in MSU's quest for at least a fourth-place finish in the Big Ten and the right to host a first-round playoff series.
"At a key time of the game, they were able to make plays and we didn't,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "I thought we battled hard and did a lot of things really well.
"We did a nice job in the third period and had things in control. When the scored the goal with 3½ minutes left, that was only their third shot on goal of the period.
"All of sudden, you're down 3-2 in a game that you were up 2-1. But we didn't stop battling. We were getting pucks in the (offensive) zone right to the end with the goalie pulled. We just couldn't get the next (goal).
"It's a tough senior night. But I've got no complaints. They played like Spartans tonight.''
Michigan State played with a lot more energy and with a higher compete level than it did in Friday's 1-0 loss in which most of the team was hampered by flu-like issues. Goalie John Lethemon and left wing Logan Lambdin sat out because of illness. But they were back in the lineup on Saturday.
Except for one shot, Lethemon had an excellent night, making 37 saves, including 22 in the first period.
With MSU up 2-1, Ohio State freshman Jaedon Leslie shot the puck toward the net from the right corner along the goal line. The puck seemed to go off Lethemon's back, just below his number, and deflect into the net at 15:11 of the third period to tie it 2-2.
MSU's bad luck continued 15 seconds later when Gino Esteves was penalized for tripping. Ohio State capitalized just 1:13 later as Carson Meyer worked the puck free along the left boards, passed it into the slot where Tanner Laczynski moved in and fired it past Lethemon at 16:39.
Despite getting outshot 23-12 in the first period, the Spartans came away with 2-1 lead on goals by Khodorenko at 12:53 and Jagger Joshua with 10.3 seconds left in the period.
Ohio State scored a power-play goal at 16:10 by Quinn Preston to tie it 1-1 before Joshua gave MSU the lead.
On Khodorenko's goal – his 16th of the season – he batted the puck out of mid-air in front of OSU goalie Tommy Nappier and it wound up in the back of the net for MSU's first goal of the weekend.
Sam Saliba, from behind the net, backhanded the out front and Mitchell Lewandowski shot it off the left goal post and the puck bounced above the net as Khodorenko swooped into the slot.
The Spartans feasted on an Ohio State turnover to take a 2-1 lead. Khodorenko intercepted an OSU clearing attempt in the left circle, drove to the net with Joshua in the right spot to his left. He deked Nappier and slid the puck to Joshua who tapped it into the net.
"On the first one, we had good forechecking going and the puck was kind of air-lifted in front of their goalie and I skated right into it and batted it in,'' Khodorenko said. "On the second (goal), it was a great forecheck by Jagger (Joshua) and (Logan) Lambdin.
"I don't know if they passed it (out front) or if the puck just bounced in there. I made a little deke on the goalie and Jagger was backdoor. And I just slid it to him.''
Joshua easily slid it past Nappier.
The Spartans outshot the Buckeyes 13-6 in the second period but both teams failed to score. MSU played a strong defensive game in the third period except for the brief stretch late in the period when an apparent crucial victory turned into a gut-wrenching defeat.
"Sure, you want a play here or there. But if they don't cheat us in effort and attitude, then we're all right and we'll figure out the rest,'' Cole said. "We still have some hockey to play. I'm not sure we're a team that people are looking to play in the first round.''
Michigan State started the weekend tied with Ohio State for fourth place and comes out of it in sixth place with 31 points and out of contention for a first-place finish, but still with an outside chance of earning a home playoff berth.
The Spartans are two points in back of fifth-place Michigan (33 points), four in back of fourth-place Notre Dame (35) and six behind Minnesota (37) and Ohio State (37), who are tied for second place.
Michigan State, which plays at Notre Dame next weekend, still has a shot of hosting a first-round Big Ten playoff series. The Spartans have to sweep the Irish to get to 37 points, and have either Ohio State to lose twice against Wisconsin or Michigan to do no better than a win and tie and 3-on-3 or shootout loss at Minnesota.
For sure, it's a longshot, but it's still possible in the bizarre conference race.
KHODORENKO LINE RISES UP: Michigan State's top line of Patrick Khodorenko, Mitchell Lewandowski and Sam Saliba was major force in Saturday's final regular-season home game. Khodorenko had a goal and an assist as the Spartans built a 2-1 lead but lost it late in the third period and ended up with a disappointing 3-2 loss.
"They did a lot of stuff that we didn't do last night,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "They have to understand when teams play them that they'll be jammed up and not get a lot of 3-on-2s. Other teams will have a high guy all the time. But if they can get pucks behind them, that's when Patrick is really good - when he's on the forecheck, and when he's below the goal line, he's tough to handle. It's the same with Lewie.
"They've created a lot that way. And it's a hard thing for young guys to learn, especially talented guys. But that's the way you have to play sometimes.
"They got us that 2-1 lead, and for a while it looked like it would hold up.''
Khodorenko, Lewandowski and Saliba combined for 10 shots on goal. Khodorenko and Lewandowski each had four while Saliba had two.
Khodorenko continues to lead MSU in scoring with 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points in 32 games. He's fourth in the Big Ten in overall scoring, five points behind leader Nate Sucese (11-27-38).
In Big Ten games, Khodorenko is tied for third with 22 points – a league-leading 13 goals and nine assists. He has a good chance at winning the league scoring title because the leaders, Alex Limoges (9-14-23) and Sucese (8-15-23) of Penn State have finished their conference schedule.
In addition, PSU's Evan Barratt, who's tied with Khodorenko with 22 points (10-12) is done with Big Ten play.
Cole Caufield also has 22 points (11-11) and, like Khodorenko, he has two games remaining – at Ohio State.
Michigan's Jake Slaker (9-11) and Minnesota's Brannon McManus (7-13), with 20 points, are two points behind Khodorenko and Caufield, and their teams play each other next weekend.
SENIORS SALUTED: Nine seniors and two senior managers were honored in post-game ceremonies on Saturday night.
The players included forwards Patrick Khodorenko, Sam Saliba and Logan Lambden, defensemen Jerad Rosburg, Butrus Ghafari, Damian Chrcek and Anthony Scarsella and goaltenders John Lethemon and Spencer Wright.
The senior managers are Cam Stevenson and Tony Fedrizzi.
"These guys get a lot of nice stuff for playing here but they give up an awful lot. They spend a lot of time (at Munn Arena) and a lot of extra hours and a lot of blood, sweat and tears,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "This university means a lot to them. I hope everyone who leaves here feels the same about Michigan State as the student-athletes do.
"They sacrifice a lot and invest a lot in what they're trying to do.''
The Spartan seniors were freshman-turning-sophomores when Cole took over as coach in April 2017, and played a big part in establishing the culture of the program.
"This is their fourth year and my third year, so I've spent a lot of time with them,'' Cole said. "They're good young men and they'll do well when they leave here. But they still have a little bit of work to do.''
MSU still has two regular-season games left at Notre Dame next weekend and a best-of-three first-round playoff series, March 6-8.
"Collectively as a group, what they've done when I got the job is they bought in (to his program) and did an unbelievable job with leadership, all nine of them,'' Cole said. "They've left a pretty good imprint on our program.''
For sure, it was an emotional night for the seniors who've gone through lots of ups and downs over the last four seasons, and probably won't play another home game at Munn Arena. And most of the "ups" were from this season.
"I've had a fun four years here with this group of guys. It's tough to go out like that,'' Khodorenko said of Saturday's 4-2 loss to Ohio State. "I thought we played a real good game – Spartan hockey for most of it.
"We battled all game and a couple of bounces didn't go our way. That's kind of how it works.''
Khodorenko said what he'll miss the most is "coming to the rink every day, working to get better with all the guys, especially my roommates – Butrus (Ghafari), Leth (John Lethemon), (Taro) Hirose last year and Dennis (Cesana) this year, and all the other guys, too.
"We had a blast and we're not done yet.''
UP NEXT: The Spartans close out the regular season with a two-game series at fourth-place Notre Dame (35 points) at 7 p.m. on Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday at Compton Family Arena in Notre Dame, Ind.
In their first meeting of the season, Michigan State tied and defeated the Irish, 1-1 (losing the shootout) and 3-2, Nov. 22-23, respectively. Notre Dame, with 35 points, is four points ahead of MSU (31), and six behind first-place Penn State but can't finish first because of the tie-breaker – league victories.
Ohio State wraps up its season with a home series against Wisconsin, also next Friday and Saturday. The Buckeyes can still finish as high as first place and low as sixth.
BIG TEN RACE: Penn State boosted its lead in the chase for first place with a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Minnesota on Saturday in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions (41 points), who tied the Gophers on Friday 3-3 and earned the extra point with a 3-on-3 win, are four points up on second-place Minnesota (37) and Ohio State (37). But PSU has finished its Big Ten regular season and has a bye next weekend.
The Nittany Lions can only watch the three other series next week with two other teams who could finish first and earn a first-round bye – Minnesota and Ohio State.
The Gophers took a 2-0 lead in the first period and were up 2-1 starting the third. But Penn State scored two goals in 31 seconds midway through the period to take the lead.
In the other series in the Big Ten, Notre Dame stunned Michigan for the second straight game with a 3-0 victory and a series sweep in Ann Arbor. Both games were scoreless after two periods.
The Irish scored two goals in the third period on Friday, gave up a late goal but held on for a 2-1 victory. On Saturday, Notre Dame broke the 0-0 tie with two goals in 1 minute and 36 seconds midway through the third period and later added an empty-net goal.
Notre Dame and Michigan split their season series, 2-2, with each team winning two on the road losing both games at home.
The Irish, with a sweep of MSU, could still tie Penn State for first place but would not get the top seed and first-round bye in the playoffs because the Nittany Lions would have more conference victories – the first tiebreaker.
Michigan, now out of the running for a first-place finish, could still wind up in second place and as low as sixth. The Wolverines close out the regular season at Minnesota next Friday and Saturday.
Ohio State (37 points) could finish in first place with a sweep of Wisconsin, and even if Minnesota (37 points) wins two from Michigan, the Buckeyes would get the higher seed because of more conference wins than the Gophers.
Meanwhile, seventh-place Wisconsin ended its home season with a non-conference series sweep of No. 9 Arizona State, 7-6, on Friday and 6-2 on Saturday.
The Badgers, as the No. 7 seed, will play the second-place team in the first round of the playoffs. Possible opponents include Penn State, Minnesota, Ohio State, Notre Dame and Michigan but not MSU.
The playoff pairings will come into better focus after next Friday's games, but the final standings and playoff matchups won't be set until after next Saturday's three conference games are completed.
The regular-season ending series on Friday and Saturday:
Michigan State at Notre Dame; Michigan at Minnesota and Wisconsin at Ohio State.
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