Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Mike Miller/Fighting Irish Media
Neil’s Notebook: Spartans Tie Notre Dame; B1G Tournament Up Next
3/1/2020 9:56:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Michigan State came within three minutes of spoiling Notre Dame's Senior Night.
But then the Irish spoiled the Spartans' night and their quest for a season-ending victory, Big Ten series sweep and a possible home playoff berth.
A week ago, MSU suffered a heartbreaking loss to Ohio State after leading most of the way. On Saturday, the Spartans suffered a heartbreaking tie after leading most of the game.
In the end, MSU saw a 2-0 lead disappear in the final five minutes as Notre Dame rallied for two goals within 1 minute and 45 seconds to tie game with 3:05 left.
And that's how the game ended – in a 2-2 overtime tie in front of a sellout crowd of 5,355 at Compton Family Arena.
After a scoreless 3-on-3 overtime to decide the extra point in the Big Ten standings, Notre Dame won the shootout on a goal by defenseman Torey Dello.
But a goal by Patrick Khodorenko to start the shootout was disallowed because the MSU senior center's apparently went backwards as he went wide left before firing the puck past goalie Cale Morris. The play was reviewed and the referees disallowed the goal.
It was that type of night for the Spartans. Most everything went right for them for the first 55 minutes, and then things went the other way.
Still, MSU heads into the Big Ten playoffs after earning four of six points from the Irish with a 3-1 win on Friday and the bizarre season-ending deadlock.
The Spartans seemed disappointed by not completing the sweep but they were definitely not crushed.
"It's obviously tough. We had a two-goal lead and weren't able to close the game out,'' MSU senior center and co-captain Sam Saliba said. "It's tough to be disappointed with getting four of six points, but considering where we were, it's tough to swallow.
"We had a pretty good third period and then they got that tip (on the first goal) and that turned the tide a bit. Then they got another one quick.''
The Spartans, who started the night with an outside chance of finishing third or fourth and earning home ice for the playoffs, ended up in 6th place in the Big Ten and matched up against No. 3 seed Michigan in a quarterfinal playoff series.
Michigan State (15-17-2, 11-11-2-0 Big Ten, 35 points) and the Wolverines (16-14-4, 11-10-3-2, 38 points) meet in a best-of-three series at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and Sunday at 5 p.m., if necessary, at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor.
"A whole new season starts next weekend. We just have to worry about winning that series,'' Saliba said before the final Big Ten standings and playoff pairings were set. "It looks like Michigan or Minnesota. Whoever we get, we'll be ready to go. We feel confident we can win against anyone.''
If the Spartans had held on to win in regulation – or in the 5-on-5 overtime – they would have finished 5th and played at No. 4 seed Minnesota.
And if they had won the shootout, they would have finished in a tie for fifth with Notre Dame and earned the No. 5 seed because of more conference victories (11-9). MSU's playoff opponent would still be Minnesota.
Logan Lambdin and Josh Nodler scored for the Spartans in the second and third periods, respectively.
Alex Steeves scored Notre Dame's first goal on a fluttering shot that hit the left post and deflected into the net at 15:12 of the third period. Cam Morrison tied it at 16:57 and he redirected Cal Burke's pass into the crease.
The Irish were all over the Spartans in the first period, outshooting MSU 15-7, but goalie John Lethemon made several huge saves to keep the game scoreless. The Spartans dominated the second period with a 12-4 edge in shots and scored the only goal – by Lambdin at 5:41, after defenseman Dennis Cesana hit the crossbar and left post with a shot from the right circle.
"Our guys played hard and didn't cheat us at all. To come in here at this time of the year against a good Notre Dame team that was fighting for the same things were . . . it was a good battle,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said.
"I'm proud of the guys. We'll roll it up and do the same things next week. That's what we talked about after the game – keep bringing the same effort, the same energy. We got the flu (last week) and got out of it. Let's feel good and move forward.''
Michigan State gave up only three goals all weekend and scored five and got outstanding goaltending from senior John Lethemon (40 saves on Friday, 35 on Saturday).
"I think we played fine this weekend. Just a couple of bad bounces (cost us),'' Cesana said. "We have confidence going into the playoffs. We're not concerned about who we're playing. We'll play anybody in the league.
"Definitely for playoff hockey, you need everyone going. It's intense and you need everyone at their best.''
The Spartans captured the season series with Notre Dame, 2-0-2-0, with a win, a tie and shootout loss at home in November and now the same on the road on the last day of February.
"The game had some ebb and flow. They carried the play for a while, then we carried it for a while, and then they got it back,'' Cole said. "We had a couple chances to make some clears (from the defensive zone) when it was 2-0 and 2-1 and we couldn't get it to the next layer.
"They had a decent amount of chances and sooner or later, something's going to go in. But I liked the way our guys battled. We kept going (after getting tied late). We had chances in overtime and in the shootout.''
Notre Dame started the game with great energy and had the puck most of the first period, consistently storming into the MSU zone and creating good scoring chances. But Lethemon was solid and the Spartans worked hard to weather the storm.
"I liked our response. Late in the first period, the shots were 6-6 and all of a sudden it was 15-7 (for the Irish),'' Cole said. "We said we didn't weather the storm, we created it. We said keep playing hard, make some plays and let's get (the puck) down there.''
The second period belonged to the Spartans. They had 19 shots attempted and 12 were on goal. The Irish attempted 12 shots but only had four on goal.
In the third period, Notre Dame had 37 shot attempts and 16 were on target with Lethemon making 14 saves. MSU managed only six shot attempts and three were on goal.
Still, Lethemon was sharp in making a few tough saves and mostly routine stops until the last five minutes when the first Notre Dame goal ignited a strong surge by the Irish.
"Johnny (Lethemon) was outstanding for us. He gave us every chance,'' Cole said. "We were doing a great job for 15-16 minutes. We just needed a couple of clears behind their defense so we could get (players) off and on.''
The forward line of Josh Nodler centering Joshua Jagger and Logan Lambdin had another solid game. They combined for nine shots on goal – four by Joshua, three by Lambdin and two by Nodler. For the second straight game, Lambdin had a goal and assist.
"They were outstanding. Jagger really elevated some stuff this weekend,'' Cole said. "That line was really good. And the Mattson line (with Adam Goodsir and Nicolas Muller) was good.
"Patty's line played hard and had some chances but couldn't get some to go,'' Cole said of the Patrick Khodorenko-Mitchell Lewandowski-Sam Saliba unit. "Tommy Apap's line (with Brody Stevens and Gino Esteves), they're just warriors.''
Special teams weren't a factor in the season finale. Michigan State had one power play that lasted 23 seconds before Khodorenko was penalized for slashing. Notre Dame failed to convert on two power plays - one for 23 seconds and one for the normal two minutes early in the third period.
All in all, Cole saw more positives than negatives from Saturday's deadlock and Friday's victory.
"It was a good battle and as an athlete, you should take the high road,'' he said. "You should take confidence out of this weekend.''
UP NEXT: For the first time since 2010, Michigan State and Michigan are matched up in a playoff series. The Spartans and Wolverines played a best-of-three, second-round CCHA series at Munn Arena on March 12-13, 2010.
Michigan, which finished seventh that season and won a first-round series, swept MSU, which finished in second place, 5-1 and 5-3
This season, the teams have played four times, both ending in series sweeps.
Michigan State came from behind to defeat Michigan, 4-3, at Yost Arena on Nov. 14, and two days later, the Spartans blanked the Wolverines, 3-0, at Munn Arena.
Two weeks ago, U-M got some revenge with a sweep of its own. The Wolverines won 5-1 at Munn Arena and 4-1 at Little Caesars Arena.
Next weekend's series will be a matchup of the top two goaltenders in the Big Ten – Michigan State senior John Lethemon and Michigan sophomore Strauss Mann.
In overall games, Mann has the best goals-against-average in the conference – 1.97 to 2.20 for Lethemon, who has the best save percentage - .938 to .937, and leads in shutouts 5-4. Mann's record is 16-13-4 while Lethemon's is 15-13-2.
In Big Ten games, Lethemon wins the GAA title at 1.99, has the best save percentage (.942) and the most shutouts (4). Mann is second in GAA (2.04) and in save percentage (.936)., and is tied for second in shutouts with two. In conference games, Lethemon is 11-10-2 while Mann is 11-10-3.
IN THE BIG TEN: Here's the final conference standings and playoff seeds after Saturday's season finales:
1. Penn State, 41 points, 12-8-4-1; 2. Ohio State, 38 points, 11-9-4-1; 3. Michigan, 38 points, 11-10-3-2; 4. Minnesota, 38 points, 9-8-7-4; 5. Notre Dame, 37 points, 9-9-6-4; 6. Michigan State, 35 points, 11-11-2-0; 7. Wisconsin, 20 points, 7-15-2-2.
There was a three-way tie for second place with OSU, U-M and Minnesota each with 38 points. The first tiebreaker is conference victories – Ohio State and Michigan each have 11 and Minnesota has 9. So, the second tiebreaker is best winning percentage (or basically, head-to-head results) between the tied teams. Ohio State went 3-1 vs. Michigan so the Buckeyes earned the No. 2 spot, the Wolverines were seeded No. 3 and the Gophers were 4th.
Here are the first-round series matchups:
No. 7 Wisconsin at No. 2 Ohio State; No. 6 Michigan State at No. 3 Michigan; No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 4 Minnesota.
Penn State, which had a bye this weekend, will sit out another weekend with a first-round bye and they'll host a single-game semifinal on March 14 against the lowest-surviving seed from the first round.
Minnesota had a chance to earn a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship if they defeated Michigan on Saturday. A win would have given the Gophers 41 points and lifted the into a tie with Penn State. But the Nittany Lions would have earned the higher seed because of 12 conference wins to 10 for Minnesota.
Instead, Penn State won the regular-season title outright when Michigan defeated Minnesota, 2-1, to earn five of six points in the season-ending series. The teams tied on Friday, 2-2, with U-M winning the shootout.
In the other series, Wisconsin rallied from a 3-0 deficit and tied Ohio State, 3-3, in the third period. The overtime was scoreless so the game is officially a tie, but the Badgers scored in the 3-on-3 overtime to earn the extra point in the standings.
Wisconsin, which won the first game of the series, 3-2 on Friday, will return to Columbus next week to play the Buckeyes again. The Badgers won the season series, 2-1-1.
Minnesota and Notre Dame split their season series, 1-1-2.
Freshman Cole Caufield assisted on Wisconsin's tying goal late in the third period Saturday and, with that point, won the 2019-20 Big Ten scoring title in conference games only.
Caufield finished with 24 points – 11 goals and 13 assists. He edged out Penn State's Alex Limoges (9-14-23) and Nate Sucese (8-15-23).
Michigan State's Patrick Khodorenko led the Big Ten in goals with 13 in 24 conference games. He finished tied for fourth in points with 22 (13-9).
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Michigan State came within three minutes of spoiling Notre Dame's Senior Night.
But then the Irish spoiled the Spartans' night and their quest for a season-ending victory, Big Ten series sweep and a possible home playoff berth.
A week ago, MSU suffered a heartbreaking loss to Ohio State after leading most of the way. On Saturday, the Spartans suffered a heartbreaking tie after leading most of the game.
In the end, MSU saw a 2-0 lead disappear in the final five minutes as Notre Dame rallied for two goals within 1 minute and 45 seconds to tie game with 3:05 left.
And that's how the game ended – in a 2-2 overtime tie in front of a sellout crowd of 5,355 at Compton Family Arena.
After a scoreless 3-on-3 overtime to decide the extra point in the Big Ten standings, Notre Dame won the shootout on a goal by defenseman Torey Dello.
But a goal by Patrick Khodorenko to start the shootout was disallowed because the MSU senior center's apparently went backwards as he went wide left before firing the puck past goalie Cale Morris. The play was reviewed and the referees disallowed the goal.
It was that type of night for the Spartans. Most everything went right for them for the first 55 minutes, and then things went the other way.
Still, MSU heads into the Big Ten playoffs after earning four of six points from the Irish with a 3-1 win on Friday and the bizarre season-ending deadlock.
The Spartans seemed disappointed by not completing the sweep but they were definitely not crushed.
"It's obviously tough. We had a two-goal lead and weren't able to close the game out,'' MSU senior center and co-captain Sam Saliba said. "It's tough to be disappointed with getting four of six points, but considering where we were, it's tough to swallow.
"We had a pretty good third period and then they got that tip (on the first goal) and that turned the tide a bit. Then they got another one quick.''
The Spartans, who started the night with an outside chance of finishing third or fourth and earning home ice for the playoffs, ended up in 6th place in the Big Ten and matched up against No. 3 seed Michigan in a quarterfinal playoff series.
Michigan State (15-17-2, 11-11-2-0 Big Ten, 35 points) and the Wolverines (16-14-4, 11-10-3-2, 38 points) meet in a best-of-three series at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and Sunday at 5 p.m., if necessary, at Yost Arena in Ann Arbor.
"A whole new season starts next weekend. We just have to worry about winning that series,'' Saliba said before the final Big Ten standings and playoff pairings were set. "It looks like Michigan or Minnesota. Whoever we get, we'll be ready to go. We feel confident we can win against anyone.''
If the Spartans had held on to win in regulation – or in the 5-on-5 overtime – they would have finished 5th and played at No. 4 seed Minnesota.
And if they had won the shootout, they would have finished in a tie for fifth with Notre Dame and earned the No. 5 seed because of more conference victories (11-9). MSU's playoff opponent would still be Minnesota.
Logan Lambdin and Josh Nodler scored for the Spartans in the second and third periods, respectively.
Alex Steeves scored Notre Dame's first goal on a fluttering shot that hit the left post and deflected into the net at 15:12 of the third period. Cam Morrison tied it at 16:57 and he redirected Cal Burke's pass into the crease.
The Irish were all over the Spartans in the first period, outshooting MSU 15-7, but goalie John Lethemon made several huge saves to keep the game scoreless. The Spartans dominated the second period with a 12-4 edge in shots and scored the only goal – by Lambdin at 5:41, after defenseman Dennis Cesana hit the crossbar and left post with a shot from the right circle.
"Our guys played hard and didn't cheat us at all. To come in here at this time of the year against a good Notre Dame team that was fighting for the same things were . . . it was a good battle,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said.
"I'm proud of the guys. We'll roll it up and do the same things next week. That's what we talked about after the game – keep bringing the same effort, the same energy. We got the flu (last week) and got out of it. Let's feel good and move forward.''
Michigan State gave up only three goals all weekend and scored five and got outstanding goaltending from senior John Lethemon (40 saves on Friday, 35 on Saturday).
"I think we played fine this weekend. Just a couple of bad bounces (cost us),'' Cesana said. "We have confidence going into the playoffs. We're not concerned about who we're playing. We'll play anybody in the league.
"Definitely for playoff hockey, you need everyone going. It's intense and you need everyone at their best.''
The Spartans captured the season series with Notre Dame, 2-0-2-0, with a win, a tie and shootout loss at home in November and now the same on the road on the last day of February.
"The game had some ebb and flow. They carried the play for a while, then we carried it for a while, and then they got it back,'' Cole said. "We had a couple chances to make some clears (from the defensive zone) when it was 2-0 and 2-1 and we couldn't get it to the next layer.
"They had a decent amount of chances and sooner or later, something's going to go in. But I liked the way our guys battled. We kept going (after getting tied late). We had chances in overtime and in the shootout.''
Notre Dame started the game with great energy and had the puck most of the first period, consistently storming into the MSU zone and creating good scoring chances. But Lethemon was solid and the Spartans worked hard to weather the storm.
"I liked our response. Late in the first period, the shots were 6-6 and all of a sudden it was 15-7 (for the Irish),'' Cole said. "We said we didn't weather the storm, we created it. We said keep playing hard, make some plays and let's get (the puck) down there.''
The second period belonged to the Spartans. They had 19 shots attempted and 12 were on goal. The Irish attempted 12 shots but only had four on goal.
In the third period, Notre Dame had 37 shot attempts and 16 were on target with Lethemon making 14 saves. MSU managed only six shot attempts and three were on goal.
Still, Lethemon was sharp in making a few tough saves and mostly routine stops until the last five minutes when the first Notre Dame goal ignited a strong surge by the Irish.
"Johnny (Lethemon) was outstanding for us. He gave us every chance,'' Cole said. "We were doing a great job for 15-16 minutes. We just needed a couple of clears behind their defense so we could get (players) off and on.''
The forward line of Josh Nodler centering Joshua Jagger and Logan Lambdin had another solid game. They combined for nine shots on goal – four by Joshua, three by Lambdin and two by Nodler. For the second straight game, Lambdin had a goal and assist.
"They were outstanding. Jagger really elevated some stuff this weekend,'' Cole said. "That line was really good. And the Mattson line (with Adam Goodsir and Nicolas Muller) was good.
"Patty's line played hard and had some chances but couldn't get some to go,'' Cole said of the Patrick Khodorenko-Mitchell Lewandowski-Sam Saliba unit. "Tommy Apap's line (with Brody Stevens and Gino Esteves), they're just warriors.''
Special teams weren't a factor in the season finale. Michigan State had one power play that lasted 23 seconds before Khodorenko was penalized for slashing. Notre Dame failed to convert on two power plays - one for 23 seconds and one for the normal two minutes early in the third period.
All in all, Cole saw more positives than negatives from Saturday's deadlock and Friday's victory.
"It was a good battle and as an athlete, you should take the high road,'' he said. "You should take confidence out of this weekend.''
UP NEXT: For the first time since 2010, Michigan State and Michigan are matched up in a playoff series. The Spartans and Wolverines played a best-of-three, second-round CCHA series at Munn Arena on March 12-13, 2010.
Michigan, which finished seventh that season and won a first-round series, swept MSU, which finished in second place, 5-1 and 5-3
This season, the teams have played four times, both ending in series sweeps.
Michigan State came from behind to defeat Michigan, 4-3, at Yost Arena on Nov. 14, and two days later, the Spartans blanked the Wolverines, 3-0, at Munn Arena.
Two weeks ago, U-M got some revenge with a sweep of its own. The Wolverines won 5-1 at Munn Arena and 4-1 at Little Caesars Arena.
Next weekend's series will be a matchup of the top two goaltenders in the Big Ten – Michigan State senior John Lethemon and Michigan sophomore Strauss Mann.
In overall games, Mann has the best goals-against-average in the conference – 1.97 to 2.20 for Lethemon, who has the best save percentage - .938 to .937, and leads in shutouts 5-4. Mann's record is 16-13-4 while Lethemon's is 15-13-2.
In Big Ten games, Lethemon wins the GAA title at 1.99, has the best save percentage (.942) and the most shutouts (4). Mann is second in GAA (2.04) and in save percentage (.936)., and is tied for second in shutouts with two. In conference games, Lethemon is 11-10-2 while Mann is 11-10-3.
IN THE BIG TEN: Here's the final conference standings and playoff seeds after Saturday's season finales:
1. Penn State, 41 points, 12-8-4-1; 2. Ohio State, 38 points, 11-9-4-1; 3. Michigan, 38 points, 11-10-3-2; 4. Minnesota, 38 points, 9-8-7-4; 5. Notre Dame, 37 points, 9-9-6-4; 6. Michigan State, 35 points, 11-11-2-0; 7. Wisconsin, 20 points, 7-15-2-2.
There was a three-way tie for second place with OSU, U-M and Minnesota each with 38 points. The first tiebreaker is conference victories – Ohio State and Michigan each have 11 and Minnesota has 9. So, the second tiebreaker is best winning percentage (or basically, head-to-head results) between the tied teams. Ohio State went 3-1 vs. Michigan so the Buckeyes earned the No. 2 spot, the Wolverines were seeded No. 3 and the Gophers were 4th.
Here are the first-round series matchups:
No. 7 Wisconsin at No. 2 Ohio State; No. 6 Michigan State at No. 3 Michigan; No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 4 Minnesota.
Penn State, which had a bye this weekend, will sit out another weekend with a first-round bye and they'll host a single-game semifinal on March 14 against the lowest-surviving seed from the first round.
Minnesota had a chance to earn a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship if they defeated Michigan on Saturday. A win would have given the Gophers 41 points and lifted the into a tie with Penn State. But the Nittany Lions would have earned the higher seed because of 12 conference wins to 10 for Minnesota.
Instead, Penn State won the regular-season title outright when Michigan defeated Minnesota, 2-1, to earn five of six points in the season-ending series. The teams tied on Friday, 2-2, with U-M winning the shootout.
In the other series, Wisconsin rallied from a 3-0 deficit and tied Ohio State, 3-3, in the third period. The overtime was scoreless so the game is officially a tie, but the Badgers scored in the 3-on-3 overtime to earn the extra point in the standings.
Wisconsin, which won the first game of the series, 3-2 on Friday, will return to Columbus next week to play the Buckeyes again. The Badgers won the season series, 2-1-1.
Minnesota and Notre Dame split their season series, 1-1-2.
Freshman Cole Caufield assisted on Wisconsin's tying goal late in the third period Saturday and, with that point, won the 2019-20 Big Ten scoring title in conference games only.
Caufield finished with 24 points – 11 goals and 13 assists. He edged out Penn State's Alex Limoges (9-14-23) and Nate Sucese (8-15-23).
Michigan State's Patrick Khodorenko led the Big Ten in goals with 13 in 24 conference games. He finished tied for fourth in points with 22 (13-9).
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