Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Rey Del Rio
Neil’s Notebook: Season Ends in Quarterfinal Loss
3/8/2020 9:07:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
ANN ARBOR – Michigan State was determined get off to a better start on Saturday against Michigan than it did on Friday.
Mission accomplished. The Spartans had a solid first period, played with good tempo and created some dangerous scoring chances. They didn't score but came away tied 0-0 after 20 minutes.
MSU was also determined to put some pucks behind U-M goalie Strauss Mann.
Mission not accomplished.
For the second straight night, the Spartans couldn't put the puck in the net and their season came to a frustrating end with a 3-0 loss to the Wolverines in the second game of a best-of-three Big Ten quarterfinal series on Saturday at Yost Arena.
Michigan wins the series, 2-0, and advances to a Big Ten semifinal at Ohio State next Sunday.
Michigan State, which also lost the series opener, 3-0, ends the 2019-20 season with a 15-19-2 overall record. The Spartans were 11-11-2 in the Big Ten's regular season.
"For the whole game, we battled and did a lot of good things. But you need a couple of bounces and we weren't able to get them, and (Michigan) made a couple of plays,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said.
"Last night, I had some issues with us early in the game. Tonight, the guys played really hard and battled. We just couldn't get anything by their guy tonight. Sometimes, that's the way it goes.
"Unfortunately, this one was the one we had to have or it ends our season, which it did.''
Mann got tested more on Saturday than he did in Friday's 3-0 shutout. He stopped 20 shots but the Spartans had better opportunities and Mann stopped several close-in shots and got some friendly bounces. He didn't have to be spectacular but he was sharp and poised.
"Obviously, it's a frustrating game and series overall,'' MSU junior defenseman Tommy Miller said. "Tonight, we played good enough to win, but sometimes it goes that way. We couldn't get one past (Mann). We played hard but it's frustrating when you can't score.
"We had plenty of chances probably in every period but it's hard when you work that hard and get nothing out of it.''
Michigan took a 1-0 lead on Will Lockwood's power-play goal at 5:20 of the second period as he deflected defenseman Nick Blankenburg's shot from the point past MSU goalie John Lethemon (23 saves).
U-M's Johnny Beecher made it 2-0 with an unassisted goal with 1:32 left in the second period, and Jake Slaker scored into an empty net with 47 seconds left to complete the scoring.
Patrick Khodorenko, the Spartans' leading scorer, liked his teams start and play overall but felt the offense was good in spurts but not consistent.
"We were fast and physical and in the trenches getting pucks deep and getting pucks out (of the defensive zone) and we were able to get some shots,'' he said. "It was a way better start than last night, but in the end, we still have to figure out a way to get the puck past their goalie.
"We had momentum, everyone was coming but we weren't in sync at times. We had chances but didn't get shots off or didn't go to the net. Or we weren't able to find lanes to create good opportunities. Sometimes we had guys in front but banked the puck off the boards.''
Despite his team's lack of a finishing touch on offense, Cole liked the way it competed and played defensively. Michigan scored one goal with a deflection on a power play, its second on a great individual play and the empty-net goal in the final minute.
"I don't have any complaints about the game. We took a couple of bad penalties, I guess, but overall, the effort and attitude were outstanding,'' Cole said. "That's was biggest thing we talked about. This was going to be a tough one here and to come out and lay it on the line.
"I'm not disappointed in their effort at all. We just needed to score a couple of goals. It's a great bunch of guys in (the locker room) and they've done a great job for us.''
The Spartans went 0-for-3 on the power play but had only one shot on goal. Michigan was 1-for-4 with nine shots on goal.
With the loss, the careers of nine Spartans seniors have come to an end. The group includes co-captain and right wing Sam Saliba, center Patrick Khodorenko, left wing Logan Lambdin, defensemen Jerad Rosburg, Butrus Ghafari, Damian Chrcek and Anthony Scarsella and goaltenders Spencer Wright and Lethemon, arguably the Spartans' most valuable player this season.
"We took a nice step forward and every year we've done that,'' said Cole, who's been behind the MSU bench for three seasons. "The (juniors) coming back (as next year's seniors), it's up to them to make sure it keeps moving that way.
"We'll make another bump next year. That's what I told them after the game – we don't take a step back from this. This is just another bump moving forward and that's the way we'll go. There are things we can improve on.
"All this year's seniors probably had their best years of their career and I expect the same things out of the group next year. The guys coming in underneath are going to do a heck of a job. We'll have the same close locker room with a lot of love in there. We're going to take another step next year.''
The Spartans coach saluted the seniors for their impact on the program both on and off the ice.
"They did a great job. They worked hard and wanted to be part of (the program) going forward. Look at their body of work from their freshman year to their senior year,'' Cole said. "It's been a lot of positive things, not just with wins and losses. Culturally they've done a nice job.
"Those seniors had to do those things. They're done playing hockey for Michigan State, but they're not done being Spartans.''
The seniors had a tough start to their MSU careers. As freshmen, the Spartans were 7-24-4 overall and finished last in the six-team Big Ten with a 3-14-3-1 record.
They improved to 12-22-2 as sophomores in Cole's first year, and 12-19-5 as juniors and were much more competitive each season.
This year, Michigan State was in first place in the Big Ten after victories at Wisconsin on Jan. 17 and against Penn State at home on Jan. 24, and was in contention for the regular season title until the second last weekend of the season.
Entering the last two games of the Big Ten season, the Spartans could have finished as high as third place, and with one more victory, they could have earned a home playoff berth.
Instead, they finished sixth but only six points out of first place and three behind three teams tied for second – Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota.
"The biggest thing I remember about the seniors is that as freshmen, they had one of the worst seasons in Michigan State history, and then to turn around and get a glimpse of greatness again is something that will stay with me,'' Miller said. "I think it's a band of brothers that we've created.
"This locker room is the best I've been in my whole career. Everyone in there is for each other. Were best friends and we spend most of our time day in and day out with each other.''
The seniors helped create that atmosphere and now it's on the juniors – seniors-to-be next season – to continue to maintain high standards.
Next year's seniors include co-captain Tommy Apap, Brody Stevens, Mitchell Lewandowski, Gino Esteves, Austin Kamer, Jake Smith and Miller.
"We came in as the first (freshman) group with (Cole) and were molded in his way and we'll definitely carry that on our shoulders, and the guys will look up to our class,'' Miller said.
IN THE BIG TEN: Minnesota kept its Big Ten playoff title hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday to even their best-of-three quarterfinal series at 1-1. The Irish won Friday's series opener, 1-0.
The No. 4-seeded Gophers (15-14-7 overall) carried a 1-0 lead into the third period on defenseman Ryan Zuhlsdorf's first goal of the season at 1:24 of the first period.
Forward Cullen Munson boosted Minnesota's lead to 2-0 with his second goal of the year at 3:27 of the third period. But Notre Dame's Cam Morrison made things close for the final 10 minutes when he scored at 10:14 of the third period.
The Gophers held on for the one-goal victory and it sets up a deciding Game 3 at 7 p.m. Sunday at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
The winner plays No. 1 seed Penn State next Saturday at Pegula Arena in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions earned a first-round bye with their first-place finish. Penn State, which had a bye the last week of the regular season, hasn't played since Feb. 21-22 when it tied and won against Minnesota, 3-3, 3-2, at home.
In the other quarterfinal series, Wisconsin rebounded from its embarrassing 9-1 loss against Ohio State on Friday in their series opener and took the Buckeyes to overtime on Saturday.
But Ohio State won it 2-1 just 72 seconds into OT when Jaedon Leslie took a pass from behind the net from Ronnie Hein and shot the puck between the legs of goalie Jack Berry, who failed to cover the puck to the left of the net a few seconds earlier.
OSU's Carson Meyer, who had four goals and an assist in Friday's rout, gave his team 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 8:07 of the second period. Wisconsin (14-20-2) tied it six minutes later on Dylan Holloway's power-play goal.
Ohio State (20-11-5) advances to the Big Ten semifinals and will play Michigan at 5:30 p.m. next Sunday at Nationwide Arena, the home of the NHL Blue Jackets. The Buckeyes' home rink, Value City Arena, is unavailable next Saturday and Sunday because the Ohio state high school wrestling tournament.
The OSU-Michigan and Penn State–Minnesota/Notre Dame winners meet for the Big Ten championship on March 21 at the home rink of the highest-surviving seed. It could be OSU, Michigan or Penn State but not Minnesota or Notre Dame.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
ANN ARBOR – Michigan State was determined get off to a better start on Saturday against Michigan than it did on Friday.
Mission accomplished. The Spartans had a solid first period, played with good tempo and created some dangerous scoring chances. They didn't score but came away tied 0-0 after 20 minutes.
MSU was also determined to put some pucks behind U-M goalie Strauss Mann.
Mission not accomplished.
For the second straight night, the Spartans couldn't put the puck in the net and their season came to a frustrating end with a 3-0 loss to the Wolverines in the second game of a best-of-three Big Ten quarterfinal series on Saturday at Yost Arena.
Michigan wins the series, 2-0, and advances to a Big Ten semifinal at Ohio State next Sunday.
Michigan State, which also lost the series opener, 3-0, ends the 2019-20 season with a 15-19-2 overall record. The Spartans were 11-11-2 in the Big Ten's regular season.
"For the whole game, we battled and did a lot of good things. But you need a couple of bounces and we weren't able to get them, and (Michigan) made a couple of plays,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said.
"Last night, I had some issues with us early in the game. Tonight, the guys played really hard and battled. We just couldn't get anything by their guy tonight. Sometimes, that's the way it goes.
"Unfortunately, this one was the one we had to have or it ends our season, which it did.''
Mann got tested more on Saturday than he did in Friday's 3-0 shutout. He stopped 20 shots but the Spartans had better opportunities and Mann stopped several close-in shots and got some friendly bounces. He didn't have to be spectacular but he was sharp and poised.
"Obviously, it's a frustrating game and series overall,'' MSU junior defenseman Tommy Miller said. "Tonight, we played good enough to win, but sometimes it goes that way. We couldn't get one past (Mann). We played hard but it's frustrating when you can't score.
"We had plenty of chances probably in every period but it's hard when you work that hard and get nothing out of it.''
Michigan took a 1-0 lead on Will Lockwood's power-play goal at 5:20 of the second period as he deflected defenseman Nick Blankenburg's shot from the point past MSU goalie John Lethemon (23 saves).
U-M's Johnny Beecher made it 2-0 with an unassisted goal with 1:32 left in the second period, and Jake Slaker scored into an empty net with 47 seconds left to complete the scoring.
Patrick Khodorenko, the Spartans' leading scorer, liked his teams start and play overall but felt the offense was good in spurts but not consistent.
"We were fast and physical and in the trenches getting pucks deep and getting pucks out (of the defensive zone) and we were able to get some shots,'' he said. "It was a way better start than last night, but in the end, we still have to figure out a way to get the puck past their goalie.
"We had momentum, everyone was coming but we weren't in sync at times. We had chances but didn't get shots off or didn't go to the net. Or we weren't able to find lanes to create good opportunities. Sometimes we had guys in front but banked the puck off the boards.''
Despite his team's lack of a finishing touch on offense, Cole liked the way it competed and played defensively. Michigan scored one goal with a deflection on a power play, its second on a great individual play and the empty-net goal in the final minute.
"I don't have any complaints about the game. We took a couple of bad penalties, I guess, but overall, the effort and attitude were outstanding,'' Cole said. "That's was biggest thing we talked about. This was going to be a tough one here and to come out and lay it on the line.
"I'm not disappointed in their effort at all. We just needed to score a couple of goals. It's a great bunch of guys in (the locker room) and they've done a great job for us.''
The Spartans went 0-for-3 on the power play but had only one shot on goal. Michigan was 1-for-4 with nine shots on goal.
With the loss, the careers of nine Spartans seniors have come to an end. The group includes co-captain and right wing Sam Saliba, center Patrick Khodorenko, left wing Logan Lambdin, defensemen Jerad Rosburg, Butrus Ghafari, Damian Chrcek and Anthony Scarsella and goaltenders Spencer Wright and Lethemon, arguably the Spartans' most valuable player this season.
"We took a nice step forward and every year we've done that,'' said Cole, who's been behind the MSU bench for three seasons. "The (juniors) coming back (as next year's seniors), it's up to them to make sure it keeps moving that way.
"We'll make another bump next year. That's what I told them after the game – we don't take a step back from this. This is just another bump moving forward and that's the way we'll go. There are things we can improve on.
"All this year's seniors probably had their best years of their career and I expect the same things out of the group next year. The guys coming in underneath are going to do a heck of a job. We'll have the same close locker room with a lot of love in there. We're going to take another step next year.''
The Spartans coach saluted the seniors for their impact on the program both on and off the ice.
"They did a great job. They worked hard and wanted to be part of (the program) going forward. Look at their body of work from their freshman year to their senior year,'' Cole said. "It's been a lot of positive things, not just with wins and losses. Culturally they've done a nice job.
"Those seniors had to do those things. They're done playing hockey for Michigan State, but they're not done being Spartans.''
The seniors had a tough start to their MSU careers. As freshmen, the Spartans were 7-24-4 overall and finished last in the six-team Big Ten with a 3-14-3-1 record.
They improved to 12-22-2 as sophomores in Cole's first year, and 12-19-5 as juniors and were much more competitive each season.
This year, Michigan State was in first place in the Big Ten after victories at Wisconsin on Jan. 17 and against Penn State at home on Jan. 24, and was in contention for the regular season title until the second last weekend of the season.
Entering the last two games of the Big Ten season, the Spartans could have finished as high as third place, and with one more victory, they could have earned a home playoff berth.
Instead, they finished sixth but only six points out of first place and three behind three teams tied for second – Ohio State, Michigan and Minnesota.
"The biggest thing I remember about the seniors is that as freshmen, they had one of the worst seasons in Michigan State history, and then to turn around and get a glimpse of greatness again is something that will stay with me,'' Miller said. "I think it's a band of brothers that we've created.
"This locker room is the best I've been in my whole career. Everyone in there is for each other. Were best friends and we spend most of our time day in and day out with each other.''
The seniors helped create that atmosphere and now it's on the juniors – seniors-to-be next season – to continue to maintain high standards.
Next year's seniors include co-captain Tommy Apap, Brody Stevens, Mitchell Lewandowski, Gino Esteves, Austin Kamer, Jake Smith and Miller.
"We came in as the first (freshman) group with (Cole) and were molded in his way and we'll definitely carry that on our shoulders, and the guys will look up to our class,'' Miller said.
IN THE BIG TEN: Minnesota kept its Big Ten playoff title hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame on Saturday to even their best-of-three quarterfinal series at 1-1. The Irish won Friday's series opener, 1-0.
The No. 4-seeded Gophers (15-14-7 overall) carried a 1-0 lead into the third period on defenseman Ryan Zuhlsdorf's first goal of the season at 1:24 of the first period.
Forward Cullen Munson boosted Minnesota's lead to 2-0 with his second goal of the year at 3:27 of the third period. But Notre Dame's Cam Morrison made things close for the final 10 minutes when he scored at 10:14 of the third period.
The Gophers held on for the one-goal victory and it sets up a deciding Game 3 at 7 p.m. Sunday at 3M Arena at Mariucci.
The winner plays No. 1 seed Penn State next Saturday at Pegula Arena in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions earned a first-round bye with their first-place finish. Penn State, which had a bye the last week of the regular season, hasn't played since Feb. 21-22 when it tied and won against Minnesota, 3-3, 3-2, at home.
In the other quarterfinal series, Wisconsin rebounded from its embarrassing 9-1 loss against Ohio State on Friday in their series opener and took the Buckeyes to overtime on Saturday.
But Ohio State won it 2-1 just 72 seconds into OT when Jaedon Leslie took a pass from behind the net from Ronnie Hein and shot the puck between the legs of goalie Jack Berry, who failed to cover the puck to the left of the net a few seconds earlier.
OSU's Carson Meyer, who had four goals and an assist in Friday's rout, gave his team 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 8:07 of the second period. Wisconsin (14-20-2) tied it six minutes later on Dylan Holloway's power-play goal.
Ohio State (20-11-5) advances to the Big Ten semifinals and will play Michigan at 5:30 p.m. next Sunday at Nationwide Arena, the home of the NHL Blue Jackets. The Buckeyes' home rink, Value City Arena, is unavailable next Saturday and Sunday because the Ohio state high school wrestling tournament.
The OSU-Michigan and Penn State–Minnesota/Notre Dame winners meet for the Big Ten championship on March 21 at the home rink of the highest-surviving seed. It could be OSU, Michigan or Penn State but not Minnesota or Notre Dame.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
G
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
G
/ Men's Ice HockeyWednesday, September 23
Thursday, March 26
Wednesday, March 25
Sunday, March 22