Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Mark Selders
Neil’s Notebook: Spartans’ Bid For Series Split Falls Short
1/17/2021 8:53:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
If Michigan State could have erased the proceedings of the second period on Saturday, it could have been a good afternoon for the Spartans at Penn State's Pegula Arena.
But they couldn't and it wasn't.
So, MSU's quest to salvage a Big Ten series split against the Nittany Lions came up short in University Park, Pa.
After a solid first period, in which each team scored one goal, the Spartans had a sub-par second period and that set up a 3-1 defeat at the hands of a Penn State team which has won seven of its last nine games.
MSU gave up two goals, one on a power play due to an untimely line change, and had a goal disallowed on its own power play in the last minute of the middle period.
Down two goals, the Spartans were better in the third period but only had a few quality scoring chances as the Nittany Lions held on for the series sweep, which started with their come-from-behind 3-2 win in overtime on Friday.
"It was kind of one of those (tough) periods but a lot was self-inflicted,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "We had a bad change on their power play – and I'm not sure why we changed when we had the puck going south on us.
"We changed and left a 4-on-2 on the ice (coming back at us), and then (later) they get a rebound (goal) and suddenly it's 3-1, instead of a fairly close game.''
The Spartans thought they had cut the deficit to 3-2 when Jagger Joshua jammed the puck past Penn State goalie Oskar Autio on a power play with 45 seconds left in the second period. But the officials ruled that the puck was under Autio's pad and Joshua pushed his pad and the puck slid into the net.
Penn State took a 1-0 lead 4:45 into the first period on a shot from a wide angle that MSU goalie Drew DeRidder usually stops with ease. Defenseman Evan Bell worked his way down the left boards and shot from near the goal line and the puck somehow snuck between DeRidder's pads. Other than that shot, DeRidder played another sharp game.
Michigan State tied it at 17:34 when Charlie Combs found a deflected puck on the edge of the crease on the right and he quickly backhanded it past Autio for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. Tommy Apap and Dennis Cesana collected the assists.
In the turning-point second period, the Nittany Lions took a 2-1 lead on Aarne Talvitie's power-play goal at 5:57, one second before a penalty to MSU's Christian Krygier was set to expire.
A Nittany Lion shot from the right point was blocked and the puck caromed out into the neutral zone. Two MSU forwards headed to the bench but before the players coming on the ice got back into the play, PSU retrieved the puck and stormed back on a 4-on-2 rush.
Kevin Wall set up Talvitie at the side of the net for a tip-in and a one-goal lead.
Just over seven minute later, Penn State went up 3-1 on a rebound goal by Wall by the right post at 13:02.
"I thought in the first period we played very well and did a lot of good things. But it's like a tail of things lately – we hit a patch where we don't get it going,'' Cole said. "And in the second period, things went on the wrong side.''
The Spartans played with more energy in the third period and had 11 shots on goal and one power play but couldn't solve Autio.
"We played with some determination in the third period. We played hard,'' Cole said. "The guys have to get a little angry with situations and not be accepting and play that way for 60 (minutes), which we can.
"When we work hard, we have a chance, and when we don't work hard, we don't. It shouldn't be a hard lesson to learn but it seems like it's one we have to keep learning.''
DeRidder made 32 saves while Autio stopped 21 shots, including a key save on a partial breakaway by A.J. Hodges in the third period.
MSU was 0-for-3 on the power play and 0-for-6 in the series. The Spartans have scored only 3 power-play goals in 39 opportunities all season.
Penn State was 1-for-2 on the power play on Saturday and 2-for-4 in the series.
With MSU's lack of success on the power play, confidence is lacking, and there's a tendency to try to make the perfect play, the extra pass, instead of just shooting and trying for rebounds and deflections.
"You get some things moving and then when you don't score, you decide not to shoot,'' Cole said. "We have to get back to moving pucks and putting pucks on net. And then when you get a couple to go in, you get some confidence.
"I thought we had one there, hoping that would build some confidence but they disallowed it.''
Joshua, Brody Stevens fand Kristof Papp worked hard to create that the late second-period opportunity, and Joshua battled in the crease to keep the play going and then jammed the puck into the net.
"Denny (Cesana) and those guys (on the power play) are trying to move pucks and get things going,'' Cole said. "When you get on the (unsuccessful) side of it, that's the way the power play goes.
"You try to make the extra play instead of shooting. Denny had a couple shots on net and we had some good tips but nothing went in.
"Just do that – get pucks on net, have a guy in front and bang in some rebounds and get some mojo going. We had chances but couldn't get things to go.''
In four games (one win, three losses) against Penn State, the Spartans scored 8 goals, with 5 coming in one game – the 5-1 win in the second game of the series at Munn Arena two weeks ago. They were held to 0, 2 and 1 goals in the other three games.
Defensively, MSU was solid, allowing only 8 goals and only 2 in the series at home.
"Overall, we have to be harder on pucks and win more battles and get in and engage,'' Cole said. "We just lost too many 50-50 pucks today.''
UP NEXT: Michigan State returns home next weekend to face Ohio State on Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday game starts at 4 p.m. and will be televised by the Big Ten Network. Sunday's game will also be at 4 p.m.
The Spartans and Buckeyes are meeting for the second time this season. The teams split over Thanksgiving weekend – MSU winning 3-2 in overtime and OSU capturing the second game, 4-2, with an empty-net goal.
After the Ohio State series, the Spartans are at Wisconsin Jan. 29-30 for their first series against the Badgers. MSU and the Wisconsin were supposed to play at Munn Arena on Dec. 8-9 but the series was postponed because of Covid-19 issues within the Wisconsin program.
The Spartans have 14 games remaining in the regular season – 9 at home and 5 on the road. Two of the home games are against Arizona State.
HODGES RETURNS: Freshman forward A.J. Hodges was back in the Michigan State lineup on Saturday, making his first appearance since Dec. 20 at Notre Dame. Hodges had been scratched for the last five games because of unspecified reasons.
Hodges played left wing on a line with center Nico Muller and right wing Jagger Joshua.
Hodges had three shots on goal, including a solid rush on a partial breakaway in which he was pursued by a PSU defender but still got off a quick shot that Autio deflected into the left corner.
"I thought he did well for not playing for a little bit,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "He skated well and his conditioning was fine. He brings a good element and was good to see him out there.''
IN THE BIG TEN: Notre Dame completed a sweep of top-ranked Minnesota with a 2-1 victory over the Gophers on Saturday night in Minneapolis.
The Irish, who won the series opener 3-2 on Friday, scored one goal in the first period and one in the second on a power play, and didn't allow a goal until Minnesota scored with an extra-attacker with 2:24 left.
The Gophers (11-3-0 overall, 9-3-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) pulled goalie Jack LaFontaine (22 saves) again but couldn't solve Notre Dame goalie Dylan St. Cyr (25 saves), and suffered their third loss in the last four games.
The Irish have swept two road series this season – at Michigan in late November and now at Minnesota.
With six points on the weekend, Notre Dame (7-6-1, 5-4-1-0-1-1) climbed into third place in the Big Ten with 18 points, one behind second-place Wisconsin and one ahead of fourth-place Michigan with 17.
Meanwhile, No. 9/10 Michigan completed a sweep of Ohio State with a 5-0 victory on Saturday in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines (8-6-0, 6-6-0-1-0-0) won the series opener, 4-2, on Friday.
U-M scored two goals in the first period and three in the second. After going down 4-0 at 13:13, OSU goalie Tommy Nappier (19 saves) was replaced by senior Evan Moyse, usually the No. 3 goaltender. Moyse gave up one goal late in the second period and made 13 saves overall.
Michigan goalie Strauss Mann made 30 saves while earning his third shutout of the season. Ohio State (4-9-1, 4-8-0-0-1-0) has lost three straight and is 2-6-1 in its last nine games.
In non-conference play, freshman goalie Cameron Rowe faced only 11 shots and Wisconsin topped road-weary Arizona State, 4-0, on Saturday in Madison. The No. 12/14 Badgers (7-6-0, 6-4-0-0-1-0) erupted for three goals in the first period and added one in the second.
The Wisconsin-ASU series was delayed one day because of Covid-19 issues with the Sun Devils (5-10-2). The teams play again on Sunday.
Next week, MSU and Ohio State will play on Saturday and Sunday at Munn Arena, but the other three series are set for Thursday and Friday.
Michigan is at Notre Dame, Wisconsin visits Penn State and in a non-conference series, Minnesota plays host to Arizona State.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
If Michigan State could have erased the proceedings of the second period on Saturday, it could have been a good afternoon for the Spartans at Penn State's Pegula Arena.
But they couldn't and it wasn't.
So, MSU's quest to salvage a Big Ten series split against the Nittany Lions came up short in University Park, Pa.
After a solid first period, in which each team scored one goal, the Spartans had a sub-par second period and that set up a 3-1 defeat at the hands of a Penn State team which has won seven of its last nine games.
MSU gave up two goals, one on a power play due to an untimely line change, and had a goal disallowed on its own power play in the last minute of the middle period.
Down two goals, the Spartans were better in the third period but only had a few quality scoring chances as the Nittany Lions held on for the series sweep, which started with their come-from-behind 3-2 win in overtime on Friday.
"It was kind of one of those (tough) periods but a lot was self-inflicted,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "We had a bad change on their power play – and I'm not sure why we changed when we had the puck going south on us.
"We changed and left a 4-on-2 on the ice (coming back at us), and then (later) they get a rebound (goal) and suddenly it's 3-1, instead of a fairly close game.''
The Spartans thought they had cut the deficit to 3-2 when Jagger Joshua jammed the puck past Penn State goalie Oskar Autio on a power play with 45 seconds left in the second period. But the officials ruled that the puck was under Autio's pad and Joshua pushed his pad and the puck slid into the net.
Penn State took a 1-0 lead 4:45 into the first period on a shot from a wide angle that MSU goalie Drew DeRidder usually stops with ease. Defenseman Evan Bell worked his way down the left boards and shot from near the goal line and the puck somehow snuck between DeRidder's pads. Other than that shot, DeRidder played another sharp game.
Michigan State tied it at 17:34 when Charlie Combs found a deflected puck on the edge of the crease on the right and he quickly backhanded it past Autio for his team-leading fifth goal of the season. Tommy Apap and Dennis Cesana collected the assists.
In the turning-point second period, the Nittany Lions took a 2-1 lead on Aarne Talvitie's power-play goal at 5:57, one second before a penalty to MSU's Christian Krygier was set to expire.
A Nittany Lion shot from the right point was blocked and the puck caromed out into the neutral zone. Two MSU forwards headed to the bench but before the players coming on the ice got back into the play, PSU retrieved the puck and stormed back on a 4-on-2 rush.
Kevin Wall set up Talvitie at the side of the net for a tip-in and a one-goal lead.
Just over seven minute later, Penn State went up 3-1 on a rebound goal by Wall by the right post at 13:02.
"I thought in the first period we played very well and did a lot of good things. But it's like a tail of things lately – we hit a patch where we don't get it going,'' Cole said. "And in the second period, things went on the wrong side.''
The Spartans played with more energy in the third period and had 11 shots on goal and one power play but couldn't solve Autio.
"We played with some determination in the third period. We played hard,'' Cole said. "The guys have to get a little angry with situations and not be accepting and play that way for 60 (minutes), which we can.
"When we work hard, we have a chance, and when we don't work hard, we don't. It shouldn't be a hard lesson to learn but it seems like it's one we have to keep learning.''
DeRidder made 32 saves while Autio stopped 21 shots, including a key save on a partial breakaway by A.J. Hodges in the third period.
MSU was 0-for-3 on the power play and 0-for-6 in the series. The Spartans have scored only 3 power-play goals in 39 opportunities all season.
Penn State was 1-for-2 on the power play on Saturday and 2-for-4 in the series.
With MSU's lack of success on the power play, confidence is lacking, and there's a tendency to try to make the perfect play, the extra pass, instead of just shooting and trying for rebounds and deflections.
"You get some things moving and then when you don't score, you decide not to shoot,'' Cole said. "We have to get back to moving pucks and putting pucks on net. And then when you get a couple to go in, you get some confidence.
"I thought we had one there, hoping that would build some confidence but they disallowed it.''
Joshua, Brody Stevens fand Kristof Papp worked hard to create that the late second-period opportunity, and Joshua battled in the crease to keep the play going and then jammed the puck into the net.
"Denny (Cesana) and those guys (on the power play) are trying to move pucks and get things going,'' Cole said. "When you get on the (unsuccessful) side of it, that's the way the power play goes.
"You try to make the extra play instead of shooting. Denny had a couple shots on net and we had some good tips but nothing went in.
"Just do that – get pucks on net, have a guy in front and bang in some rebounds and get some mojo going. We had chances but couldn't get things to go.''
In four games (one win, three losses) against Penn State, the Spartans scored 8 goals, with 5 coming in one game – the 5-1 win in the second game of the series at Munn Arena two weeks ago. They were held to 0, 2 and 1 goals in the other three games.
Defensively, MSU was solid, allowing only 8 goals and only 2 in the series at home.
"Overall, we have to be harder on pucks and win more battles and get in and engage,'' Cole said. "We just lost too many 50-50 pucks today.''
UP NEXT: Michigan State returns home next weekend to face Ohio State on Saturday and Sunday. The Saturday game starts at 4 p.m. and will be televised by the Big Ten Network. Sunday's game will also be at 4 p.m.
The Spartans and Buckeyes are meeting for the second time this season. The teams split over Thanksgiving weekend – MSU winning 3-2 in overtime and OSU capturing the second game, 4-2, with an empty-net goal.
After the Ohio State series, the Spartans are at Wisconsin Jan. 29-30 for their first series against the Badgers. MSU and the Wisconsin were supposed to play at Munn Arena on Dec. 8-9 but the series was postponed because of Covid-19 issues within the Wisconsin program.
The Spartans have 14 games remaining in the regular season – 9 at home and 5 on the road. Two of the home games are against Arizona State.
HODGES RETURNS: Freshman forward A.J. Hodges was back in the Michigan State lineup on Saturday, making his first appearance since Dec. 20 at Notre Dame. Hodges had been scratched for the last five games because of unspecified reasons.
Hodges played left wing on a line with center Nico Muller and right wing Jagger Joshua.
Hodges had three shots on goal, including a solid rush on a partial breakaway in which he was pursued by a PSU defender but still got off a quick shot that Autio deflected into the left corner.
"I thought he did well for not playing for a little bit,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "He skated well and his conditioning was fine. He brings a good element and was good to see him out there.''
IN THE BIG TEN: Notre Dame completed a sweep of top-ranked Minnesota with a 2-1 victory over the Gophers on Saturday night in Minneapolis.
The Irish, who won the series opener 3-2 on Friday, scored one goal in the first period and one in the second on a power play, and didn't allow a goal until Minnesota scored with an extra-attacker with 2:24 left.
The Gophers (11-3-0 overall, 9-3-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) pulled goalie Jack LaFontaine (22 saves) again but couldn't solve Notre Dame goalie Dylan St. Cyr (25 saves), and suffered their third loss in the last four games.
The Irish have swept two road series this season – at Michigan in late November and now at Minnesota.
With six points on the weekend, Notre Dame (7-6-1, 5-4-1-0-1-1) climbed into third place in the Big Ten with 18 points, one behind second-place Wisconsin and one ahead of fourth-place Michigan with 17.
Meanwhile, No. 9/10 Michigan completed a sweep of Ohio State with a 5-0 victory on Saturday in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines (8-6-0, 6-6-0-1-0-0) won the series opener, 4-2, on Friday.
U-M scored two goals in the first period and three in the second. After going down 4-0 at 13:13, OSU goalie Tommy Nappier (19 saves) was replaced by senior Evan Moyse, usually the No. 3 goaltender. Moyse gave up one goal late in the second period and made 13 saves overall.
Michigan goalie Strauss Mann made 30 saves while earning his third shutout of the season. Ohio State (4-9-1, 4-8-0-0-1-0) has lost three straight and is 2-6-1 in its last nine games.
In non-conference play, freshman goalie Cameron Rowe faced only 11 shots and Wisconsin topped road-weary Arizona State, 4-0, on Saturday in Madison. The No. 12/14 Badgers (7-6-0, 6-4-0-0-1-0) erupted for three goals in the first period and added one in the second.
The Wisconsin-ASU series was delayed one day because of Covid-19 issues with the Sun Devils (5-10-2). The teams play again on Sunday.
Next week, MSU and Ohio State will play on Saturday and Sunday at Munn Arena, but the other three series are set for Thursday and Friday.
Michigan is at Notre Dame, Wisconsin visits Penn State and in a non-conference series, Minnesota plays host to Arizona State.
Players Mentioned
D
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice Hockey
F
/ Men's Ice HockeySunday, October 11
Friday, October 09
Wednesday, October 07
Friday, October 02