Spartans Welcome Ohio State to Munn This Weekend

Saturday, January 23

East Lansing, Mich.

4 P.M.

Michigan State University

Ohio State

Michigan State vs. Arizona State, Nov. 19

1/21/2021 12:32:00 PM | Men's Ice Hockey

Games 15-16: Ohio State (4-9-1, 4-8-0-0-1-0 B1G) at Michigan State (5-7-2, 4-7-1-2-1-0 B1G)
Dates | Times: Saturday, Jan. 23 | 4 p.m. // Sunday, Jan. 24 | 4 p.m.
Location: East Lansing, Mich. | Munn Ice Arena
TV: BTN (Sat.)
Web Stream: FOX Sports (Sat.) | BTN + (Sun.)
Radio: TCF Bank Spartan Media Network | MSUSpartans.com & MSU Spartans app | Local: WJIM 1240-AM
Game Notes: Michigan State | Ohio State | Big Ten

On The Fly…
• Michigan State will complete its season series with Ohio State this weekend as the Buckeyes make the return trip to Munn on Saturday and Sunday … MSU is one point behind Ohio State in the B1G standings.

• The Spartans and Buckeyes split their previous series in Columbus, Nov. 28-29 – a 3-2 MSU win in overtime, followed by a 4-2 loss the following night.

• Drew DeRidder continues to rank second in the Big Ten in save percentage at .936 … He leads the league in total saves with 427 and is third in GAA at 2.18 … DeRidder has allowed two or fewer goals in half of the Spartans' games this season.

• Sophomore Josh Nodler leads the Spartans in points (9) and assists (7) … He has points (2-1--3) in two of the last three games.

• Graduate transfer Charlie Combs leads the Spartans in goals with five and is tied with Mitchell Lewandowski for second on the team in points with eight … Combs has goals in two of the last three games.

• Junior Dennis Cesana's eight points are the second most among all Big Ten defensemen, while his seven assists are tied for the league lead among blueliners.

• Kyle Haskins leads all Spartan freshmen with five points (1g, 4a) … Haskins and defenseman Aiden Gallacher are the two Spartan rookies that have played in all 14 games.

• Michigan State ranks ninth nationally and second in the Big Ten in faceoff winning percentage at .538 … Three Spartans rank in the top six in the league in winning percentage – Kristof Papp (1st - .644); Tommy Apap (5th - .570) and Josh Nodler (6th - .566).

• Apap is third in the league in total faceoff wins with 143, while Nodler is tied for fourth with 142.

• Senior defenseman Tommy Miller leads the country in blocked shots per game at 3.29 and is tied for first in total blocks with 46.

About Ohio State
The Buckeyes are coming off a pair of losses at Michigan (4-2, 5-0) last weekend and are 1-4 in their last five games … OSU has one of the best power-play percentages in the Big Ten as the Buckeyes' .255 (12-for-47) ranks third in the league and seventh nationally … Freshman Travis Treloar leads OSU in points (13) and assists (8), while he's tied with junior Quinn Preston for the lead in goals (5) … Senior Tommy Nappier has started every game in goal and owns a 3.01 GAA and .913 save percentage … OSU's penalty killing percentage is fourth in the Big Ten at .796 (39-of-49).

From the First Series with OSU (Nov. 28-29)
The Spartans went 1-1 in their Big Ten-opening series at Ohio State, Nov. 28-29 … MSU won the first game in overtime, 3-2, thanks to Nico Muller's goal; it was MSU's first OT win over OSU since the CCHA Tournament championship game in 1998 (3-2) … OSU took game two, 4-2 … MSU posted its two highest shot totals of the year, recording 45 and 44 shots on goal, respectively … MSU outshot the Buckeyes 20-6 and 15-11, respectively, in the second periods, and 14-7 and 21-12, respectively, in the third periods … The Spartans also had their most successful weekend in the faceoff circle, winning over 64% of the draws … Both teams had a pair of power-play goals in the series as MSU was 2-for-9 (both scored by Charlie Combs) and OSU was 2-for-8.

The Series
MSU leads the all-time series with Ohio State, 92-50-13, including a 45-19-7 advantage in East Lansing … Mitchell Lewandowski is the Spartans' active leading scorer against the Buckeyes with nine points (4g, 5a) in 16 meetings … Dennis Cesana has six points (1g, 5a) in 10 games vs. OSU.

vs. OSU Jan matchup

The Last Time Out: at Penn State
For the first time in five overtime games this season, MSU fell, 3-2, in the opener … MSU held a lead until a 6-on-4 goal with 1:10 to go tied the game … PSU scored 30 seconds into OT … Game two was tied 1-1 after one, but PSU scored a pair of goals in the second period which proved to be the difference … MSU was 0-for-6 on the power play, while PSU was 2-for-5.

DeRidder Dominant
Junior Drew DeRidder enters the weekend second in the Big Ten in save percentage at .936. He leads the league in total saves with 427, while he's third in GAA at 2.18.

On the season, DeRidder's save percentage has never dipped below .931 in starting all 14 games. The 2018-19 Big Ten All-Freshman team selection has seen his save percentage rise as games have progressed this season. DeRidder has a .921 save percentage in the first period of games this season; a league-best .943 in the second period; and a .950 in the third period.

DeRidder garnered two straight Big Ten First Star of the Week accolades (Dec. 23 and Jan. 6). In going 1-0-1 at Notre Dame, Dec. 19-20, DeRidder made 89 total saves, making 47 and 42 stops, respectively. This past week vs. Penn State, he helped hold a Penn State team that was averaging 3.38 goals per game to one tally in each game, posting a .970 save percentage in the series.

Miller's Block Party
Senior defenseman Tommy Miller is one of the nation's top shot blockers as he leads in blocks per game at 3.29 and is tied for first in total blocks with 46. Miller had nine total blocks in last weekend's series at Penn State. His season high in blocks is seven, which he recorded Dec. 20 at Notre Dame – a game in which he also scored the game-winning goal in overtime and set up the game-tying goal in the third period.

For his career, Miller has a total of 248 blocked shots – 12 shy of tying Jerad Rosburg for third most in Spartan history (since 2005-06).

Combs Contributing
Graduate transfer Charlie Combs leads the Spartans in scoring so far this season with five goals and is tied for second in points with eight. Combs scored 36 goals in three seasons at Bemidji State, the 10th highest total among NCAA returners entering the year. He enters this weekend with 68 career points (41g, 27a).

The Spartans are 3-2 when Combs scores; his three goals in Spartan wins have all been MSU's first of the game.

Lewandowski Nearing 100 Career Points
Senior Mitchell Lewandowski is four points away from reaching 100 for his career, entering Saturday's game with 47 goals and 49 assists in 122 games. So far this season, the native of Clarkson has four goals and four assists.

Lewandowski, the last remaining member of MSU's high-powered KHL line that also included Taro Hirose (33-83--116; 2016-19) and Patrick Khodorenko (54-66—-120; 2016-20), is looking to become the third member of that trio to reach 100 career points.

A Busy Month
The Spartans have 20 games on the schedule in the new calendar year and just finished playing four games in a span of seven days. The month of January includes 10 contests, which is the most for the program in the month since 2005-06 when MSU also played 10 games.

From the Michigan Series, Jan. 8-9
The Spartans responded from a 9-0 defeat on Jan. 8 with a 3-2 win on Jan. 9 at Munn … UM took a 2-1 lead with 4:38 to play, but Cole Krygier tied it with 2:01 to go and Josh Nodler's one-timer with 37 seconds to play put MSU ahead for good … The goal was Nodler's first of the season and his assist on Charlie Combs' goal gave him his second two-point game … Pierce Charleson saw his first action in goal, taking over in the first period of game one … MSU killed all four UM power plays in game two.

Owning The Dot
Michigan State continues to be one of the top teams in the nation in the faceoff circle as the Spartans' .538 winning percentage ranks second in the Big Ten and ranks ninth in the country. Tommy Apap, who is 143-108 (.570) in the dot and led the league in faceoff winning percentage last season, is one of three Spartans that rank in the top 10 in the league winning percentage. Kristof Papp is first at .644 (38-21), Apap is fifth at .570 and Josh Nodler is sixth at .566 (142-109).

Nodler has made significant improvement in the faceoff circle over his freshman season, already having won more draws (142) than he did all of last season (133).

Get Them on the Ice in OT
Sophomore Nico Müller and senior Tommy Miller have been involved in both OT goals for the Spartans this season. Miller set up Müller's OT-winner from the MSU end at Ohio State on Nov. 28, while Müller returned the favor, also in the Spartans' end, at Notre Dame on Dec. 20.

100% Graduation Rate
According to data released by the NCAA in late November, Michigan State student-athletes posted all-time highs for Graduation Success Rate (GSR), Federal Graduation Rate (FGR) and single-year Federal Graduation Rate for the 2010-11 to 2013-14 freshman cohorts for the multi-year rates and 2013-14 for the single-year rate. The Spartan hockey team contributed significantly to that success, posting a perfect 100% GSR and FGR. Overall, Michigan State student-athletes posted a GSR of 92% and a FGR of 79% - both all-time highs.

Spartans in the NHL
There are six former Spartan hockey players currently on NHL rosters: Mason Appleton (Winnipeg Jets), Jeff Petry (Montreal Canadiens), Ryan Miller (Anaheim Ducks), Derek Grant (Anaheim Ducks), Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks) and Torey Krug (St. Louis Blues). Mackenzie MacEachern (St. Louis Blues) is currently assigned to the club's taxi squad, which are new for 2021, and allow players to be recalled on short notice.

NHL: Montreal Canadiens at Edmonton Oilers