Spartans Cap Busy Month With Trip to No. 13 Wisconsin

Games 17-18: Michigan State (6-7-2, 5-7-1-2-1-0 B1G) at No. 13/13 Wisconsin (9-7, 7-5-0-0-1-0 B1G)
Dates | Times: Friday, Jan. 29 | 8 p.m. ET // Saturday, Jan. 30 | 4 p.m. ET
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | LaBahn Arena
TV: Friday – FS Detroit // Saturday – FS Detroit Plus
Web Stream: BTN +
Radio: TCF Bank Spartan Media Network | MSUSpartans.com & MSU Spartans app | Local: WJIM 1240-AM
Game Notes: Michigan State | Wisconsin | Big Ten

On The Fly…
• Michigan State closes its 10-game month of January by traveling to Wisconsin to meet the No. 13 Badgers on Friday (8 p.m. ET) and Saturday (4 p.m. ET).

• Wisconsin is in third place in the Big Ten with 22 points and a 7-5-0-0-1-0 record, while MSU is in seventh with 15 points and a 5-8-1-2-1-0 league record.

• The Spartans are coming off a split at home with Ohio State, while the Badgers also split last weekend at Penn State (W, 4-1; L, 5-4).

• Junior Drew DeRidder has played more minutes than any goaltender in the Big Ten and leads the nation in saves (506) and shots faced (540) … DeRidder ranks third in the conference in save percentage (.937) and is fourth in GAA (2.22).

• DeRidder has allowed two or fewer goals in half of the Spartans' games this season and is coming off his second shutout of the year – a 28-save performance vs. OSU.

• Junior Dennis Cesana's eight assists lead the Spartans and are tied for second most among all Big Ten defensemen … Cesana's nine points are fourth among the league's blueliners.

• Sophomore Josh Nodler is tied with Cesana for the team lead in points with nine (2g, 7a)

• The Spartans are back atop the conference in faceoff winning percentage at .538, which also ranks ninth in the country … MSU has three players in the top eight in the conference in winning percentage in Kristof Papp (1st - .662), Josh Nodler (7th - .564) and Tommy Apap (8th - .562).

• Michigan State skated off all seven Ohio State power plays last weekend and now ranks second in the conference with an .825 penalty kill percentage … MSU has extinguished 14-for-16 opponent power plays over the last five games (.875).

• 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 in which he has appeared.

• 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 16 games.

• Senior defenseman Tommy Miller leads the Big Ten in blocked shots with 48 and blocks per game at 3.0, which ranks third and second, respectively, in the country.

About Wisconsin
The Badgers are 4-2 in the new calendar year, including a 3-1 mark in their last four games … UW is third in the league in goals per game at 3.56 and fourth in goals allowed per game at 2.88 … Sophomore Cole Caufield leads the Big Ten in goals (10) and points (21), while he's also tops in power-play goals (4) and power-play points (10) … Senior Linus Weissbach is led for second in the league in points with 18 (7g, 11a) … UW's power-play percentage is second in the league at .245 … Freshman Cameron Rowe has started each of the last four games and owns a .946 save percentage, a 1.69 GAA and a 4-1 record, while senior Robbie Beydoun has a .907 save percentage, 3.21 GAA and is 5-6.

matchup at UW

The Matchup
The Spartans went 3-1 against Wisconsin last season, winning each of the first three meetings, including both in East Lansing … MSU is 4-1-1 in its last six meetings with the Badgers, including 3-0-1 at home … Mitchell Lewandowski is the Spartans' active leader in points vs. Wisconsin with 15, including 10 goals, in 12 meetings … In three games in net, Drew DeRidder has a 2.59 GAA and .931 save percentage against UW.

The Last Time Out: vs. Ohio State
Seniors Tommy Apap (1-1—2) and Brody Stevens (1-1—2) both recorded their first multi-point games of the season in the 2-0 victory … MSU's 35 shots on goal in the win were its most since Nov. 29 at OSU (44) … OSU entered the series with a .255 power play percentage, which ranked seventh nationally, and the Spartans erased all seven Buckeye power plays in the series … Freshman Aiden Gallacher earned his first collegiate point with an assist on Brody Stevens' insurance goal in the 2-0 win.

DeRidder Dominant
Junior Drew DeRidder has been a workhorse for the Spartans this season, having played more minutes - 918:14 - than any other goalie in the league (and second most nationally), while leading the nation in saves (506) and shots faced (540). He enters the weekend third in the Big Ten in save percentage at .937 and is fourth in GAA at 2.22.

On the season, DeRidder's save percentage has never dipped below .931 in starting all 16 games. The 2018-19 Big Ten All-Freshman team selection picked up his second shutout of the season last Sunday vs. Ohio State, turning away all 28 shots he faced in the 2-0 win.

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.

Michigan State vs. Penn State, Jan. 3 2021

Michigan State vs. Penn State, Jan. 3 2021

Lewandowski Feasts on Badgers
Mitchell Lewandowski has had some of his best games over his career against Wisconsin. His 15 points (10g, 5a) in 12 career games vs. UW is the most by any current Spartan against a Big Ten opponent. In fact, 21% of his career goals (47) have come vs. the Badgers. Though he was held scoreless in both road games against the Badgers last season, he put up three points (2g, 1a) in the 5-4 OT win on Dec. 7, 2019.

PK Shuts Down Buckeyes
After surrendering a power-play goal in each game at Penn State, Jan. 15-16, the Spartans eliminated all seven OSU power plays last weekend. Ohio State had entered the series seventh nationally in power-play percentage at .255. Michigan State has extinguished 14 of the last 16 opponent power plays over a five-game span. MSU is second in the Big Ten and 20th nationally in PK percentage at .825.

Miller's Block Party
Senior defenseman Tommy Miller is one of the nation's top shot blockers. He leads the Big Ten in total blocks with 48 and blocks per game at 3.0, which rank third and second, respectively, in the nation.

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 250 blocked shots – 10 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.

Spartans in the NHL
Seven former Spartan hockey players are currently on NHL rosters: Mason Appleton (Winnipeg Jets), Jeff Petry (Montreal Canadiens), Ryan Miller (Anaheim Ducks), Derek Grant (Anaheim Ducks), Duncan Keith (Chicago Blackhawks), Taro Hirose (Detroit Red Wings) 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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dennis Cesana

Charlie Combs

Aiden Gallacher

Kyle Haskins

Taro Hirose

Patrick Khodorenko

Mitchell Lewandowski

Tommy Miller

Josh Nodler

Kristof Papp

Jerad Rosburg

Brody Stevens