Spartans and Wolverines Renew Rivalry This Weekend

Games 11-12: No. 9/9 Michigan (5-5, 3-5-0-1-0-0) vs. Michigan State (4-4-2, 3-4-1-2-0-0 B1G)
Dates | Times: Friday, Jan. 8 | 7 p.m. // Saturday, Jan. 9 | 4:30 p.m.
Locations: Fri. – Ann Arbor | Yost Ice Arena // Sat. - East Lansing | Munn Ice Arena
TV: Sat. - BTN
Web Stream: Fri. - BTN + // Sat. – FOX Sports Go
Radio: TCF Bank Spartan Media Network | MSUSpartans.com & MSU Spartans app
Local: Fri. – WVFN 730-AM // Sat. – WJIM 1240-AM
Game Notes: Michigan State | Michigan | Big Ten

On The Fly…

• The Spartans and Wolverines renew college hockey's most-played rivalry with a home-and-home series this weekend … The two teams will meet on Friday in Ann Arbor at 7 p.m., then Saturday in East Lansing at 4:30 p.m.

• The Spartans and Wolverines are both tied for fifth place in the conference with eight points apiece.

• Michigan State is coming off a series split with Penn State that finished with a 5-1 Spartan win on Monday.

• After holding Penn State to just two total goals, the Spartans rank sixth in the nation and second in the Big Ten in goals allowed per game at 2.0 … The Spartans have allowed just one goal in three of the past four games.

• Junior goaltender Drew DeRidder is coming off his second straight Big Ten First Star of the Week honor after posting a .970 save percentage and 1.00 GAA in the two games vs. Penn State.

• DeRidder's .946 save percentage is second in the Big Ten and seventh nationally among goaltenders that have played at least four games … His 1.78 GAA is also second in the conference and is 11th nationally among goalies that have played at least four games.

• Michigan State ranks third in the nation and leads the Big Ten in faceoff winning percentage at .575.

• Three Spartans rank in the top five in the Big Ten in faceoff winning percentage, including Kristof Papp who is second at .649; Tommy Apap who is fourth at .592; and Josh Nodler who is fifth at .588 … Apap is third in the league in total wins with 109.

• Five different Spartans are tied for the team lead in points with six apiece – Charlie Combs (3-3--6), Mitchell Lewandowski (3-3--6), Dennis Cesana (1-5--6), Nico Müller (1-5--6) and Josh Nodler (0-6--6).

• Five (1g, 4a) of Dennis Cesana's six points on the season have come over the last five games

• The Spartans have erased 10-of-11 (.909) opponent power plays over the last four games, this includes killing all or a portion of three five-minute major penalties over the stretch.

• MSU is second in the Big Ten in penalty kill percentage at .833.

• Senior defenseman Tommy Miller's 32 blocked shots are third most in the nation, while his 3.2 blocks per game average is tied for second … Miller's 234 career blocked shots fourth most in Spartan history (since 2005-06).

About Michigan
The Wolverines haven't played since Dec. 8-9 when they dropped a pair of games at home to Minnesota, 3-1 and 4-0 … UM leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth in the nation in power play percentage at .286 (8-for-28) … Michigan's 3.0 goals per game average ranks 19th nationally and third in the Big Ten, while it's 2.6 goals against is 20th in the country and third in the league … The Wolverines' top four scorers are all freshmen – Thomas Bordeleau (3-7—10), Kent Johnson (2-8—10), Brendan Brisson (2-5—7) and Matty Beniers (3-3—6) … Junior Strauss Mann has started all 10 games in goal and owns a 2.45 GAA and .910 save percentage.

The Series
Michigan State went 2-4 against the Wolverines last season … Mitchell Lewandowski is the Spartans' active leader in points against Michigan with 10 (4g, 6a) … Drew DeRidder played all five games against the Wolverines as a freshman in 2018-19, posting a 2.72 GAA and .927 save percentage in going 1-2-2.

matchup v M Jan

From the Penn State Series
Three players – Jagger Joshua (2g), Brody Stevens and Gianluca Esteves – scored their first goals of the season in the 5-1 win … Michigan State became the first team to hold Penn State to two total goals in a two-game series in nearly three years (UM, Jan. 19-20, 2018) … The Spartans didn't take a penalty in the 1-0 loss, marking the first time they stayed out of the box in a game since Feb. 1, 2007 vs. UNO … Drew DeRidder posted a .970 save percentage in the series … Michigan State went 34-19 in the faceoff circle in game one.

A Busy Month
The Spartans have 20 games on the schedule in the new calendar year and are in the midst of 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.

DeRidder Dominates
Junior Drew DeRidder enters the weekend second in the Big Ten in both save percentage at .946 and GAA at 1.78, while having faced the most shots. DeRidder has garnered each of the last two Big Ten First Star of the Week accolades. 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.

In allowing one goal in three of the last four games, DeRidder owns a .962 save percentage and 1.47 GAA over the span. On the season, DeRidder's GAA has never crept above 2.0, while keeping his save percentage above .930 in starting all 10 games

The native of Fenton, Michigan, was voted to the Big Ten All-Freshman team in 2018-19.

Penalty Kill Trending Up
The Spartan penalty kill has erased 10 of 11 opponent power plays (.909) over the last four games, upping their season penalty kill percentage to .833, which is second in the Big Ten. Over the span, Michigan State has killed all or portions of three major penalties in three of the four games. MSU erased 2:50 of a major penalty in a 1-1 tie at Notre Dame on Dec. 19, then the following night, 4:55 of another major penalty in 4-3 win. The last time out against Penn State, the Spartans extinguished an entire 5:00 power play while leading 3-1 late in the second period of the 5-1 victory.

Michigan State at Michigan March 6, 2020

Michigan State at Michigan March 6, 2020

Stingy Defensively
A year after posting the program's best goals against average (2.44) in five seasons, MSU is again proving to be stout defensively. MSU's 2.0 goals against per game average is sixth nationally and second in the Big Ten. The one goal allowed through the first two games was the fewest surrendered by the Spartans in the opening two contests of the season since 2005-06 when MSU topped Wayne State, 5-1, and North Dakota, 3-0, respectively.

Owning The Dot
Michigan State continues to be one of the top teams in the nation in the faceoff circle as the Spartans' .575 winning percentage leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the country. Tommy Apap, who is 109-75 in the dot and led the league in faceoff winning percentage last season, is one of three Spartans that rank in the top five in the league winning percentage. Kristof Papp is second at .649, Apap is fourth at .592 and Josh Nodler is fifth at .588.

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.

From the Notre Dame Series
MSU improved to 2-0 in overtime this year with the 4-3 win on Dec. 30 … Tommy Apap scored in both games – his first goals of the year … The finale marked the first time this season a Spartan recorded multiple points as Tommy Miller (1-1--2), Nico Müller (0-2--2) and Josh Nodler (0-2--2) all did so … Drew DeRidder had the fourth and fifth 40-plus save games of his career, making 47 and 42, respectively … MSU is now unbeaten in its last six meetings with Notre Dame (3-0-3).

B1G Star Sweep
After a 1-1 tie and 4-3 OT win at Notre Dame, Dec. 19-20, the Spartans swept the Big Ten weekly honors - Drew DeRidder was named the first star; defenseman Tommy Miller was named the second star; and forward Tommy Apap was selected as the third star. DeRidder, who made a total of 89 saves over the two games, garnered his second weekly conference honor of the season. Miller's two points, including the game-winning goal on Dec. 20, earned him his first career weekly recognition. Apap's two-goal weekend also helped him get his first career weekly award from the league.

Pucks on Net
Head coach Danton Cole stressed the importance early this year of getting more shots and the Spartans have received the message. Through 10 games, MSU ranks 16th nationally in shots per game at 30.5. For the first time since the CCHA Playoffs in March 2008, MSU recorded at least 40 shots on goal in three straight games: 40 in their 2-0 win over ASU on Nov. 20; 45 on goal in the 3-2 OT win at OSU on Nov. 28; then 44 in a 4-2 loss to the Buckeyes the following night. By comparison, MSU had over 40 shots on goal in two games in 2019-20.

Mattson, Goodsir and Haskins Making an Impact
The line of juniors Mitchell Mattson and Adam Goodsir along with freshman Kyle Haskins has been one of the Spartans' most effective so far this season. Though Goodsir missed the last two games vs. PSU, the trio combined for 10 points through the first eight games. Mattson, who had one assist through 36 games in his first two seasons, has four points (2g, 2a), as does Haskins (1g 3a). Goodsir, who had four assists last year, has three points (1g, 2a).

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.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dennis Cesana

Charlie Combs

Gianluca Esteves

Adam Goodsir

Kyle Haskins

Jagger Joshua

Mitchell Lewandowski

Tommy Miller

Josh Nodler

Kristof Papp

Brody Stevens