Neil's Notebook: New Faces Help Jump Start Scoring

By Neil Koepke, MSUSpartans.com staff writer

ALSO: MSU-Miami Series Preview

EAST LANSING – One of the reasons Michigan State coaches and players expect the Spartans to score more goals this season is a more highly skilled group of forwards.

Seven new faces – four transfers and three freshmen – and some key returning forwards give the Spartans hope that the offense has the potential to be a team strength.

Another reason to like MSU's offensive potential is a group of offensively gifted defensemen who can effectively move the puck out of the defensive zone and make plays in the neutral zone and offensive zone.

In senior Dennis Cesana, sophomore Nash Nienhaus and freshman David Gucciardi, the Spartans have defensemen who can move the puck, carry the puck, join the rush, set up scoring plays and quarterback the power play.

In Michigan State's season-opening series split against Air Force last weekend, Cesana, Nienhaus and Gucciardi displayed their offensive skills. Cesana, of course, was no surprise. He's been one of the Spartans' best players for three seasons.

Nienhaus developed well as a freshman last season and Gucciardi showed great potential in his college debut.

"When you can't break out of your zone clean, it's hard to play offense," MSU coach Danton Cole said. "You can't transition and make decisions. Having guys who can do that really makes a difference.''

During his 11-year pro career, Cole learned the importance of puck-moving defensemen very early, watching teammate and defenseman Phil Housley dominate for the Winnipeg Jets and a seeing a versatile defense corps playing for the New Jersey Devils.

"Things happened when Housley was on the ice. It was night and day compared to other guys,'' Cole said. "I never realized until I got to New Jersey and saw the defense corps with the (1985) Stanley Cup team, just how much of a difference it makes when you can't break out clean.''

The Devils' strong defense included Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer and Bruce Driver. New Jersey swept the Red Wings, 4-0, and Cole's name was inscribed on the Stanley Cup.

For the Spartans, Cesana, Nienhaus and Gucciardi were involved in setting up three power-play goals in last Saturday's 5-1 victory over Air Force. And Cesana scored late in the third period in a 4-on-4 situation.

Gucciardi, who celebrated his 19^th birthday on Saturday, was on the ice running the power play during MSU's first two goals by freshman Griffin Loughran but he didn't get an assist. Cesana helped set up MSU's third power-play goal by Mitchell Lewandowski but also didn't get an assist. Nienhaus drew an assist on Lewandowski's power-play goal and earned an assist on Cesana's goal, which gave MSU a 4-1 lead.

The Spartans (1-1) hope the defense and offense continue to show improvement this weekend when they face Miami (1-1) in a non-conference series at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Munn Arena.

"About halfway through last season, Nash really jumped, making a big step in his play,'' Cole said. "We know what Dennis can do and David has played just two games for us and he's been outstanding. He has that extra gear. He's one of those guys that can accelerate without looking like he's really moving – like he's on a moving sidewalk.

"His reads with the puck are outstanding. He did a great job on the power play and that just makes it easier.''

Gucciardi, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound left-hand shot D-man from Toronto, is paired with senior Christian Krygier. Nienhuis, 5-10, 178 pounds from Sarnia, Ontario, is matched up with Cesana. Nienhuis had four assists in 25 games last season.

The other defensive pairing has senior Cole Krygier playing with sophomore Powell Connor.

"I thought the Krygiers were really good last weekend. On Saturday, Powell Connor was really good in making those (breakout) plays,'' Cole said. "When you do that, you can start stretching things and breaking some teams down.

"But if you can only make one play and shovel it out, it's pretty easy (for the other team) to wedge that and counter attack. And then you're just beating your head against the wall. It's a hard way to go through that.

"When that stuff starts getting created, it makes things a lot better. You know what they say, good goalies make good coaches. But so do good D-men.''

Gucciardi, spent the last two seasons playing 68 games for four teams in the U.S. Hockey League, with his last stop in Waterloo, Iowa. He's been on campus since July but he quickly noticed the difference in the college game last weekend.

"But the time we started to play games, I did feel comfortable but it took a few minutes to see that there's definitely a speed change,'' he said. "It's a big change for sure.''

Although he's known as an offensive-style defenseman, Gucciardi says his focus is improving his defense.

"I want to try to defend first and everything will take care of itself. When I'm out there, I just try to go with the flow and try to hit my open guys and try not to worry too much,'' he said. "The guys here have been super nice and the older guys have been teaching me the ropes and that's been good. It's been a lot of fun.''

One teammate that he's been watching and learning from is Cesana, the captain who's back for his fourth season at MSU.

"He's been here a long time and knows what it takes to be a good Spartan and to wear the jersey. He's taught me a lot just talking through things,'' Gucciardi said. "I think we have two good power-plays units. I think both can score and (playing on one) means a lot to me. I'm just trying to work hard and play the best I can.''

THE MSU-MIAMI RIVALRY: The Spartans lead the series 69-34-6 which started with a 4-4 tie on Dec. 5, 1980. MSU hasn't faced the RedHawks since losing a CCHA best-of-three playoff series in Oxford, Ohio, 2 games to 1, March 15-17, 2013. The Spartans won the first game, 3-0, with goalie Jake Hildebrand pitching the shutout. But Miami bounced back with a pair of 4-1 victories to capture the series.

The last time the RedHawks played at Munn Arena was Jan. 6-7, 2012, with Miami sweeping the series, 2-1 in overtime and 4-0.

Miami is 8-1-1 against MSU in the last 10 meetings. But early on in the series, the Spartans dominated. They went 16-0 vs. Miami from Nov. 19, 1982, to Oct. 25, 1992. And from Jan. 9, 1998 to Jan. 17, 1992, MSU won 14 games in a row.

SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS: Miami is 1-1 after splitting a non-conference series at Ferris State, Oct. 2-3, winning the first game, 7-4, and losing the series finale, 4-3 in overtime.

After making the NCAA Tournament eight straight seasons and 10 times in 12 years from 2003-04 to 2012-13 and playing in two Frozen Fours (2009, 2010), Miami has fallen back and has had six consecutive losing seasons. In 2020-21, the RedHawks went 5-18-2, finishing last (8^th) in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC).

Senior right wing Matt Barry led Miami in scoring last season with two goals and 15 assists for 17 points. Other key forwards include Michael Regush, Derek Daschke, Chase Gresock and the Savage brothers, junior Ryan and freshman Red.

Ryan Savage, a right wing, had two goals in Miami's 7-4 win at Ferris State. He's playing on a line with Red Savage at center and junior Matthew Bardolino. Red is a product of the U.S. National Team Development Program, and was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the fourth round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft.

The Savages are the sons of former Miami standout forward Ryan Savage, who played three seasons (1990-93) for the RedHawks before a 12-year career in the NHL with four teams – Montreal, Phoenix, St. Louis and Philadelphia.

Ryan Sr. was a teammate with current Miami coach Chris Bergeron, who took over as coach in 2019 when Rico Blasi was fired after 20 seasons. Bergeron was also a teammate of Blasi and served as an assistant under Blasi for 10 years before taking the head coaching job with Bowling Green, where he spent nine seasons before returning to his alma mater.

Miami's roster includes 10 new players – six transfers and four freshmen.

The RedHawks and Spartans have something in common from last year – a struggling offense and weak power play. Miami averaged 1.92 goals per game which ranked 44^th of 51 teams. MSU's 1.48 was 50^th.

Miami's power play last season scored 12 goals and converted on 14.5 percent of its chances. It ranked 42^nd in the nation. The Spartans power play scored five goals, converting on 7 percent of their opportunities, ranking 49^th nationally.

Sophomore goalie Ludvig Persson, 22, from Hindas, Sweden, is back for his second season and he played in both games vs. Ferris State. Last season, Persson had a 2.62 goals-against-average and a .925 saves percentage.

Persson's backup is Logan Neaton, a junior and a transfer from UMass-Lowell. Neaton is the son of former Michigan defenseman Patrick Neaton (1989-93).

Meanwhile, Bergeron, 50, from Wallaceburg, Ontario, played four years at Miami under Coach George Gwozdecky and served as captain for two seasons. Bergeron is in his 12^th season in coaching and has a career record of 185-194-51. He's 14-40-7 in three seasons at Miami.

At Bowling Green, Bergeron led the Falcons to six straight winning seasons, including five with 21 or more victories, and one trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2018-19.

"Chris Bergeron is a really good coach and the one thing his teams have done consistently when he was an assistant at Miami, head coach at Bowling Green and now back at Miami, is play extremely hard. They come after you,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "Their defense will pinch more and if they have a little sniff of success on their forecheck, their second guy will be in tight and their third guy will be coming.''

PUT IT ON THE BOARD: Four newcomers earned their first points as Spartans in their first two games. Griffin Loughran, a right wing and a transfer from Northern Michigan, led the way with an assist against Air Force on Friday and two power-play goals on Saturday.

Right wing Jeremy Davidson, a transfer from Massachusetts, earned his first point with an assist on Mitchell Lewandowski's second power-play goal late in the second period on Saturday.

Erik Middendorf, a transfer from Colorado College, got his first point as a Spartan with an assist on Loughran's second power-play goal on Saturday.

Freshman center Jesse Tucker collected his first collegiate point with an assist on Loughran's first power-play goal on Saturday.

In addition, sophomore defenseman Nash Nienhuis and junior center Josh Nodler each had two assists on Saturday.

Meanwhile, senior defenseman and captain Dennis Cesana reached a milestone on Friday by playing in his 100^th game as a Spartan. Cesana was on the ice for both MSU goals on Friday and was on the ice for two Spartan goals on Saturday, including his highlight-reel goal that gave his team a 4-1 cushion late in the third period.

IN THE BIG TEN: Minnesota and Michigan are playing highly ranked teams this weekend. The No. 4 Gophers (2-0) play a home-and-home non-conference series with No. 2 St. Cloud State (3-1) – Friday at home and Saturday in St. Cloud.

No. 3 Michigan (2-0) is involved in the Ice Breaker Tournament in Duluth with No. 5 Minnesota Duluth (2-0), No. 1 Minnesota State (3-1) and No. 10 Providence (3-0). The Wolverines open with Minnesota Duluth on Friday and play either Minnesota State or Providence in the championship or third-place game on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin (0-2) plays a non-conference series at home against Army (0-2-1) on Thursday and Friday. The Badgers are coming off two one-sided losses at home against Michigan Tech 5-2, 5-1.

Ohio State (1-1) plays host to Connecticut (2-1 overall, 1-1 Hockey East) in a non-conference series on Friday and Saturday. Notre Dame (1-0) plays at Michigan Tech (2-0) on Friday and is off on Saturday.

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Players Mentioned

Chris Berger

Dennis Cesana

Powell Connor

Jeremy Davidson

David Gucciardi

Christian Krygier

Cole Krygier

Mitchell Lewandowski

Griffin Loughran

Erik Middendorf

Nash Nienhuis

Josh Nodler

Jesse Tucker

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