Hockey Opens Homestand With Air Force Series


Michigan State (0-0-0) vs. Air Force (0-0-0)
Dates/Times	Friday, Oct. 8, 7 pm \| Saturday, Oct. 9, 7 pm
Location	Munn Ice Arena, East Lansing, Mich.
Tickets	Spartan Ticket Office Ph: 517-355-1610
Radio	Spartan Media Network *Games air live on WJIM 1240 AM* Scott Moore (pxp) and Rob Woodward (Analysis) Broadcast on the Web: Friday \| Saturday
Television	none
Webstreams	(B1G+/$): Friday \| S aturday
Live Statistics	Click Here
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Air Force
Social Media	Facebook Twitter Instagram
Press Conference	Watch this week's Danton Cole Press Conference
Game Program	Download this week's digital game program

In line with indoor mask mandates campus-wide, all fans, media, and individuals working at Michigan State hockey games at Munn Ice Arena will be required to correctly wear a mask.

WEEKEND PARTICULARS
• Michigan State opens the 2021-22 campaign with four straight home games, with the first series against the Air Force Academy. Both games at Munn Ice Arena will drop the puck at 7 pm.

• Both games this weekend will have a live webstream on B1G+, the Big Ten Network's streaming channel.

• Scott Moore and Rob Woodward will call the action on the Spartan Media Network. The game will air live on both WJIM-FM in the Lansing area as well as on the web via MSUSpartans.com.

• MSU is 6-0 all-time in the series with the Falcons, but five of those meetings came nearly 50 years ago – the teams met five times in the calendar year from Dec. 28, 1972 to Dec. 8, 1973. The most recent meeting of the squads came in the consolation game of the 2011 Ice Breaker Tournament in Grand Forks, a 3-2 overtime Spartan victory.

• Air Force finished 10th in Atlantic Hockey a year ago with a 3-10-1 overall record and a 35-56 goal differential in those 14 games. Like the Big Ten, Atlantic Hockey played a conference-only slate.

• Head coach Frank Serratore enters his 25th season at Air Force with a 410-378-93 record at the Academy. He has an overall mark of 459-470-102 in 28 seasons as a college head coach.

• Air Force played an exhibition on Saturday vs. Colorado College, and skated to a 2-1 victory. Senior goalie Alex Schilling made 29 saves in the win, while Parker Brown and Jacob Marti netted the two scores for the Falcons. Air Force blocked 23 shots in the contest.

TEAM NOTES
• Michigan State is coming off a 7-18-2 record in the Covid-19-shortened season in which the Spartans played a Big Ten (plus Arizona State) schedule only. MSU finished seventh in the Big Ten.

• After playing just four non-conference games in 2020-21 (all against ASU), the Spartans have 10 on the schedule for the upcoming season. MSU will play two-game sets at home against Air Force and Miami, on the road at UMass-Lowell, a home-and-home with Ferris State, and host the two Great Lakes Invitational games against Western Michigan and Michigan Tech.

• Michigan State returns 19 letterwinners for the 2021-22 campaign and welcomes seven new players. Of the newcomers, four come in with previous college hockey experience, and there are three true freshmen.

• Of MSU's 15 forwards on the roster, nine are returning to the Green and White from 2020-21. With the bolster of some transfers, MSU's forward corps has a combined 678 college hockey games under its belt. Seven defensemen return with 346 games played (all at MSU), and the three goaltenders have a combined 52 games played.

• MSU's four newcomers with previous experience (Chris Berger, Jeremy Davidson, Griffin Loughran, and Erik Middendorf) bring 222 man-games to the Spartan lineup, and a combined 54-62-116 scoring line. All have at least two remaining seasons of eligibility.

• The Spartans were selected sixth in the Big Ten preseason coaches poll. Minnesota topped the coaches survey, followed by Michigan, Wisconsin, Notre Dame, Penn State, MSU and Ohio State. Wisconsin is the regular-season defending champion, while Minnesota captured the 2020-21 Tournament title.

• In 2020-21, Michigan State was one of the top teams in the country in the faceoff circle, ranking seventh nationally and second in the Big Ten with a .537 winning percentage.

• The Spartans were 5-9-1 at home in 2020-21, and 7-8-1 the year prior before the season was halted due to Covid-19. MSU has 20 home dates on its schedule at Munn Ice Arena.

• Eighteen of MSU's 27 games a year ago were decided by two goals or less, with MSU going 6-12 in those contests. MSU was 4-5 in one-goal affairs.

• MSU surrendered 77 goals a year ago, the third-fewest of any B1G team behind Minnesota (51) and Michigan (64).

PLAYER NOTES
• Only five players appeared in all 27 games a year ago - Mitchell Lewandowski, Dennis Cesana, Josh Nodler, Kyle Haskins, and 2021 graduate Tommy Miller. The first four return to the MSU lineup this season.

• Three Spartan seniors – Lewandowski, Cesana and Drew DeRidder – all garnered All-Big Ten Preseason honorable mention accolades.

• MSU's top three scorers from a year ago all return to the roster, and will serve as captains. Cesana will wear the C, and both Lewandowski and Nodler A's.

• Lewandowski, a fifth-year senior, enters the 2021-22 campaign with the sixth-highest career point total among active NCAA skaters with 101. Lewandowski, who is a three-time All-Big Ten honoree, has 49 goals and 52 assists in 135 career games, and has never missed a contest over his first four collegiate seasons.

• Lewandowski earned Honorable Mention Preseason All-Big Ten honors this season. He led the Spartans in scoring a year ago (6-7—13), sharing the team led in goals with six.

• Lewandowski is the 17th Spartan since 2000 to attain at least 100 career points and the 71st overall in MSU history.

• Cesana has been one of the Big Ten's top-producing defensemen over the last three seasons. The two-time All-Big Ten selection has 58 points (12g, 46a) in 99 career games for the Green and White. Friday's season-opener will be his 100th career contest.

• Cesana tied for ninth among Big Ten defensemen in scoring a year ago (2-10-12), and earned Preseason Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors this fall.

• Drew DeRidder was named the Spartans' MVP and winner of the most improved player award last season. The native of Fenton posted a 2.76 GAA and .923 save percentage. DeRidder led the Big Ten in total saves with 723 and saves per game at 30.12.

• DeRidder started 24 of 27 games a year ago, posting a pair of shutouts and a 7-15-2 record. He was named to the Mike Richter Award Watch List as a junior.

• Pierce Charleson made three starts and appeared in seven games for Michigan State in the crease. He compiled a 2.57 GAA and .938 save percentage in those contests, making 210 saves in 326:49.

• Josh Nodler contributed three goals and eight assists a year ago for 11 points and is MSU's top-returning faceoff man, going 367-347 (.514).

• Senior Adam Goodsir appeared in 24 games a year ago with a 1-3-4 scoring line. Classmate Mitchell Mattson also had four points (2-2-4) in 21 contests.

• Mattson, Goodsir, and both Christian and Cole Krygier will alternate games wearing an A this season. They will serve as the third alternate captain along with Lewandowski and Nodler.

• Junior Nicolas Muller posted a 2-6-8 scoring line last season, with both of his goals standing as game-winners - the OT marker in a 3-2 win at Ohio State on Nov. 28, and also in a 2-1 victory at home against Arizona State (Feb. 15).

• Sophomore Kristof Papp played in 25 Spartan games a year ago, posting four assists.

• Kyle Haskins is the only Spartan rookie to play in all 27 games in 2020-21 and he led the freshman class with five points (1g, 4a).

• Junior Jagger Joshua and senior Mitchell Mattson are the Spartans' biggest bodies in the lineup, and contributed five and four points last season. Joshua led the forwards in penalty minutes a year ago (15/41).

• Griffin Loughran is the top-scoring transfer to join the Spartan lineup this season. He scored 72 points (35 goals, 37 assists) in three years at Northern Michigan.

• Chris Berger played three years at Brown before Covid-19 derailed his final two seasons. He earned his bachelor's degree from the Ivy and is pursuing a master's at Michigan State. In 65 career games for the Bears, he posted 11 goals and 17 assists for 28 points.

• Erik Middendorf played two seasons at Colorado College before returning to junior hockey for the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, where he won a Clark Cup with the Chicago Steel (USHL). He comes to MSU with seven goals and 13 points in 47 contests at CC.

• Middendorf played in the USNTDP prior to heading to CC, where he played for Danton Cole in 2016-17 for the U-17 team.

• A Kalamazoo native, Jeremy Davidson played for the Fargo Force in 2020-21 after a year of playing collegiately at UMass (2019-20). He had a goal and two assists for the Minutemen.

• Two true freshmen join the Spartans on the forward lines. Tanner Kelly is a San Diego native who played in the USHL for the Muskegon Lumberjacks (21-26--47 in 2020-21), while Jesse Tucker comes to MSU from the Green Bay Gamblers, where he holds the record for career assists (88).
• Cole and Christian Krygier return along with Cesana to give the Spartan defense a definitive veteran presence. Both are left-shot defensemen who had three points last season. The pair is both approaching 100 career games - Cole has 87 games played, while Christian has logged 94.

• Three freshmen defensemen saw significant time last season. Nash Nienhuis ranked second to Cesana among defenseman scorers a year ago and posted four assists over 25 games. Classmate Aiden Gallacher played in 26 games on the blueline and chipped in two assists, while Powell Connor played in 15 contests.

• David Gucciardi is the lone freshman on the Spartan blue line and he comes to East Lansing after two seasons with Waterloo (USHL).

• Sophomores Calvin Dybicz and Jon Mor are looking to expand their roles in 2021-22. Dybicz played in one game a year ago and also played in last Saturday's exhibition against the USNTDP, while Mor is looking for his first collegiate action in a talented goaltending corps.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Chris Berger

Dennis Cesana

Pierce Charleson

Powell Connor

Jeremy Davidson

Drew DeRidder

Aiden Gallacher

Adam Goodsir

David Gucciardi

Kyle Haskins

Jagger Joshua

Tanner Kelly

Christian Krygier

Cole Krygier

Mitchell Lewandowski

Griffin Loughran

Mitchell Mattson

Erik Middendorf

Tommy Miller

Jon Mor

Nash Nienhuis

Josh Nodler

Kristof Papp

Jesse Tucker