Neil's Notebook: Spartans Win the Third to Extend Win Streak

By Neil Koepke, MSUSpartans.com staff writer

EAST LANSING – After building a 2-0 lead in the first period, Michigan State had some things go the wrong way in the second period and found itself in a 2-2 tie.

But there was no panic, no trepidation about what was to transpire in the final 20 minutes.

The Spartans remained upbeat, confident and eager to win the battle of the third period. And they went out and did just that.

MSU took it to Wisconsin, erupting for three goals in 8 minutes and 49 seconds, and went on to a 5-2 victory over the Badgers on Saturday and earned a sweep of the Big Ten series in front of a crowd of 5,009 at Munn Arena.

It was the Spartans' second straight series sweep. They captured the series opener on Friday, 3-2.

"We didn't change much. We just needed to win one period and we did,'' said sophomore right wing Jeremy Davidson, who scored two goals in the third period, had an assist on MSU's first goal and was on the ice for all five of his team's goals.

"We've been playing well in the third period pretty much every weekend. We weren't nervous. We just kept playing our game and we knew what needed to do.''

The Spartans (7-5-1 overall, 3-3-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) have won four straight games and in each, they've won the battle of the final period. That includes the two victories over Ferris State last weekend.

Davidson, a 5-10, 170-pound transfer from the University of Massachusetts, broke the 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 2:31 of the third period. He took a pass from linemate Mitchell Lewandowski in the left circle and one-timed the puck past goalie Jared Moe.

Less than three minutes later, freshman Jesse Tucker scored his first goal as a Spartan at 5:26, banging in a rebound from the slot to give MSU a 4-2 lead. Davidson extended the lead to three goals with his second goal of the game and seventh of the season as he tapped in pass from Cole Krygier at 11:18. Davidson also scored a goal in Friday's victory.

"Maybe in the second period, we left off the gas a bit,'' Tucker said. "They scored two on us but we got back to work in the third period and finished them off at home. We just got back to doing what we were doing in the first period.

"It was getting on the forecheck, getting on pucks and getting on their sticks. It just created those opportunities for us, and we just put them in the back of the net.''

Lewandowski scored a power-play goal early in the first period and senior defenseman and captain Dennis Cesana made it 2-0 at 12:41 with a toe-drag and a wrister to the top right corner.

As usual, goalie Drew DeRidder was busy, sharp and in sync. He stopped 48 of the 50 shots the Badgers threw at him. He didn't allow many rebounds, gobbled up pucks around the net and caught and held a lot of shots from the perimeter.

"Going into the third period, we talked about it in the locker room that our legs were there and so let's play our game and keep moving pucks,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "I was really impressed with the guys in the third period.

"The power play came up big and we stuck with it. You like the physical part and the mental part. When you get sweeps in the Big Ten you have to enjoy it, and now we have a little bit of time to rest up.''

The Spartans are off next weekend. Their next challenge is a road series at Penn State, Dec. 3-4, followed by two games at Notre Dame, Dec. 10-11.

MSU was 2-for-4 on the power play on Saturday. Wisconsin was 1-for-4.

Down 2-0, the Badgers (4-10-0, 2-6-0-1-0-0) came close to trailing 3-0 but they survived a dangerous MSU power play early in the second period, and then a few minutes later, they converted on their power play.

Tarek Baker scored from the right side of the net at 4:15 to make it 2-1, and Wisconsin took advantage of an MSU turnover along the boards in the neutral zone. Sam Stange, a Red Wings draft pick, got the puck from Brock Caufield, raced into the Spartan zone and fired a low shot to the left corner to tie it, 2-2, at 8:28.

The Badgers were suddenly energized and looked like they would carry their momentum into the third period. But a boarding penalty to Jack Gorniak at 2:09 gave MSU the opportunity to retake the lead.

Just 22 seconds after the start of the power play, Davidson fired the puck past Moe and the Spartans were up, 3-2.

"Once Davy scored on the power play, the bench was going wild, and then I got my first and we got another one (by Davidson),'' Tucker said. "We didn't want to keep it tight. We wanted to finish them off. It was a good, hard-fought effort by all four lines tonight.''

The Spartans had a good night in the offensive zone, creating chances with aggressive forechecking and crisp, accurate passing and maintained good possession. They had 35 shots on goalie Moe, including seven on the power plays.

"We zipped the puck around really well tonight and better than last night,'' Cole said. "One thing that makes the passing game is we worked well off the puck. There were some nice goals, some backdoor plays, and I like it when guys move the puck and it's crisp and they're confident.''

Over the last three games, MSU has scored 4, 3 and 5 goals. That's pretty good for a team which came into the weekend averaging 2.25 goals-per-game. The challenge going forward will be consistency, and more three and four-goal games.

"There are some areas where we can get better and increase our scoring chances,'' Cole said. "I don't what our (good) scoring chances are from tonight, but we've been popping into the 20s the last little bit and that's a lot. And it's coming from different sources.

"We don't have a Kip Miller right now but we have a lot of guys who are pulling their weight. Our depth has been better than it's been and that includes scoring depth.''

BACK TO .500 IN BIG TEN: Michigan State improved its conference record to 3-3-0, and overall, the Spartans, with four consecutive wins, are two games over .500 at 7-5-1.

"You want things to get rolling, and in the Big Ten, sweeps are hard to come by,'' Cole said. "You have to earn them, whether at home or on the road. We were on the downside because we split at Ohio State and then got swept. So, this gets us back to even and now we have to keep pushing.

"We have a couple of road trips coming up (to Penn State and Notre Dame) and they're going to be huge for us. We have to keep putting points on the board.''

THIS LINE NEEDS A NICKNAME: The forward unit of Jesse Tucker at center, Mitchell Lewandowski on left wing and Jeremy Davidson on the right side is not only in sync, it's red hot.

The trio has been together for the last four games – the 2-0 and 4-3 victories over Ferris State last weekend and the 3-2 and 5-2 wins against Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday at Munn Arena.

Lewandowski started the season with Davidson and sophomore center Kristof Papp. But Lewandowski was injured at UMass Lowell and missed five games. When he came back, he was still with Davidson but Tucker was the new center.

The new line has combined for six goals and 10 assists for 16 points and 28 shots on goal in the last four games.

On Saturday, Davidson had two goals and one assist and six shots on goal. Tucker had a goal and two assists and three shots. Lewandowski scored one goal and assisted on another and had four shots on goaltender Jared Moe. On Friday, Davidson scored one goal and Lewandowski had one assist.

"We mesh well together. Lewie is a highly skilled player and Davey puts the puck in the back of the net,'' said Tucker, a 5-foot-11, 183-pound left-hand shot from the northwest Ontario town of Longlac. "We all complement each other and it makes for a great trio. We're having fun winning and scoring goals together.''

Tucker is 21-year-old freshman. Davidson, 21, is a sophomore and a transfer from the University of Massachusetts. Lewandowski is the veteran of the bunch, He's 23 and a fifth-year senior.

"Lewie and I seem to find each other all over the ice,'' Davidson said. "We just have good chemistry, and it's been building every game and practice.

"Jesse is a 200-foot player. He can make a play in the defensive zone or a play in the offensive zone. He can score goals and make plays. He's a good all-around player and really benefits our line so far.''

Coach Danton Cole likes what he sees from the highly productive line combination.

"Lewie is a good player and knows what he's doing. He's an older guy, a fifth-year player who's smart and fits in well with other two guys,'' Cole said. "He knows how to pass and knows how to shoot.

"Jeremy is learning lots of stuff. He has a good trigger. Tuck sees the ice and makes plays. He uses his body well and he's coming on.''

FIRST AS A SPARTAN: Freshman center Jesse Tucker was in the right place at the right time in the third period to pounce on a rebound and score the first goal of his college career. He gave Michigan State a 4-2 lead when he beat Wisconsin goalie Jared Moe with a shot from the slot at 5:26 of the third period.

"We were humming around the zone and the puck went up to (Cole) Krygier at the left point and he dished it over to (Nash) Nienhaus on the far side for a one-timer, and I kind of fought for my ice there and banged it home in front,'' Tucker said.

Nienhuis' shot bounced off Moe and ended up out front. Tucker and to reach back to get the puck and in a quick motion, he slit it past Moe and into the far left corner.

Tucker said the reaction to his first goal from his teammates was "awesome."

"We have a great culture here. You get your first goal and something happens,'' he said. "Your first goal or point as a Spartan and everybody is there is cheering you on. It's a great feeling.''

With his goal and two assists, Tucker has one goal and six assists for seven points in 14 games overall.

"It was good to see one go in for him,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "He's been around the net and really passes the puck well and sees the ice. He's a popular guy and the bench was pretty happy for him.''

Tucker had two great assists on Saturday. He made a perfect pass to Lewandowski for a one-timer early in the first period to get MSU off to a 1-0 lead. And he made a nifty behind-the-back pass to a trailing Cole Krygier in the left circle. Krygier then fed Jeremy Davidson in front for MSU's fifth goal on a redirect.

STATS UPDATE: Mitchell Lewandowski had a goal and an assist Saturday and is the Spartans' top scorer with five goals and a team-leading eight assists for 13 points in nine games.

Jeremy Davidson and Josh Nodler are tied for second with 11 points apiece in 14 games. Davidson has a team-leading seven goals and four assists. Nodler has four goals and seven assists.

Erik Middendorf is fourth with five goals and four assist for nine points.

Dennis Cesana is the highest-scoring defenseman with three goals and three assists for six points. But Cole Krygier suddenly has an offensive flair to his game and he's chipped in with two goals and three assists for five points in his last six games and for the season.

IN THE BIG TEN: No. 14/15 Notre Dame on Saturday rallied from a 2-0 deficit and pulled out a 5-4 victory in overtime over No. 1/1 Michigan and a sweep of the two-game series in Ann Arbor. Max Ellis scored three goals, including the winner 3:39 into the extra period. The Irish won the series opener, 3-2, also in overtime.

Notre Dame (10-3-0 overall, 4-2-0-0-0-0 Big 10) took a 4-3 lead in the third period, but Michigan (10-4-0, 5-3-0-0-2-0) tied it on Thomas Bordeleau's goal with 6:31 left. U-M outshot the Irish, 41-21.

No. 7/7 Minnesota rebounded from Friday's 5-3 loss to Penn State and topped the Nittany Lions 4-2 on Saturday in Minneapolis. The Gophers (8-6-0, 5-3-0-0-0-0) snapped a 2-2 tie on Mason Nevers' 5-on-3 power-play goal with 5:11 left in the third period, and Sammy Walker added an empty-net goal with 1:21 to go. The Nittany Lions (7-5-0, 1-5-0-0-0-0) outshot Minnesota, 37-29.

Six Big Ten teams will play non-conference games next week:

Penn State stays in the state of Minnesota to play St. Thomas University, a first-year Division I team in St. Paul, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

In Friday-Saturday series, Minnesota is at North Dakota, Clarkson at Wisconsin, Niagara is at Michigan and Mercyhurst visits Ohio State, and Clarkson is at Wisconsin.

Penn State plays a single game – on Friday – at home against Boston College.

Big Ten play returns Dec. 3-4.

Neil's Notebook: Spartans Win the Third to Extend Win Streak

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Players Mentioned

Dennis Cesana

Jeremy Davidson

Drew DeRidder

Cole Krygier

Mitchell Lewandowski

Erik Middendorf

Josh Nodler

Kristof Papp

Jesse Tucker

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