Michigan State University Athletics
Photo by: Matt Cashore
Neil's Notebook: 20 Minutes Not Enough
12/11/2021 10:39:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke, MSUSpartans.com staff writer
For Michigan State, there were lots of positives about its play in the first period:
Fifteen shots on goal, 2 goals, a 2-0 lead.
For the second and third periods, well, not so much:
No goals, 9 shots, 3 goals against.
The Spartans built a 2-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game Friday and dominated the first 20 minutes, outshooting Notre Dame, 15-8.
However, in the second and third periods, Michigan State made some mistakes, took some penalties, passed up too many shots and got outplayed.
That opened the door for the No. 8 Irish, who scored two goals in the middle period, broke a 2-2 tie in the third and held on for a 3-2 victory over the Spartans in the Big Ten series opener at Compton Family Arena in Notre Dame, Indiana.
"The guys did a nice job coming out. They were right on it,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "In the second period, we got away from some things – turnovers, we didn't shoot the puck and had some bad penalties.
"Their first goal was (due to) a bad back check. We were in position and didn't pick up the man coming back. Then we take a bad penalty – an unnecessary play away from the puck – and that's their second goal.
"The third one (in the third period) is off a lost faceoff, a pick play and we have to have that save there. (Goalie) Pierce (Charleson) probably wants that one back.''
The Spartans (9-7-1 overall, 4-5-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) will try to salvage a series split when they face the Irish (12-4-0, 6-3-0-0-0-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday, also at Compton Family Arena.
Things were looking very good for Michigan State in the first period – one of the Spartans' best first 20 minutes of the season. Freshman forward Tanner Kelly scored the first goal and point of his collegiate career 64 seconds after the opening faceoff.
Nicolas Muller won a puck battle behind net, passed the puck out into the high slot between the circles and Kelly fired it past Notre Dame goalie Matthew Galajda for a 1-0 MSU lead.
Just 47 seconds later, it was 2-0 as defenseman Dennis Cesana's shot from the right point sailed past a screened Galajda. After Jagger Joshua won a faceoff in the right circle in the offensive zone, Adam Goodsir cut across the circle, fished the puck out of a battle in the faceoff dot and sent it back to Cesana.
It didn't look like it at the time but that was the end of Michigan State's scoring, despite having several good chances the rest of the opening period.
"We have to understand that you have to break teams down and keep getting it deep and keep shooting the puck,'' Cole said. "I think I had us for four or five times when we turned down shots. In the first period, those created a lot of momentum for us.''
Notre Dame started its comeback at 7:57 of the second period when senior defenseman Spencer Stastney scored off an odd man rush, flipping the puck into the top left corner from the edge of the crease on the left.
About a minute-and-a-half later, MSU senior defenseman Christian Krygier was assessed a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for a slew foot in the right circle.
Two minutes of Notre Dame's five-minute power play was wiped out when Irish freshman forward Ryder Rolston took a boarding penalty. But after Rolston served his sentence, the Irish went back on the power play and tied it 2-2 at 12:35.
And it was Stastney again with a long shot from 10 feet outside the left circle and near the boards that eluded Charleson.
The game came down to the third period. And usually, the Spartans have been the better team in the final 20 minutes. They went into Friday's game outscoring opponents 21-12.
But on this night, things were different.
Notre Dame outshot Michigan State, 10-5, and scored the only goal – the game-winner by senior defenseman Nick Leivermann at 8:14.
The Irish won a faceoff in the offensive zone in the left circle. Leivermann got the puck at the left point along the left boards and skated down the left side. From behind the goal line, he shot it off the back of Charleson and it ended up in the net for a 3-2 lead.
The Spartans still had plenty of time to tie. Griffith Loughran had a good attempt stopped by Galajda, and while MSU had the puck bouncing around the high scoring zones, they didn't have many quality looks.
"We always say when we shoot, we get two or three extra chances. When we don't shoot, we end up with no chances,'' Cole said. "It's a good hockey team over in that locker room and a good one in this one.
"Overall, it was a hard-fought type of game, which we tend to play with these guys. We got on the wrong side of it. We have to be better for 60 minutes. We were outstanding for 20 and then we were fine, but just fine gets you a 3-2 loss.''
Charleson, starting his second-straight game, made 25 saves – eight in each of the first two periods and nine in the third. Galajda, a transfer from Cornell, stopped 22 shots – 13 in the first period but only four in the second and five in the third.
MSU was 0-for-3 on the power play. Notre Dame was 1-for-4.
DAVIDSON INJURED: Sophomore right wing Jeremy Davidson, MSU's leading goal-scorer, missed most of the second period and all of the third when he was checked along the boards by Notre Dame defenseman Jake Boltmann at 5:11 of the middle period. He left the ice and never returned.
"Davey is a goal scorer and that hurts us. You miss the balance in the lines,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "That was a play where the guy leaves his feet and gets his hands up and it's an elbow to the head. We lost a guy and nothing (happens) about it.''
Davidson, who plays on MSU's red-hot line with Jesse Tucker and Mitchell Lewandowski, leads the team with eight goals in 17 games.
"We'll see how he is (on Saturday),'' Cole said. "He seemed pretty good when I saw him the locker room (after the game). If he's OK to play, he will. But if not, we'll be safe, like we are for everybody, for sure.''
FIRST FOR KELLY: It took freshman forward Tanner Kelly just 64 seconds into Friday's game to score his first goal as a Spartan – and his first point.
Kelly, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound right-hand shot from San Diego, found some open space in the high slot, took a perfect pass from linemate Nicolas Muller from behind the net and fired the puck into the lower left corner.
"That was a great play all around,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "Nico did a good job in the corner and Jagger (Joshua) got it down to Nico. Kelly did a nice job finding open space and pulling the trigger. He's going to score some goals before he's done here.''
Kelly came into Friday's game with 11 shots on goal. He's missed a couple of breakaways and tap-ins at the side of the net and been robbed by big saves by opposing goalies. In his 15th game, his 12th shot eluded the opposing goalie.
"I'm sure he feels good about that. He's played good hockey and he's had some chances with breakaways and some others,'' Cole said. "But he just hasn't gotten it go in.
"He did a nice job as the third guy on that play. Muller was good and strong in the corner and made a nice pass. Jagger was big and strong for us tonight. That was one of Jagger's better games. He was a monster out there. He controlled the play and we need that out of him tomorrow.''
Kelly, 19, had 21 goals and 26 assists in 53 games last season for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the U.S. Hockey League.
THE STAT PACK: Mitchell Lewandowski's point streak came to an end Friday when the Irish held the MSU senior forward without a goal or assist for the first time this season. Lewandowski also didn't have a shot on goal. Lewandowski had a point in 11-straight games. He leads the Spartans in scoring with six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 12 games.…
MSU and Notre Dame combined for five goals on Friday and four were scored by defensemen. All three Irish goals came off the sticks of D-men - two by Spencer Stastney and one by Nick Leivermann. The Spartans got one from a blue liner – senior captain Dennis Cesana. The only forward to ignite a red light was MSU's Tanner Kelly in the second minute of the game…
Jagger Joshua led the Spartans in four shots on goal, while Jesse Tucker had three. Stastney led Notre Dame with four and Leivermann chipped in with two. The Irish defense combined for 13 shots on goal. MSU's backline contributed six.
IN THE BIG TEN: Michigan broke a 2-2 tie with three late goals to defeat Ohio State 5-2 on Friday in Columbus. Fifth-year senior Michael Pastujov gave the No. 3/3 Wolverines (14-5-0 overall, 7-4-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) the lead for good at 15:03 of the third period. The No. 17 Buckeyes (9-6-0, 5-4-0) tied the game 2-2 on Grant Gabriele's goal 6:51 into the third period.
With a 3-2 lead, U-M added another goal 25 seconds after Pastujov's and an empty-netter with 35 second left in the game. OSU outshot U-M, 38-25.
Wisconsin ended a seven-game winless streak with a 4-1 victory over Penn State in Madison. The Badgers (5-11-1, 3-6-0-1-0-0) scored three goals in a span of 7 minutes and 21 seconds in the second period to take a 3-0 lead.
Tyler Gratton kept Penn State (10-8-0, 2-7-0-0-0-0) from getting shut out when he scored at 13:35 of the third period. But Roman Ahcan's empty-net goal sealed Wisconsin's first victory since defeating Minnesota, 4-3 in overtime, on Nov. 5. The Badgers outshot the Nittany Lions, 42-35.
Minnesota (10-8-0, 6-4-0-0-1-0) is off this weekend.
For Michigan State, there were lots of positives about its play in the first period:
Fifteen shots on goal, 2 goals, a 2-0 lead.
For the second and third periods, well, not so much:
No goals, 9 shots, 3 goals against.
The Spartans built a 2-0 lead in the first two minutes of the game Friday and dominated the first 20 minutes, outshooting Notre Dame, 15-8.
However, in the second and third periods, Michigan State made some mistakes, took some penalties, passed up too many shots and got outplayed.
That opened the door for the No. 8 Irish, who scored two goals in the middle period, broke a 2-2 tie in the third and held on for a 3-2 victory over the Spartans in the Big Ten series opener at Compton Family Arena in Notre Dame, Indiana.
"The guys did a nice job coming out. They were right on it,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "In the second period, we got away from some things – turnovers, we didn't shoot the puck and had some bad penalties.
"Their first goal was (due to) a bad back check. We were in position and didn't pick up the man coming back. Then we take a bad penalty – an unnecessary play away from the puck – and that's their second goal.
"The third one (in the third period) is off a lost faceoff, a pick play and we have to have that save there. (Goalie) Pierce (Charleson) probably wants that one back.''
The Spartans (9-7-1 overall, 4-5-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) will try to salvage a series split when they face the Irish (12-4-0, 6-3-0-0-0-0) at 7 p.m. Saturday, also at Compton Family Arena.
Things were looking very good for Michigan State in the first period – one of the Spartans' best first 20 minutes of the season. Freshman forward Tanner Kelly scored the first goal and point of his collegiate career 64 seconds after the opening faceoff.
Nicolas Muller won a puck battle behind net, passed the puck out into the high slot between the circles and Kelly fired it past Notre Dame goalie Matthew Galajda for a 1-0 MSU lead.
Just 47 seconds later, it was 2-0 as defenseman Dennis Cesana's shot from the right point sailed past a screened Galajda. After Jagger Joshua won a faceoff in the right circle in the offensive zone, Adam Goodsir cut across the circle, fished the puck out of a battle in the faceoff dot and sent it back to Cesana.
It didn't look like it at the time but that was the end of Michigan State's scoring, despite having several good chances the rest of the opening period.
"We have to understand that you have to break teams down and keep getting it deep and keep shooting the puck,'' Cole said. "I think I had us for four or five times when we turned down shots. In the first period, those created a lot of momentum for us.''
Notre Dame started its comeback at 7:57 of the second period when senior defenseman Spencer Stastney scored off an odd man rush, flipping the puck into the top left corner from the edge of the crease on the left.
About a minute-and-a-half later, MSU senior defenseman Christian Krygier was assessed a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for a slew foot in the right circle.
Two minutes of Notre Dame's five-minute power play was wiped out when Irish freshman forward Ryder Rolston took a boarding penalty. But after Rolston served his sentence, the Irish went back on the power play and tied it 2-2 at 12:35.
And it was Stastney again with a long shot from 10 feet outside the left circle and near the boards that eluded Charleson.
The game came down to the third period. And usually, the Spartans have been the better team in the final 20 minutes. They went into Friday's game outscoring opponents 21-12.
But on this night, things were different.
Notre Dame outshot Michigan State, 10-5, and scored the only goal – the game-winner by senior defenseman Nick Leivermann at 8:14.
The Irish won a faceoff in the offensive zone in the left circle. Leivermann got the puck at the left point along the left boards and skated down the left side. From behind the goal line, he shot it off the back of Charleson and it ended up in the net for a 3-2 lead.
The Spartans still had plenty of time to tie. Griffith Loughran had a good attempt stopped by Galajda, and while MSU had the puck bouncing around the high scoring zones, they didn't have many quality looks.
"We always say when we shoot, we get two or three extra chances. When we don't shoot, we end up with no chances,'' Cole said. "It's a good hockey team over in that locker room and a good one in this one.
"Overall, it was a hard-fought type of game, which we tend to play with these guys. We got on the wrong side of it. We have to be better for 60 minutes. We were outstanding for 20 and then we were fine, but just fine gets you a 3-2 loss.''
Charleson, starting his second-straight game, made 25 saves – eight in each of the first two periods and nine in the third. Galajda, a transfer from Cornell, stopped 22 shots – 13 in the first period but only four in the second and five in the third.
MSU was 0-for-3 on the power play. Notre Dame was 1-for-4.
DAVIDSON INJURED: Sophomore right wing Jeremy Davidson, MSU's leading goal-scorer, missed most of the second period and all of the third when he was checked along the boards by Notre Dame defenseman Jake Boltmann at 5:11 of the middle period. He left the ice and never returned.
"Davey is a goal scorer and that hurts us. You miss the balance in the lines,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "That was a play where the guy leaves his feet and gets his hands up and it's an elbow to the head. We lost a guy and nothing (happens) about it.''
Davidson, who plays on MSU's red-hot line with Jesse Tucker and Mitchell Lewandowski, leads the team with eight goals in 17 games.
"We'll see how he is (on Saturday),'' Cole said. "He seemed pretty good when I saw him the locker room (after the game). If he's OK to play, he will. But if not, we'll be safe, like we are for everybody, for sure.''
FIRST FOR KELLY: It took freshman forward Tanner Kelly just 64 seconds into Friday's game to score his first goal as a Spartan – and his first point.
Kelly, a 5-foot-10, 165-pound right-hand shot from San Diego, found some open space in the high slot, took a perfect pass from linemate Nicolas Muller from behind the net and fired the puck into the lower left corner.
"That was a great play all around,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "Nico did a good job in the corner and Jagger (Joshua) got it down to Nico. Kelly did a nice job finding open space and pulling the trigger. He's going to score some goals before he's done here.''
Kelly came into Friday's game with 11 shots on goal. He's missed a couple of breakaways and tap-ins at the side of the net and been robbed by big saves by opposing goalies. In his 15th game, his 12th shot eluded the opposing goalie.
"I'm sure he feels good about that. He's played good hockey and he's had some chances with breakaways and some others,'' Cole said. "But he just hasn't gotten it go in.
"He did a nice job as the third guy on that play. Muller was good and strong in the corner and made a nice pass. Jagger was big and strong for us tonight. That was one of Jagger's better games. He was a monster out there. He controlled the play and we need that out of him tomorrow.''
Kelly, 19, had 21 goals and 26 assists in 53 games last season for the Muskegon Lumberjacks of the U.S. Hockey League.
THE STAT PACK: Mitchell Lewandowski's point streak came to an end Friday when the Irish held the MSU senior forward without a goal or assist for the first time this season. Lewandowski also didn't have a shot on goal. Lewandowski had a point in 11-straight games. He leads the Spartans in scoring with six goals and 11 assists for 17 points in 12 games.…
MSU and Notre Dame combined for five goals on Friday and four were scored by defensemen. All three Irish goals came off the sticks of D-men - two by Spencer Stastney and one by Nick Leivermann. The Spartans got one from a blue liner – senior captain Dennis Cesana. The only forward to ignite a red light was MSU's Tanner Kelly in the second minute of the game…
Jagger Joshua led the Spartans in four shots on goal, while Jesse Tucker had three. Stastney led Notre Dame with four and Leivermann chipped in with two. The Irish defense combined for 13 shots on goal. MSU's backline contributed six.
IN THE BIG TEN: Michigan broke a 2-2 tie with three late goals to defeat Ohio State 5-2 on Friday in Columbus. Fifth-year senior Michael Pastujov gave the No. 3/3 Wolverines (14-5-0 overall, 7-4-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) the lead for good at 15:03 of the third period. The No. 17 Buckeyes (9-6-0, 5-4-0) tied the game 2-2 on Grant Gabriele's goal 6:51 into the third period.
With a 3-2 lead, U-M added another goal 25 seconds after Pastujov's and an empty-netter with 35 second left in the game. OSU outshot U-M, 38-25.
Wisconsin ended a seven-game winless streak with a 4-1 victory over Penn State in Madison. The Badgers (5-11-1, 3-6-0-1-0-0) scored three goals in a span of 7 minutes and 21 seconds in the second period to take a 3-0 lead.
Tyler Gratton kept Penn State (10-8-0, 2-7-0-0-0-0) from getting shut out when he scored at 13:35 of the third period. But Roman Ahcan's empty-net goal sealed Wisconsin's first victory since defeating Minnesota, 4-3 in overtime, on Nov. 5. The Badgers outshot the Nittany Lions, 42-35.
Minnesota (10-8-0, 6-4-0-0-1-0) is off this weekend.
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