DeRidder Earns B1G First Star Honor

East Lansing -- Michigan State senior goaltender Drew DeRidder (Fenton, Mich.) has been named the No. 1 Star of the Week by the Big Ten office, as announced on Tuesday.

DeRidder backstopped the Spartans to a 30-save shutout victory at No. 8/8 Notre Dame last Saturday. Not only did he pick up the overtime shutout (his second of the season), but he also had the primary assist on Mitchell Lewandowski's game-winning goal for the 1-0 victory that allowed for a split in the series and sent MSU into holiday break on a strong note.

This is DeRidder's second Star of the Week kudos this season from the league, as he was the Big Ten's second star on Oct. 26 after a 37-save performance on the road at UMass Lowell.

DeRidder is playing perhaps the best hockey of his career as a senior, as he is second in the Big Ten and ninth nationally with a 1.99 GAA and a Big Ten -best .945 save percentage, which ranks fourth among Division I goaltenders. He owns five of the top 10 single-game save performances in the Big Ten this season, which includes his season-best of 48 vs. Wisconsin on Nov. 20.

The Spartans entered holiday break with a 10-7-1 overall record, and stand at 5-5-0 in the Big Ten. Michigan State has been road warriors in the 2021 portion of its schedule, with three of the five Big Ten series coming on the road at Penn State, Notre Dame, and Ohio State and splitting a home-and-home series with Michigan, leaving the Spartans with just three home dates in the first 10 Big Ten games on their schedule.

Michigan State is back in action on Dec. 29-30 when it hosts the Great Lakes Invitational Showcase with games against No. 4/4 Western Michigan and No. 18/-Michigan Tech.

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Players Mentioned

Drew DeRidder

Mitchell Lewandowski

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