Neil's Notebook: Third Time is a Charm for Papp

By Neil Koepke, MSUSpartans.com staff writer

Twice this season, Michigan State sophomore forward Kristof Papp thought he just scored his first collegiate goal only to have it disallowed.

On Saturday night, he scored another goal that was reviewed – this time for offside. But finally, a ruling went his way.

When one of the referees finished reviewing the play, stepped back onto the ice and pointed toward center ice, saying, "We have a good goal," Papp had his milestone.

And his first goal turned out to be the game-winner.

Papp's goal at 6:16 of the third period lifted the Spartans into a 4-2 lead and they held on for a 4-3 victory over Penn State and a split of the Big Ten series in front of 6,144 fans at Pegula Arena in University Park, Pennsylvania.

"He was looking at the hat trick of disallowed goals,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said with a laugh. "We called up top right away and (video and analytics director) Dan Sturges looked at it and let us know it was a good goal. But you never know until (the referee) points his arm.

"You get that first goal out of the way and, hopefully, it's the first of many to come.''

Earlier this season, Papp had goals called back because of a crease violation and a Spartan penalty wiped another possible goal. But his luck changed on Saturday.

Papp, a 5-foot-11, 182-pound center from Budapest, Hungary, took a pass from A.J. Hodgins and raced down the left side and, from the left circle, his wrister to the low left corner beat PSU goalie Oscar Autio.

The Nittany Lions cut MSU's lead to 4-3 a few minutes later, and the Spartans survived intense pressure in its own zone the rest of the game and held on for a hard-earned road win.

Papp, of course, wasn't only hero for the Spartans.

Sophomore goalie Pierce Charleson, making his first start since Nov. 5, made a career-high 50 saves, including 20 in the hectic third period, and had a solid overall game.

Senior left wing Mitchell Lewandowski scored a key power-play goal early in the third period and set up two goals in the first period, extending his point streak to 11 games.

Junior right wing Jeremy Davidson and senior defenseman Dennis Cesana also scored for the Spartans (9-6-1 overall, 4-4-0 Big Ten) in the first period.

MSU's nine wins in 16 games are already two more than last season's total of seven in a 27-game season.

Although it was hectic at times Saturday, the Spartans defended well for most of the last 11 minutes in which the Nittany Lions fired shots from everywhere and crashed the front of the net. But Charleson was sharp and MSU's defense limited quality chances.

Cole would have liked to see his team play more in the offensive zone, have more control of the puck and limit Penn State's time in MSU defensive zone.

"We had to hang in there and scratch and claw and our guys did that,'' Cole said. "Penn State played a real good game and put a lot of pressure on us. We talk a lot about conditioning and thank God we had some because we were able to defend and backcheck an awful lot.

"We seemed to be on our heels a lot and kept shooting ourselves in the foot. But we battled and battled, starting with Pierce, and toward the end we had good sticks, good clears and we didn't give up much.''

Michigan State won the special teams battle, which they didn't win in its 4-2 loss to the Nittany Lions on Friday. MSU went 1-for-3 on the power play Saturday while PSU failed to score on three power plays – all in the second period.

On Friday, Penn State was 1-for-4 and MSU 0-for-3.

Penn State's 53 shots on goal are the most given up by the Spartans all season. Two weeks ago against Wisconsin, the Spartans gave up 50 shots in a 5-2 victory. But the Nittany Lions were much more dangerous.

"We made it harder on ourselves. You try to take away what the other team does well and you try not to feed it,'' Cole said. "There's no bad students, only bad teachers. Maybe my message wasn't clear tonight.''

Still, the Spartans never trailed in the game, taking a 2-1 lead in the first period, and despite Penn State tying it in the second period, MSU stunned the Nittany Lions early in the third period.

For sure, the turning point in the series finale came when Michigan State scored two goals within 2:06 in the final period.

Lewandowski capped a perfect passing play between defenseman Nash Nienhuis and forward Griffin Loughran when he hit an open net from the left edge of the crease at 4:10.

Two minutes later, MSU forced a turnover and Adam Goodsir sent the puck to A.J. Hodges coming out of the Spartan zone. Hodges came down the right side, skated over the blue line and his cross-ice pass was right on the stick of Papp, speeding down the left wing. Papp drove to the net and beat Autio at 6:16.

Penn State challenged the goal, claiming Goodsir was offside before Hodgins carried the puck over the blue line. The play was reviewed but this time, Papp's first goal was official.

Last season, as a freshman adjusting to the college game, Papp played in 25 games, didn't score a goal and had four assists. This year, he has lifted his game and played a bigger role. Papp, who had an assist on Friday, has one goal and seven assists for eight points in 14 games.

"He's a sophomore and didn't score a goal last year but that's a young man who has scored a lot of goals in his life, and sometimes that's how you think of yourself,'' Cole said. "So, when you get one, it makes you feel much better. He has a heck of a shot and, hopefully, that leads into something.''

After Davidson opened the scoring with his team-high eighth goal just 3:31 into the first period, Penn State's Chase McLane tied it with a fluke goal from a wide angle in the left circle at 7:01. McLane backhanded the puck toward the net and it somehow slid under Charleson's pads.

Cesana, Lewandowski and Christian Krygier teamed up to give MSU a 2-1 lead with 3:56 left in the first period.

Inside the PSU zone, Krygier passed to Cesana at the right point. He slid it down to Lewandowski in the right circle and then skated into the slot and took a return pass from Lewandowski, moved to his left near the left circle and fired the puck past Autio. The goal was Cesana's fourth of the season.

Connor MacEachern scored the only goal of the second period, tying the game for the Nittany Lions at 10:03. He came out from behind the net, fired a shot on goal that Charleson saved. But the rebound popped loose and MacEachern fired the puck into the top left corner for a 2-2 tie.

That set the stage for MSU's productive early third period to regain the lead for good.

Michigan State has won five of its last six games, and in Big Ten play, the Spartans have split two series (Ohio State, PSU), won one (Wisconsin) and were swept one time (Michigan).

"You feel good about it and you build on it," Cole said of the road split with the Nittany Lions. "We had won four in a row which we haven't done in a while, including a sweep at home in the Big Ten.

"We're .500 in the league and now we go to Notre Dame. There's no free weekends in the Big Ten. You scratch and claw and get splits on the road and get the odd sweep at home.''

Overall, the Spartan coach felt the Spartans accomplished a lot with its split in Happy Valley.

"I like where we're at. We're learning how to win a little bit,'' he said. "There's probably some things I can pick apart but what I'll take out of this is our guys battling. They hung together, blocked some shots and found a way to win. That's a good trait to have.''

UP NEXT: The Spartans stay on the road for their last series before the Christmas break. They'll face Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m. Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday at Compton Family Arena in Notre Dame, Indiana.

MSU will then be idle for two-and-a-half weeks before hosting two games in the Great Lakes Invitational Showcase. The Spartans play Western Michigan on Dec. 29 and Michigan Tech on Dec. 30. The Huskies play at Michigan on Dec. 29 and the Broncos visit Ann Arbor on Dec. 30.

BUSY NIGHT FOR CHARLESON: Sophomore goalie Pierce Charleson earned his first road victory of his career and had to make 50 saves to hold off shot-happy Penn State in Saturday's 4-3 victory at Pegula Arena.

Charleson, making his first start in a month, gave up a soft goal midway through the first period, but he didn't get rattled and showed good poise while making several big saves the rest of the period and the rest of the game.

He made 15 saves in each of the first and second periods and stopped 20 shots in the third in which the Nittany Lions fell behind 4-2 and then applied great pressure in the MSU zone in an effort to rally.

After PSU made it 4-3 with 11 minutes left on a goal by Carson Dyck, Charleson had to make several clutch saves, including a point-blank stop on Ryan Kirwan from just outside the crease with nine minutes left.

"He came in and played a heck of a game,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "I'm sure he'd love to have the first (goal) back. His mental discipline and disposition are outstanding – just like Drew DeRidder's. It's the next-shot mentality. We weren't too worried about it.''

Charleson, 21, a 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Aurora, Ontario, last played against Michigan on Nov. 5 in Ann Arbor. DeRidder started the last six games, including Friday's 4-2 loss to the Nittany Lions.

"Pierce deserves to play,'' Cole said. "Drew has been hot, but by the same token, Pierce has done a nice job in practice and has kept himself right. He's really confident and we just said 'let's make sure we get him in.'

"Coach (Joe) Exter made the call and we all felt good about it.''

Charleson started three games and played in seven last season. This year, he started one game in each of the first three series – Air Force, Miami and at Mass Lowell, posting a 2-1 record. He didn't start at Ohio State but faced the Wolverines in the series opener in Ann Arbor, losing 7-2.

"He should feel good about this (win),'' Cole said of Charleson's strong outing against the Nittany Lions. "He went into juniors as kind of a backup guy and he was for about his first 10-11 games with Brooks (of the Alberta Junior League). He ended up playing almost 70 games that year.

"Last year, with Covid, it was a weird year. We weren't playing a lot of games and Drew played really well, but Pierce kind of forced his way into the lineup at the end of the season.''

Charleson started two of Michigan State's last three games of the 2020-21 regular season and played very well in a 2-0 loss against Notre Dame and 2-1 setback vs. Wisconsin.

He also played in MSU's Big Ten Tournament opener against Minnesota at Notre Dame. He held the Gophers scoreless until late in the third period and Minnesota eventually won 2-1 in overtime. Charleson finished with 48 saves.

In five games this season, Charleson is 3-2-0 with a 3.31 goals-against average, and with 50 saves on 53 shots on Saturday, he lowered his saves percentage from .895 to .910.

LEWANDOWSKI DELIVERS: Fifth-year senior Mitchell Lewandowski has played in 11 games this season and has at least one point in every game.

On Saturday, Lewandowski had three points with a power-play goal and two assists and continues to impact the MSU offense either by scoring goals or setting up his teammates. This was his third multi-point game in the Spartans' last five contests.

He gave his team the lead for good, breaking a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal early in the third period. He picked up two assists in the first period, setting up goals by Jeremy Davidson and Dennis Cesana.

"He has a knack for (scoring) and he's also one of our best passers,'' Coach Danton Cole said. "He really sees it. He really buried it on his goal.''

Defenseman Nash Niehaus, from inside the right circle, found a wide-open Lewandowski down low just outside the left circle and delivered a perfect pass. Lewandowski moved in and rifled the puck into the open net for a power-play goal that gave MSU a 3-2 lead.

Lewandowski, who sat out five games because of an injury, including the OSU and Michigan series, continues to lead the Spartans in scoring, now with six goals and 11 assists for 17 points.

IN THE BIG TEN: All three weekend series ended in splits. In addition to Michigan State and Penn State, Minnesota and Michigan split in Ann Arbor and Ohio State and Notre Dame each won one game in South Bend.

The No. 3/2 Wolverines bounced back from Friday's 5-1 loss and dominated the No. 11/12 Gophers, 6-2, on Saturday. Minnesota scored the first goal of the game and U-M followed with six straight.

None of the Wolverines' seven first-round NHL draft picks scored goals. Fifth-year senior Michael Pastujov led the way with three goals. Freshman forward Mark Estapa, sophomore defenseman Jay Keranan and senior forward Nolan Moyle each scored one goal as Michigan outshot Minnesota, 44-23.

Notre Dame also rebounded from its series-opening 4-2 loss to Ohio State and rolled past the No. 18 Buckeyes on Saturday with a 5-1 victory. Five different players scored for the No. 8/8 Irish, which outshot OSU, 40-25.

Next weekend, in addition to the MSU at Notre Dame series, Penn State plays at Wisconsin and Ohio State plays host to Michigan.

Minnesota is idle next weekend and is doesn't play a regular-season series until Jan. 7-8 when the Gophers visit Michigan State.

Michigan State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Dennis Cesana

Pierce Charleson

Jeremy Davidson

Drew DeRidder

Adam Goodsir

A.J. Hodges

Christian Krygier

Mitchell Lewandowski

Griffin Loughran

Nash Nienhuis

Kristof Papp

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