Michigan State University Athletics
Neil’s Notebook: For Lewandowski, Friendly Rivalry Awaits in Minnesota
2/18/2021 9:52:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
By Neil Koepke
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – Michigan State senior forward Mitchell Lewandowski and Minnesota senior forward Brannon McManus became good friends when they were junior hockey teammates and linemates in Chicago.
Arguably, their best memory of playing for the Chicago Steel is winning the 2016-17 United States Hockey League championship.
Then, they took different paths in their college hockey careers – Lewandowski, who's from Michigan, to the Spartans and McManus, from California, to the Gophers.
From teammates and close friends to rivals – friendly rivals.
Three seasons later, Lewandowski and McManus could be playing against each other for the last time in college this weekend when MSU visits Minnesota for an important Big Ten series for both teams.
"It's been really cool. We've been good buddies since he got traded to Chicago (in 2016),'' Lewandowski said. "Right away, we played the same style and after we got put together, it also translated off the ice and we got linked up.''
The first-place Gophers (17-5-0 overall, 13-5-0-0-0-0) and seventh-place Spartans (7-11-2, 5-10-1-2-1-0) meet at 8 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis. Friday's game will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus and Saturday's game televised by Fox Sports Detroit Plus.
"I talked to him over the weekend and now I probably won't talk to him until at the games,'' Lewandowski said. "Through our four years in college, we've kept in contact and talked hockey a good amount.''
In their one year together in Chicago, Lewandowski had 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 55 regular-season games, and three goals and nine assists for 12 points in 13 games on their playoff title run.
McManus played in 36 regular-season games for the Steel and had 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points and six goals and four assists for 10 points in 14 playoff games.
Lewandowski, 22, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound right wing/left wing from Clarkston, Michigan, has six goals and five assists for 11 points in 20 games this season.
In 118 career games as a Spartan, Lewandowski is one point away from the 100-point milestone. He has 49 goals and 50 assists for 99 points, and has never missed a game. In his first season at MSU, Lewandowski had 19 goals and 34 points and was selected as Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
McManus, 21, a 5-11, 175-pound right wing from Newport Beach, California, is Minnesota's sixth-leading scorer this season with seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points. In 117 career games, he's scored 37 goals and assisted on 44 for 81 points.
In their 14 head-to head battles, McManus and the Gophers hold a 9-5 edge on Lewandowski and the Spartans.
Lewandowski is MSU's top scorer against Minnesota. In 14 games, he has eight goals and five assists for 13 points. McManus didn't face the Spartans in their first series in early December because of an injury. In 12 games vs. MSU, he has three goals and three assists for six points.
As freshmen, Lewandowski and McManus played in the MSU-Minnesota game at Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 20, 2018.
But Lewandowski played only 4 minutes and 12 seconds before he was ejected for a contact-to-the-head major penalty. McManus was scoreless in Minnesota's 2-1 victory with the winning goal coming with 3:29 left in the third period.
So, now it's down to two games this weekend and maybe a matchup in the Big Ten Tournament at Notre Dame, March 18-20.
"Getting to see him is always cool,'' Lewandowski said of McManus. "His parents are usually at the game so it's cool to see them, too. I'm friends with his family and he's a great buddy.''
Of course, Lewandowski wants to beat his buddy's team and move up in the Big Ten standings. The Spartans are a huge underdog and they'll have to play at a high level to upend one of the best teams in the nation.
"This year, they're the best they've been (since I've been here),'' Lewandowski said. "When you go to Minnesota, they're super-fast and a great skating team. It's more difficult playing them there than at home with the Olympic ice.''
Mariucci Arena is 200 feet long and 100 feet wide, 15 feet wider than most North American and college rinks, which are 200 x 85.
"They're a good team – a good goalie and good everythings,'' Lewandowski said. "You have to go in hard-nosed, score some ugly goals and shut them down defensively.''
THE RIVALRY: Minnesota holds a 122-50-16 edge in the series which started with one game in 1926 and then picked up again in 1950 when the Gophers' program was thriving and MSU's was in the early stages of being a varsity program. Minnesota went 28-0-1 against the Spartans before Michigan State won 2-1 on Feb. 1, 1957, and also won the next two.
Last season, the teams split two series. MSU won 4-1 and lost 2-0 at home in early January, 2020. The Spartans lost 4-1 and won 4-2 in Minneapolis in early February. Each team scored nine goals in the four meetings.
This year, the Gophers and Spartans played two fairly close games with the Minnesota winning 3-1 and 4-2 at Munn Arena in early December.
Over the last five seasons, MSU is 5-12-1 against Minnesota. In the last three, it's a 5-5 deadlock.
The last Spartans' sweep in the series was Jan. 19-20, 2019, when they topped the Gophers, 5-3, 5-3, at Munn Arena.
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS: Minnesota started the season winning 10 games in a row, but since early January, the Gophers are 7-5, with three losses coming against Wisconsin and two vs. Notre Dame. Minnesota has lost four straight home games.
Two weeks ago, Minnesota got swept at home by the Badgers, 4-1 and 8-1. But the Gophers rebounded with two solid victories at Notre Dame last weekend – a pair of 3-0 shutouts.
The sweep lifted Minnesota back into first place, two points ahead of Wisconsin, which split its series at Michigan.
The Gophers have six forwards with 19 points or more. Juniors Sampo Ranta and Sammy Walker share the team scoring lead with 22 points apiece. Ranta has a team-leading 14 goals and eight assists while Walker has 11 goals and 11 assists.
Sophomore Ben Meyers (9-12) and senior Scott Reedy (7-14) are tied for third in scoring 21 points. Junior Blake McLaughlin is fifth with nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points and senior Brannon McManus follows with 19 points – seven goals and 12 assists.
Minnesota has a solid defense, led by sophomores Jackson LaCombe (3-11-14) and Ryan Johnson (0-8-8), freshmen Mike Koster (2-6-8) and Brock Faber (1-4-5), juniors Ben Brinkman (0-4-4) and Robbie Stucker (0-5-5) and sophomore Matt Staudacher (0-4-4), who's from Fenton, Michigan.
Six of the Gophers' top defensemen have been drafted by NHL teams. The only undrafted D-man is Staudacher.
In goal, senior Jack LaFontaine has started 20 of 22 games. He has a 15-5-0 record, a Big Ten-leading 1.56 goals-against average and a .943 saves percentage.
"They have four lines that play really well and D-men that skate well and they'll be joining the rush,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "You have to make sure you're paying attention to them on the rush and not feed their transition too much.
"If you're turning it over to their defensemen in the neutral zone, they're going to be coming back at you pretty hard.''
Cole liked the way his team played in the second game of MSU's first series with the Gophers – a 4-2 loss, with an empty-net goal, at Munn Arena in December.
"In the first game (a 3-1 loss), we worked hard but didn't have good legs, and you can't have any success against a team like Minnesota if you're not jumping, if you're not moving the puck and your legs,'' he said.
"The second night, we played a pretty good game. They got a power-play goal at the end of the second period (to break a 2-2 tie), and we weren't able to get one in the third period to tie it.
"It came right down to the end and they ended up getting an empty-netter.''
Cole is hoping the power play, which looked much better in last week's split with Arizona State, can make an impact against the Gophers. And that the offense develops some quality scoring chances during 5-on-5 play.
"You have to spend some time in the offensive zone. Because if you spend too much time in the defensive zone, they've got guys that can create and make plays,'' Cole said. "You just put a lot of pressure on yourself."
Minnesota is averaging 3.82 goals per game, first in the Big Ten and 14th among all NCAA Division I teams. The Gophers' power play is converting on 21.9% of their chances, 4th in the conference and 14th nationally.
Defensively, Minnesota has been very good, averaging 1.88 goals against per game. That's No. 1 in the Big Ten and tied for No. 2 in the nation. The penalty kill is at 85.7%, first in the conference and 12th nationally.
Coach Bob Motzko is in his third season at Minnesota and has a record of 51-35-11 with the Gophers. In 16 seasons, including 13 at St. Cloud State, he has a career record of 327-227-60. Motzko was an assistant coach at Minnesota when the Gophers won NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003.
BIGGER ROLE: Freshman defenseman Nash Nienhaus has improved steadily this season and is getting more and more responsibility on a defensive unit that includes two or three rookies in the lineup most games.
Nienhaus, 21, a 5-foot-10, 176-pounder from Sarnia, Ontario, is now on the power play at the top and looks comfortable moving the puck and making good decisions.
He has three points in his last three games, including two assists last Sunday against Arizona State, one on the power play.
MSU coach Danton Cole said Nienhaus and all the freshmen had their development impacted because of a lack of the usual eight non-conference games to start the season. Instead, the rookies had to jump into Big Ten games right from the start.
"He's done a nice job. He's showing growth but it's been difficult at times,'' Cole said. "He's rounded out his game. His confidence is there, he's moving his feet, he's moving the puck and defending very well
"He's not a super physical guy at his size, but he's done a good job. He and Dennis (Cesana) work well together.''
With the power play struggling, the coaches gave it a new look with Nienhaus running it from the top, Cesana moving to the backside and Josh Nodler in front of the net.
The power play scored one goal on Sunday against Arizona State – by Mitchell Lewandowski with 1:06 left to tie the game 2-2 – and it set up a goal by Jagger Joshua on Monday. But technically it wasn't a power-play goal because it came one second after an ASU penalty expired.
"Nash maybe jumped into our first power play because we were struggling a bit and we moved guys around and said let's try this look,'' Cole said. "We liked it practice, it's been decent in games, and he'll probably stay there.
"He's a power-play guy and his role will continue to grow. He moves the puck, he can also shoot the puck. He can put it on net. He's an excellent skater and has that deceptive gear, like Dennis does. When he sees it, he jumps to a hole really well.''
STATS UPDATE: Forward Mitchell Lewandowski and defenseman Dennis Cesana share the MSU scoring lead with 11 points apiece. Lewandowski has a team-leading six goals and five assists while Cesana has one goal and a team-high 10 assists.
Center Josh Nodler is third with two goals and eight assists for 10 points. Left wing Charlie Combs, who missed four games with an injury, and center Nico Muller are tied for fourth with eight points. Combs has five goals and three assists while Muller has two goals and six assists.
MSU's penalty killing is at 78.9%, No. 4 in the Big Ten and 31st nationally.
Goalie Drew DeRidder has a .932 saves percentage, third in the conference, while his 2.43 goals-against average is No. 4.
IN THE BIG TEN: On Friday and Saturday, second-place Wisconsin (37 points) plays host to third-place Notre Dame (27) and fourth-place Michigan (26) is at sixth-place Ohio State (16).
Fifth-place Penn State (20) is idle after cancelling its home series with Arizona State.
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Ohio State have six Big Ten games left in the regular season. MSU, Michigan and Penn State have eight. OSU and U-M also have two non-conference home games remaining with Arizona State.
MSUSpartans.com staff writer
EAST LANSING – Michigan State senior forward Mitchell Lewandowski and Minnesota senior forward Brannon McManus became good friends when they were junior hockey teammates and linemates in Chicago.
Arguably, their best memory of playing for the Chicago Steel is winning the 2016-17 United States Hockey League championship.
Then, they took different paths in their college hockey careers – Lewandowski, who's from Michigan, to the Spartans and McManus, from California, to the Gophers.
From teammates and close friends to rivals – friendly rivals.
Three seasons later, Lewandowski and McManus could be playing against each other for the last time in college this weekend when MSU visits Minnesota for an important Big Ten series for both teams.
"It's been really cool. We've been good buddies since he got traded to Chicago (in 2016),'' Lewandowski said. "Right away, we played the same style and after we got put together, it also translated off the ice and we got linked up.''
The first-place Gophers (17-5-0 overall, 13-5-0-0-0-0) and seventh-place Spartans (7-11-2, 5-10-1-2-1-0) meet at 8 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Saturday at 3M Arena at Mariucci in Minneapolis. Friday's game will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus and Saturday's game televised by Fox Sports Detroit Plus.
"I talked to him over the weekend and now I probably won't talk to him until at the games,'' Lewandowski said. "Through our four years in college, we've kept in contact and talked hockey a good amount.''
In their one year together in Chicago, Lewandowski had 15 goals and 19 assists for 34 points in 55 regular-season games, and three goals and nine assists for 12 points in 13 games on their playoff title run.
McManus played in 36 regular-season games for the Steel and had 12 goals and 15 assists for 27 points and six goals and four assists for 10 points in 14 playoff games.
Lewandowski, 22, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound right wing/left wing from Clarkston, Michigan, has six goals and five assists for 11 points in 20 games this season.
In 118 career games as a Spartan, Lewandowski is one point away from the 100-point milestone. He has 49 goals and 50 assists for 99 points, and has never missed a game. In his first season at MSU, Lewandowski had 19 goals and 34 points and was selected as Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
McManus, 21, a 5-11, 175-pound right wing from Newport Beach, California, is Minnesota's sixth-leading scorer this season with seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points. In 117 career games, he's scored 37 goals and assisted on 44 for 81 points.
In their 14 head-to head battles, McManus and the Gophers hold a 9-5 edge on Lewandowski and the Spartans.
Lewandowski is MSU's top scorer against Minnesota. In 14 games, he has eight goals and five assists for 13 points. McManus didn't face the Spartans in their first series in early December because of an injury. In 12 games vs. MSU, he has three goals and three assists for six points.
As freshmen, Lewandowski and McManus played in the MSU-Minnesota game at Madison Square Garden in New York on Jan. 20, 2018.
But Lewandowski played only 4 minutes and 12 seconds before he was ejected for a contact-to-the-head major penalty. McManus was scoreless in Minnesota's 2-1 victory with the winning goal coming with 3:29 left in the third period.
So, now it's down to two games this weekend and maybe a matchup in the Big Ten Tournament at Notre Dame, March 18-20.
"Getting to see him is always cool,'' Lewandowski said of McManus. "His parents are usually at the game so it's cool to see them, too. I'm friends with his family and he's a great buddy.''
Of course, Lewandowski wants to beat his buddy's team and move up in the Big Ten standings. The Spartans are a huge underdog and they'll have to play at a high level to upend one of the best teams in the nation.
"This year, they're the best they've been (since I've been here),'' Lewandowski said. "When you go to Minnesota, they're super-fast and a great skating team. It's more difficult playing them there than at home with the Olympic ice.''
Mariucci Arena is 200 feet long and 100 feet wide, 15 feet wider than most North American and college rinks, which are 200 x 85.
"They're a good team – a good goalie and good everythings,'' Lewandowski said. "You have to go in hard-nosed, score some ugly goals and shut them down defensively.''
THE RIVALRY: Minnesota holds a 122-50-16 edge in the series which started with one game in 1926 and then picked up again in 1950 when the Gophers' program was thriving and MSU's was in the early stages of being a varsity program. Minnesota went 28-0-1 against the Spartans before Michigan State won 2-1 on Feb. 1, 1957, and also won the next two.
Last season, the teams split two series. MSU won 4-1 and lost 2-0 at home in early January, 2020. The Spartans lost 4-1 and won 4-2 in Minneapolis in early February. Each team scored nine goals in the four meetings.
This year, the Gophers and Spartans played two fairly close games with the Minnesota winning 3-1 and 4-2 at Munn Arena in early December.
Over the last five seasons, MSU is 5-12-1 against Minnesota. In the last three, it's a 5-5 deadlock.
The last Spartans' sweep in the series was Jan. 19-20, 2019, when they topped the Gophers, 5-3, 5-3, at Munn Arena.
SCOUTING THE GOPHERS: Minnesota started the season winning 10 games in a row, but since early January, the Gophers are 7-5, with three losses coming against Wisconsin and two vs. Notre Dame. Minnesota has lost four straight home games.
Two weeks ago, Minnesota got swept at home by the Badgers, 4-1 and 8-1. But the Gophers rebounded with two solid victories at Notre Dame last weekend – a pair of 3-0 shutouts.
The sweep lifted Minnesota back into first place, two points ahead of Wisconsin, which split its series at Michigan.
The Gophers have six forwards with 19 points or more. Juniors Sampo Ranta and Sammy Walker share the team scoring lead with 22 points apiece. Ranta has a team-leading 14 goals and eight assists while Walker has 11 goals and 11 assists.
Sophomore Ben Meyers (9-12) and senior Scott Reedy (7-14) are tied for third in scoring 21 points. Junior Blake McLaughlin is fifth with nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points and senior Brannon McManus follows with 19 points – seven goals and 12 assists.
Minnesota has a solid defense, led by sophomores Jackson LaCombe (3-11-14) and Ryan Johnson (0-8-8), freshmen Mike Koster (2-6-8) and Brock Faber (1-4-5), juniors Ben Brinkman (0-4-4) and Robbie Stucker (0-5-5) and sophomore Matt Staudacher (0-4-4), who's from Fenton, Michigan.
Six of the Gophers' top defensemen have been drafted by NHL teams. The only undrafted D-man is Staudacher.
In goal, senior Jack LaFontaine has started 20 of 22 games. He has a 15-5-0 record, a Big Ten-leading 1.56 goals-against average and a .943 saves percentage.
"They have four lines that play really well and D-men that skate well and they'll be joining the rush,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "You have to make sure you're paying attention to them on the rush and not feed their transition too much.
"If you're turning it over to their defensemen in the neutral zone, they're going to be coming back at you pretty hard.''
Cole liked the way his team played in the second game of MSU's first series with the Gophers – a 4-2 loss, with an empty-net goal, at Munn Arena in December.
"In the first game (a 3-1 loss), we worked hard but didn't have good legs, and you can't have any success against a team like Minnesota if you're not jumping, if you're not moving the puck and your legs,'' he said.
"The second night, we played a pretty good game. They got a power-play goal at the end of the second period (to break a 2-2 tie), and we weren't able to get one in the third period to tie it.
"It came right down to the end and they ended up getting an empty-netter.''
Cole is hoping the power play, which looked much better in last week's split with Arizona State, can make an impact against the Gophers. And that the offense develops some quality scoring chances during 5-on-5 play.
"You have to spend some time in the offensive zone. Because if you spend too much time in the defensive zone, they've got guys that can create and make plays,'' Cole said. "You just put a lot of pressure on yourself."
Minnesota is averaging 3.82 goals per game, first in the Big Ten and 14th among all NCAA Division I teams. The Gophers' power play is converting on 21.9% of their chances, 4th in the conference and 14th nationally.
Defensively, Minnesota has been very good, averaging 1.88 goals against per game. That's No. 1 in the Big Ten and tied for No. 2 in the nation. The penalty kill is at 85.7%, first in the conference and 12th nationally.
Coach Bob Motzko is in his third season at Minnesota and has a record of 51-35-11 with the Gophers. In 16 seasons, including 13 at St. Cloud State, he has a career record of 327-227-60. Motzko was an assistant coach at Minnesota when the Gophers won NCAA titles in 2002 and 2003.
BIGGER ROLE: Freshman defenseman Nash Nienhaus has improved steadily this season and is getting more and more responsibility on a defensive unit that includes two or three rookies in the lineup most games.
Nienhaus, 21, a 5-foot-10, 176-pounder from Sarnia, Ontario, is now on the power play at the top and looks comfortable moving the puck and making good decisions.
He has three points in his last three games, including two assists last Sunday against Arizona State, one on the power play.
MSU coach Danton Cole said Nienhaus and all the freshmen had their development impacted because of a lack of the usual eight non-conference games to start the season. Instead, the rookies had to jump into Big Ten games right from the start.
"He's done a nice job. He's showing growth but it's been difficult at times,'' Cole said. "He's rounded out his game. His confidence is there, he's moving his feet, he's moving the puck and defending very well
"He's not a super physical guy at his size, but he's done a good job. He and Dennis (Cesana) work well together.''
With the power play struggling, the coaches gave it a new look with Nienhaus running it from the top, Cesana moving to the backside and Josh Nodler in front of the net.
The power play scored one goal on Sunday against Arizona State – by Mitchell Lewandowski with 1:06 left to tie the game 2-2 – and it set up a goal by Jagger Joshua on Monday. But technically it wasn't a power-play goal because it came one second after an ASU penalty expired.
"Nash maybe jumped into our first power play because we were struggling a bit and we moved guys around and said let's try this look,'' Cole said. "We liked it practice, it's been decent in games, and he'll probably stay there.
"He's a power-play guy and his role will continue to grow. He moves the puck, he can also shoot the puck. He can put it on net. He's an excellent skater and has that deceptive gear, like Dennis does. When he sees it, he jumps to a hole really well.''
STATS UPDATE: Forward Mitchell Lewandowski and defenseman Dennis Cesana share the MSU scoring lead with 11 points apiece. Lewandowski has a team-leading six goals and five assists while Cesana has one goal and a team-high 10 assists.
Center Josh Nodler is third with two goals and eight assists for 10 points. Left wing Charlie Combs, who missed four games with an injury, and center Nico Muller are tied for fourth with eight points. Combs has five goals and three assists while Muller has two goals and six assists.
MSU's penalty killing is at 78.9%, No. 4 in the Big Ten and 31st nationally.
Goalie Drew DeRidder has a .932 saves percentage, third in the conference, while his 2.43 goals-against average is No. 4.
IN THE BIG TEN: On Friday and Saturday, second-place Wisconsin (37 points) plays host to third-place Notre Dame (27) and fourth-place Michigan (26) is at sixth-place Ohio State (16).
Fifth-place Penn State (20) is idle after cancelling its home series with Arizona State.
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Notre Dame and Ohio State have six Big Ten games left in the regular season. MSU, Michigan and Penn State have eight. OSU and U-M also have two non-conference home games remaining with Arizona State.
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