Neil's Notebook: Five-Minute Span Was the Game-Changer

By Neil Koepke, MSUSpartans.com staff writer

EAST LANSING – For 38 minutes, Michigan State was on track to pull off an upset of No. 9/11 Minnesota with a 3- 1 lead late in the second period.

But the Spartans' hopes to earn a split of its series with the Gophers were wiped out by a game-changing, tough stretch of 5 minutes and 3 seconds in which Minnesota erupted for four goals.

Suddenly, MSU was forced to play catch-up and it never caught up.

The Gophers, seeking their first series sweep since late October, scored two goals late in the second period and two more early in the third and went on to a 6-3 victory over MSU on Saturday night at Munn Arena.

Minnesota, which topped MSU, 4-1, on Friday, looked like a NCAA title contender Saturday by firing 60 shots on Spartans goalie Pierce Charleson, controlling the puck, applying great pressure, and getting help from Michigan State, which put two pucks in its own net.

"Tough game. We came out and did some good things and got out to a lead but got back on our heels quite a bit after that,'' MSU coach Danton Cole said. "Minnesota played well and we battled hard but couldn't sustain it throughout and keep that pressure on them.''

This is how the Spartans went from leading 3-1 to suddenly trailing 5-3:

* Minnesota's Ben Meyer deflected linemate Matthew Knies' shot past Charleson at 18:03 of the second period to cut his team's deficit to 3-2.

* Just 38 seconds later, the Gophers tied it 3-3 on one of the most bizarre goals MSU has given up this season. Rhett Pitlick's shot from the top of the right circle deflected off the skate of Aaron Hugelin at the right side of the net, caromed off the boards behind the net, came out front on the left. It went off the skate of MSU's Griffin Loughran, bounced up and Loughran tried to knock the puck away from the net, but he batted the puck into the net.

* With momentum of their side, the Gophers went up 4-3 just 22 seconds into the third period when defenseman Brock Faber's shot from the right point seemed to deflect off Minnesota's Blake McLaughlin and then MSU defenseman Dennis Cesana and ended up in the net.

* Less than three minutes later Jack Perbix won a battle in front of the net and tapped the puck past Charleson for a 5-3 lead at 3:06.

Michigan State's bid to get back in the game was stymied by the Gophers, who outshot the Spartans, 24-8, in the final period, and added one more goal – by Meyers with 50 seconds left. Meyers also had two goals on Friday.

"It was 3-1 in the second period and they were throwing the kitchen sink at us, coming hard, and we weren't doing a very good job of breaking out and taking care of stuff,'' Cole said. "We defended all right but ended up putting two goals in our own net.

"That's a tough way to play the game. We needed to bear down and finish the last couple of minutes of the second period and get in the room and give ourselves a break.''

With it first sweep in the last six series, Minnesota (12-8-0 overall, 8-4-0-0-1-0 Big Ten) takes over first place in the conference with 26 points, three ahead of Michigan.

The Spartans (11-10-1, 5-7-0-0-0-0), who saw their streak of three straight series splits, remained in fifth place with 14 points, five points ahead of Wisconsin and Penn State.

Michigan State's first period was one of its best of the season. The Spartans came out with energy, were relentless on the forecheck and struck for two goals in the first 12 minutes.

Eric Middendorf started it when he hit an open net at 3:01 and Jeremy Davidson scored a power-play goal at 11:31.

Middendorf's goal was set up by Jesse Tucker, who stole the puck from Minnesota goalie Jack LaFontaine behind the net and slid it out front to an open Middendorf. Davidson's goal, his team-leading 9^th of the season, was scored from the left circle after a blocked shot deflected over to him for the back-door goal.

MSU skated off three straight power plays in the first period, but a late penalty to Jagger Joshua for slashing at 17:37 opened the door for Minnesota. Chad Lucius scored on a rebound just outside the crease at 18:43 to cut the Gophers' deficit to 2-1.

The Spartans, led by Charleson's stellar play in goal, held off Minnesota's onslaught in the second period, and then capitalized when Tucker again found Middendorf open in the slot. Middendorf rifled the puck past LaFontaine at 9:22 for his second goal and a 3-1 edge.

Then, it was all downhill for the Spartans.

MSU's penalty killers had a busy and exceptional night, skating off six of seven Minnesota power plays. The Spartans had one power play and it lasted 11 seconds – when Davidson one-timed the puck past LaFontaine.

"There was a lot of penalty kill and that takes a little bit out of those guys,'' Cole said. "We lean on those guys to bring us some energy and they did an outstanding job.

"A lot of what we talked about in terms of our layers and back pressure, I thought we did a good job. We just got away from that in the second period. Maybe that's because you're killing (so many) penalties and it's tough to get back in rhythm.

"We have to be more consistent with that. The mistakes we made on the forecheck makes it too easy, and then we're chasing 3-on-2s. It's not that the guys don't care or not trying. Sometimes you can try too hard.''

"Our message (to the team) was take a deep breath tonight and get some rest tomorrow and we'll start getting ready for Wisconsin on Monday. The next game is always the most important."

UP NEXT: Michigan State heads back out on the road next weekend with a series at Wisconsin at 8 p.m. on Friday and 9 p.m. Saturday. The Spartans are back home on Jan. 21-22 against Ohio State.

Minnesota plays a non-conference series next week against Alaska. The Gophers and Nanooks were supposed to open the season with two games in Minneapolis, Oct. 2-3, but it was postponed because of Covid-19 issues and rescheduled for next Friday and Saturday.

In two weeks, the Gophers will host Michigan, Jan. 21-22. The two teams met in Ann Arbor, Dec. 3-4 with Minnesota winning the first game, 5-2, and the Wolverines earning split with a 5-1 victory in the series finale.

DROUGHT ENDS: Eric Middendorf came into Saturday's game against Minnesota without a goal in his last eight games. But he ended the drought with MSU's' first goal just three minutes into the game.

He added a second goal midway through the second period. Both goals were scored into wide-open net with Gophers goalie Jack LaFontaine out of his crease behind the net on the first one and hugging the left post with Middendorf open on the right.

"It really felt good. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't frustrated during the week,'' he said. "When you go through eight games and don't score and you view yourself as a goal scorer, it's frustrating. Coach talked to me earlier this week and said don't get frustrated offensively because you're playing good defensively. That made me feel good.''

Middendorf's last scored in a 3-2 win over Wisconsin on Nov. 19. In fact, he had two goals that night – the first goal of the game in the opening period and the game-winner early in the third period.

Middendorf, a 6-1, 195-pound left wing from Scottsdale, Arizona who began his collegiate career at Colorado College, improved his stats to seven goals and four assists for 11 points in 22 games.

"I tried to keep my emotions after the first goal because I wanted more,'' he said. "I'm not happy with one goal in nine games.''

Despite the two-goal night, Middendorf was frustrated with Saturday's loss, especially after his team played well early and held a 3-1 lead late in the second period.

"It was nice to be up 3-1 on those guys but you can't play not to lose,'' he said. "They're a top-five team in the country with a top-five roster. They have a lot of skill over there. The second you take a shift off and get a bad bounce, they're going to capitalize.

"The tying goal and the go-ahead goal were off our own guys. It broke the momentum we had. It sucks for Pierce (Charleson), too. He makes 54 saves and we score twice on our own net. It's a tough one.''

NEW LOOK UP FRONT: In an effort to boost his team's offensive output, Coach Danton Cole put together four new line combinations for Saturday's series finale.

Eric Middendorf moved from a line with center Josh Nodler and right wing Griffin Loughran to left wing on center Jesse Tucker's unit with Jeremy Davidson on right wing.

Kristof Papp moved from left wing with Tucker and Davidson to centering a line with Adam Goodsir on left wing and Loughran on the right side.

Nodler played between Kyle Haskins on left wing and Tanner Kelly on right wing. A.J. Hodges, the extra forward dressed on Friday, found himself on right wing with Nicolas Muller at center and Jagger Joshua on left wing.

The Middendorf-Tucker-Davidson line clicked with Middendorf scoring twice and Tucker setting up both goals. Davidson's power-play goal was a combination of three lines with Papp and Joshua picking up assists.

With two assists, Tucker, a freshman, now has one goal and 12 assists for 13 points.

"I think it was Tucks' forecheck, which was unbelievable tonight,'' Middendorf said. "I can think of three chances with him just getting by himself and creating havoc behind the net. On the first goal, (goalie Jack) LaFontaine had his back turned and Tuck was able to slide it through his legs.

"It was nice to see the wide-open cage again. It was something I needed."

The Middendorf-Tucker-Davidson line combined for nine shots on goal – four each for Middendorf and Tucker and one for Davidson.

BUSY NIGHT IN THE NET: Pierce Charleson, making his first start since Dec. 10, may have given up six goals Saturday but still had an outstanding game with a career-high 54 saves – 14 in the first period, 19 in the second and 21 in the third.

Charleson looked unbeatable for the first 38 minutes with several stellar saves, and had the Gophers a little frustrated.

But Minnesota kept storming into the MSU defensive zone and the Gophers turned the game around with four goals – two in the last two minutes of the second period and two in the first three minutes of the third. And two of the goals – the tying and go-ahead goals – went in the net off of Spartan players.

Charleson, a 6-foot-2, 190-pound sophomore from Aurora, Ontario, is not a stranger to facing 50-plus shots. He made 50 saves in 4-3 win at Penn State on Dec. 12.

In last season's Big Ten Tournament, Charleson kept Minnesota scoreless until 14:59 of the third period when the Gophers tied it 1-1, and then won it, 2-1, on Sampo Ranta's goal 10 minutes into overtime. He made 48 saves.

Charleson has started seven games this season. Drew DeRidder, a senior, has started 15.

IN THE BIG TEN: Notre Dame's Max Ellis scored with 0.2 seconds left in overtime to give the Irish a dramatic 5-4 victory over Penn State on Saturday in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions led 3-1 in the second period but the Irish tied it 3-3. After PSU took a 4-3 lead late in the second period, Notre Dame tied it 4-4 with 2:13 left in regulation. Notre Dame won Friday's series opener, 4-2, to come away with five points on the weekend, while the Nittany Lions earned one for the OT loss.

Wisconsin led 3-2 after two periods but Ohio State struck for three goals in the third period and the Buckeyes held on for a 5-3 victory in the first game of a series in Madison, Wis.

OSU tied the game early in the third period and broke the deadlock on Georgil Merkulov's 10^th goal of the season with 5:39 left. The Buckeyes added an empty-net goal at 19:33. The teams meet again Sunday in Madison.

Michigan broke a 1-1 tie on Kent Johnson's goal at 7:59 of the third period and the No. 6/7 Wolverines went on to a 4-1 victory over No. 10/9 Massachusetts in the first game of a Big Ten-Hockey East showdown on Saturday in Ann Arbor. The teams meet again on Sunday.

Next week in the Big Ten: Michigan State at Wisconsin, Notre Dame at Ohio State, Penn State at Michigan and Alaska at Minnesota.

Players Mentioned

Dennis Cesana

Pierce Charleson

Jeremy Davidson

Drew DeRidder

Adam Goodsir

Kyle Haskins

A.J. Hodges

Jagger Joshua

Tanner Kelly

Griffin Loughran

Josh Nodler

Kristof Papp

Jesse Tucker

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