Spartans Rekindle Most-Played Rivalry In Michigan Series


Michigan State (11-16-1, 5-13-0 B1G) vs. Michigan (21-7-1, 12-6-0 B1G)
Dates/Times	Friday, Feb. 11, 7:30 pm, (Ann Arbor) Saturday, Feb. 12, 7 pm, (Detroit)
Location	Yost Ice Arena, Ann Arbor, Mich. \| Fan / Vaccine Policy Little Caesars Arena, Detroit, Mich. \| Fan / Bag Policy \| Parking
Tickets	Michigan Ticket Office (Friday only) Ticketmaster / Duel in the D Tickets (Saturday Only)
Radio	Spartan Media Network *Games air live on WJIM 1240 AM* Scott Moore (pxp) and Rob Woodward (Analysis) Broadcast on the Web: Friday \| Saturday
Television	Bally Sports Detroit (Saturday) Ken Daniels (pxp) and Fred Pletsch (Analysis)
Webstreams	B1G+: Friday \| Saturday TSN.ca (Saturday)
Live Statistics	Friday \| Saturday
Game Notes	Michigan State \| Michigan
Press Conference	Watch Danton Cole's Weekly Press Conference
Social Media	Facebook Twitter Instagram

WEEKEND PARTICULARS
• Michigan State plays archrival Michigan in Ann Arbor on Friday and then at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday for the annual Duel in the D.

• Bally's Detroit will carry Saturday's game, with the voice of the Red Wings Ken Daniels on the call with Fred Pletsch.

• A webstream for both games will be available on B1G+. Saturday's game in Detroit will stream on the Bally's app, and in Canada on TSN.ca and the TSN App.

• Scott Moore and Rob Woodward will call the action on the Spartan Media Network. The games this week will air live on WJIM 1240 AM in the Lansing area, as well as on the web via MSUSpartans.com.

THE MICHIGAN SERIES
• College hockey's most-played rivalry adds a pair of chapters this weekend when MSU and Michigan take part in their home-and-home. Friday's game will be the 335th game in this storied rivalry, with Michigan holding a 172-138-24 edge. UM owns a 81-47-5 mark in games played in Ann Arbor, and 3-0 in regular-season games at Little Caesars Arena (4-1-0 overall at LCA, including the GLI).

• The teams met in the second weekend of the Big Ten schedule (Nov. 5-6) back in November. UM earned a lopsided 7-2 win in Ann Arbor and a far tighter affair at Munn Ice Arena, 3-2.

• Michigan will be without four players who are currently in Beijing for the Winter Olympics. Team USA members Matty Berniers and Brendan Brisson had five of Michigan's eight goals in the first two meetings of the teams this season. Owen Power and Kent Johnson are playing for Team Canada.

• Mel Pearson is in his fifth season as the bench boss in Ann Arbor and his 11th overall as a head coach. Previously, he spent 23 seasons on the Michigan staff under former head coach Red Berenson. Pearson owns a 89-62-16 mark during his time as the head man in Ann Arbor.

• In the previous series, the Spartans got goals from Cole Krygier, and Nicolas Muller, while Mitchell Mattson had a goal and an assist and blueliner David Gucciardi had a pair of helpers. Pierce Charleson played the game in Ann Arbor and made 28 saves, while Drew DeRidder drew the start in the home matchup and made 23 stops. (previous series box scores on pp. 44-47)

TEAM NOTES
• MSU Is looking to snap a eight-game skid which dates back to the start of the 2022 portion of the schedule. The Spartans have lost home series to Minnesota and Ohio State, and road pairs at Wisconsin and most recently, Minnesota (2-4, 1-3).

• MSU went 5-7-0 in the first half of Big Ten play, suffering two losses to Minnesota and Michigan, sweeping Wisconsin, and splitting with Ohio State, Penn State, and Notre Dame. The Spartans sit in seventh place in the Big Ten standings with 14 points, three points behind Wisconsin and Penn State, which are tied for fifth.

• The Spartans will play the final two B1G series of the year at home, hosting Notre Dame (Feb. 18-19) and Penn State (Feb. 25-26). MSU's last home game was on January 22 against Ohio State, putting nearly a month between home dates for the Spartans.

• With a 7-7-0 mark at Munn Ice Arena, the Spartans have as many wins at home as MSU has earned in any of the last three seasons. MSU won seven home games in both 2018-19 and 2019-20, and just five in 2020-21.

• The Spartans last had double-digit victories in their home rink in 2011-12, winning nine home games in 2013-14 and 2014-15 and eight in 2012-13 and 2017-18.

• MSU's strength of schedule so far is rated as the 10th toughest among Division I teams. MSU ranks seventh nationally overall, and has the third-toughest slate for remaining games. The seven Big Ten schools all occupy top-20 spots in the overall SOS rankings in Division I.

• The Spartans are 7-5 in one-goal contests and 2-4 in two-goal games - and four of those six had an empty-net goal for the final margin. Ten of MSU's last 14 games were either one- or two-goal efforts.

• MSU is 7-1-0 when scoring three or more goals and is 4-14-1 when held to two or less. Meanwhile, the Spartans are 7-0-1 when allowing two goals or fewer.

• The Spartan penalty kill (.838, 93-111) is fourth in the Big Ten and 21st among D1 programs. MSU was a perfect 7-for-7 on the kill against Ohio State and 7-for-8 at Minnesota over the last two weekends (.933)

• MSU's power play is at .193, converting on 16 of 83 chances to rank third in the Big Ten and 27th nationally. The Spartans were 0-for-4 on the weekend at Minnesota, and are just 2-for-20 in the eight games in 2022.

• MSU's scoring offense is at 2.21 goals per game. Since the start of 2022 the Spartans have scored just 14 goals in eight games (1.75).

• MSU second behind Wisconsin in the Big Ten in blocked shots (14.07 per game). The Spartans had 22 blocks in the most recent Minnesota series, its fewest since the Ferris State series in early November.

• With an average of 13.00 penalty minutes per game, the Spartans rank second in the B1G (13th nationally). MSU has had more penalty minutes than its opponent just 13 times in 28 games this season. The Spartans earned a few 10-minute misconducts at the end of the most recent game resulting in a season-high 42 penalty minutes. Its previous high this season was 25 vs. Air Force on Oct. 9.

• In nine of MSU's 11 wins, the game-winner has come in the third period or later. In seven of the nine, the goal has been scored in the final seven minutes or OT, and five with four minutes or less remaining or in OT. The latest in regulation was a 19:40 goal that capped a three-goal third period at Ferris State. MSU's last two wins came in OT: at Notre Dame and at home against Michigan Tech in the GLI.

• Danton Cole won his 50th game as the Spartan head coach at Ohio State (Oct. 29). He has won more than 500 games in his 21 seasons as a head coach (529-464-60).

• MSU ranks seventh in both overall average attendance among Division I hockey programs, welcoming 75,012 fans over 12 home dates. (5,358 average).

• MSU has a pair of alums in Beijing for the 2022 Winter Olympics. Justin Abdelkader is an alternate for Team USA, and is representing the US for the fifth time in his hockey career: he played for the US in the 2016 World Cup and the 2012 and 2014 World Championships, as well as capturing a bronze medal at the 2007 World Junior Championships. Meanwhile, blueliner Jake Chelios will be a member of Team China - China will utilize the roster of Kunlun Red Star, a Beijing-based entry in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) for which Chelios is in his third professional season.

PLAYER NOTES - FORWARDS
• MSU shook up its forward lines between the games of the Minnesota series at home (1/8-9), and it gave the newly-formed top line a bit of a jump start. Erik Middendorf and Jeremy Davidson are centered on that line by freshman Jesse Tucker. The trio has seven goals and 11 assists in the seven games since its formation.

• Jesse Tucker is the team's top-scoring freshman with two goals and 17 assists to take the team points lead. He is MSU's leader and is tied for fifth in the Big Ten in helpers, and is third among Spartans plus/minus (+2).

• Tucker has points in six of the last seven MSU games and has four points in the last three (1-3--4). He has 11 points in his last 10 games after eight points in his first 18 collegiate contests.

• Erik Middendorf has four goals and two assists in his last seven games. He is second on the team in goals (9) and fourth in points (9-6--15). With four game-winning goals this season to his credit, the junior ranks seventh nationally in that category.

• Middendorf has established career bests in all offensive categories. His freshman season at Colorado College, he had a 7-4-11 scoring line.
• Jeremy Davidson also has established career bests in all offensive categories. He leads MSU in goals (10), and power play markers (4, third B1G), and he owns a season scoring line of 10-8--18. He had a goal and an assist in last weekend's series at Minnesota.

• Freshman Tanner Kelly scored once in each of the two games against Ohio State (1/21-22), pushing his season total to three. He scored his first collegiate goal in December at Notre Dame, and has appeared in 26 of 28 MSU contests this season.

• Josh Nodler centers the line with Kelly on the right and Jagger Joshua on the left. Nodler ranks fifth on the team in points (5-7--12) and has won 53% of his faceoffs on the year (239-212).

• Nodler has established new career bests with five goals and surpassed his career-best output with 12 points. He also has earned career bests in power play goals (3), and doubled his penalty minutes (2-for-4).

• Joshua, one of the team's top defensive forwards, has earned time on the power play in addition to his penalty kill duties. He is atop the team in both penalties (18) and penalty minutes (60). He owns a 1-4--5 scoring line and has 20 blocked shots this season, the most among forwards.

• Kristof Papp has already doubled his freshman season offensive output (0-4--4) with a 1-9--10 scoring line.

• Papp has won better than 60% of his draws (60.9%, 206-132) in the faceoff circle. He ranks ninth among Division I centermen in faceoff winning percentage, (minimum of nine faceoffs taken per game). Papp went 10-8 (.556) at the dot in the Minnesota series.

• Nicolas Muller has a 1-4--5 scoring line in 2021-22, and is second among MSU forwards with 19 blocked shots.

• AJ Hodges has skated in 24 of 28 games this season, and has earned three assists in those games. He surpassed the two assists he had last year as a freshman.

• MSU's fourth line features senior Mitchell Mattson flanked by classmate Adam Goodsir on the left and sophomore Kyle Haskins on the right.

• Goodsir has played in all 28 games this season, and scored his first goal of the season at Wisconsin (1/15). He has blocked 18 shots, a total which ranks third among Spartan forwards.
• Mattson has a goal and two assists on the year, and had a goal and an assist in the first series with Michigan this season.

• Haskins has skated in 19 games, and has one assist and eight blocked shots.

• Fifth-year senior and active career leading scorer Mitchell Lewandowski has yet to skate in a game in 2022. A player who never missed a game (135) in his first four seasons, he has missed 13 games with injury this year.

• Lewandowski has skated in just 15 games, but owns a 7-11--18 scoring line and remains a squad-best +11. He had 11 points (4-7--11) in the 10 games after an early-season five-game injury hiatus, but has not played in a game since the GLI.

• Lewandowski ranks sixth among active Division I players in career points (120), and goals (56), seventh in game-winners (12), and eighth in power play goals (20) in 150 career games.

• Griffin Loughran owns a 3-9--12 scoring line with a pair of power-play markers. With 84 career points, he is for second among active Spartan players (38g, 46a). He skated in his 110th career game on Jan. 7 vs. the Gophers, but has not played since the second semester began.

PLAYER NOTES - DEFENSEMEN
• Senior captain Dennis Cesana ranks sixth in the Big Ten and 28th nationally in blocked shots (45), his career best. He has skated in 127 career games and has compiled a 18-50--68 scoring line in his career.

• Cesana is the top-scoring defenseman and ranks seventh overall for Michigan State with 11 points (6g, 5a). He has been one of the Big Ten's top-producing defensemen over the last three seasons. He earned Preseason Honorable Mention All-Big Ten honors this fall.

• Nash Nienhuis owns a 1-7--8 scoring line this year, and has already surpassed his freshman year point total (6). He has a pair of two-assist games this season to tie his career best, and has skated in all 26 games. He has 20 blocked shots.

• Cole Krygier has surpassed his career-best point total (11), posting four goals and seven assists, sharing the team's points lead among blueliners. He has surpassed his scoring line he posted in all of 2019-20 (3-3--6). He is a +3 (good for second on the team, and tops among defensemen) and also has 39 penalty minutes and 42 blocks.

• Christian Krygier has doubled his single-season career best points total with a 2-5--6 scoring line, scoring on a breakaway in the first game of the Minnesota series (2/4). He has 39 blocked shots, ranked third on the team behind Cesana and his brother.

• Both Krygier twins scored in the first game at Penn State (12/3), marking the first time in their Spartan careers that they lit the lamp in the same game.

• Sophomore Aiden Gallacher has appeared in 24 games for MSU this season after skating in 25 as a freshman. He has a 1-1--2 scoring line and tallied his first collegiate goal at home against Ferris State (11/11), and has 18 blocked shots.

• David Gucciardi has four goals and six assists for 10 points on the season, with 35 blocked shots. He ranks third among defensemen on the team in points and is tied for second in goals.

• Powell Connor has earned significant time as the season has worn on. He has played in 30 games for MSU and is fifth among Spartans with 29 blocked shots.

• Five of MSU's seven regular defensemen average at least one blocked shot per game, compiling between 18-45 blocks on the year. In addition, four of the six (non-freshmen) have posted career bests in points (both Krygiers, Nienhuis, and Gallacher).

PLAYER NOTES - GOALTENDERS
• MSU has split its goaltending duties in nine of 14 weekends this season, including five of the last six B1G series against Penn State, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, and both against Minnesota.

• Drew DeRidder is third in the B1G and is 11th nationally with 648 saves, his average of 34.10 is first both in the league and among Division I goaltenders. He ranks second in the Big Ten and fourth nationally in save percentage (.934).

• DeRidder's GAA (2.42) is fifth in the B1G and 29th nationally, and he has two shutouts, the second-most behind Jakub Dobes of Ohio State, who has three.

• DeRidder's most recent start came last Saturday in Minneapolis, where he made 32 saves, including 16 in the second period, in a tough 3-1 loss. The Gophers scored a pair of goals (both by Sammy Walker - on a delayed penalty and a power play) less than 90 seconds apart in the third period.

• DeRidder has posted career bests in each category this season as a senior. His GAA is 2.42, bettering his 2.81 as a sophomore. His .934 save percentage is better than the .923 he posted as a junior, and his eight victories this season (8-10-1) is better than the seven wins he had in 2020-21.

• DeRidder not only earned both of MSU's OT wins in the crease this season, but picked up assists on the game-winning goals in each contest.

• In his career, DeRidder's .921 save percentage ranks 13th among active Division I netminders, and his 1,982 saves ranks 12th.

• Pierce Charleson averages 35.33 saves per game. He is the only goaltender in the country with two 50+ - save efforts this season: he stopped 50 at Penn State (12/4) and a career-best 54 vs. Minnesota at home (1/8). His effort against the Gophers is the most saves for a Division I netminder in a game this season, and his 50 saves against the Nittany Lions ranks in a tie for fourth.

• Charleson got the start last Friday at Minnesota, and made 36 stops, including 14 in the first period and 17 in the second. In two games against the Gophers this season, he's made 80 saves.

• In nine starts this season, Charleson owns a 3.58 GAA, .909 save percentage, and 3-6 record. He made three starts and appeared in seven games for Michigan State in the crease last season as a freshman, and compiled a 2.57 GAA and .938 save percentage in those contests, making 210 saves in 326:49.

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Players Mentioned

Dennis Cesana

Pierce Charleson

Powell Connor

Jeremy Davidson

Drew DeRidder

Aiden Gallacher

Adam Goodsir

David Gucciardi

Kyle Haskins

Jagger Joshua

Tanner Kelly

Christian Krygier

Cole Krygier

Mitchell Lewandowski

Griffin Loughran

Mitchell Mattson

Erik Middendorf

Nash Nienhuis

Josh Nodler

Kristof Papp

Jesse Tucker