The 2020–21 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey season was the 79th season of play for the program and the 31st season in the Big Ten Conference. The Spartans represented Michigan State University and were coached by Danton Cole, in his 4th season.
| 2020–21 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | 7th Big Ten |
| Home ice | Munn Ice Arena |
| Rankings | |
| USCHO | NR |
| USA Today | NR |
| Record | |
| Overall | 7–18–2 |
| Conference | 5–16–1–2–0–0 |
| Home | 5–9–1 |
| Road | 2–8–1 |
| Neutral | 0–1–0 |
| Coaches and captains | |
| Head coach | Danton Cole |
| Assistant coaches | Chris Luongo Joe Exter Jim Slater |
| Captain(s) | Tommy Apap Tommy Miller |
| Alternate captain(s) | Dennis Cesana Mitch Lewandowski |
| Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey seasons « 2019–20 2021–22 » | |
Season
editAs a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic the entire college ice hockey season was delayed. Because the NCAA had previously announced that all winter sports athletes would retain whatever eligibility they possessed through at least the following year, none of Michigan State's players would lose a season of play.[1] However, the NCAA also approved a change in its transfer regulations that would allow players to transfer and play immediately rather than having to sit out a season, as the rules previously required.[2]
In the first half of their season, Michigan State could find very little consistency but were able to hold their own in the Big Ten. Up until mid-January the team had a .500 record and had a chance to make something of their abbreviated season. Unfortunately, from the 15th onward, the team's offense collapsed MSU wasn't able to score more than two goals in a game after January 9 and went 2–13 to end their season The Spartans' defense was not a problem most games but with so few goals scored, the team sank to the bottom of the conference standings. MSU's offense was so paltry that the team averaged less than one and a half goals per game for the entire season (1.48) and were shut out in 6 of their 27 games.
Jon Mor sat out the season.
Departures
edit| Player | Position | Nationality | Cause |
|---|---|---|---|
| Damian Chrcek | Defenseman |  United States |
Graduation |
| Butrus Ghafari | Defenseman | United States |
Graduation (Signed with Toledo Walleye) |
| Patrick Khodorenko | Forward | United States |
Graduation (Signed with New York Rangers) |
| Logan Lambdin | Forward | United States |
Graduation (Signed with Kalamazoo Wings) |
| John Lethemon | Goaltender | United States |
Graduation (Signed with Greenville Swamp Rabbits) |
| Jerad Rosburg | Defenseman | United States |
Graduation (Signed with Dallas Stars) |
| Sam Saliba | Forward | United States |
Graduation |
| Anthony Scarsella | Defenseman | United States |
Graduation |
| Wojciech Stachowiak | Forward |  Poland |
Signed professional contract (ERC Ingolstadt) |
| Spencer Wright | Goaltender | United States |
Graduation |
Recruiting
edit| Player | Position | Nationality | Age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierce Charleson | Goaltender |  Canada |
20 | Aurora, ON |
| Charlie Combs | Forward | United States |
24 | St. Louis, MO; transfer from Bemidji State |
| Powell Connor | Defenseman | Canada |
20 | Vernon, BC |
| Cal Dybicz | Defenseman | United States |
20 | Elk Grove Village, IL |
| Aiden Gallacher | Defenseman | United States |
20 | Rochester Hills, MI |
| Kyle Haskins | Forward | United States |
20 | Huntington, VA |
| A. J. Hodges | Forward | United States |
19 | Littleton, CO |
| Jon Mor | Goaltender | United States |
20 | Highland Park, IL |
| Nash Nienhuis | Defenseman | Canada |
20 | Sarnia, ON |
| Kristóf Papp | Forward |  Hungary |
19 | Budapest, HUN |
Roster
editAs of January 3, 2021.[3]
| No. | S/P/C | Player | Class | Pos | Height | Weight | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | NHL rights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
Drew DeRidder | Junior | G | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 2000-05-01 | Fenton, Michigan | USNTDP (USHL) | — |
| 2 |
|
Aiden Gallacher | Freshman | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 2000-03-20 | Rochester Hills, Michigan | Youngstown (USHL) | — |
| 4 | 
|
Nash Nienhuis | Freshman | D | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 176 lb (80 kg) | 1999-12-05 | Sarnia, Ontario | Omaha (USHL) | — |
| 5 | 
|
Powell Connor | Freshman | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 183 lb (83 kg) | 2000-05-04 | Vernon, British Columbia | Trail (BCHL) | — |
| 6 | 
|
Cal Dybicz | Freshman | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 181 lb (82 kg) | 2000-07-16 | Elk Grove Village, Illinois | Tri-City (USHL) | — |
| 7 | 
|
Charlie Combs | Graduate | F | 5' 6" (1.68 m) | 181 lb (82 kg) | 1996-07-13 | St. Louis, Missouri | Bemidji State (WCHA) | — |
| 8 |
|
Cole Krygier | Junior | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 196 lb (89 kg) | 2000-05-05 | Novi, Michigan | Lincoln (USHL) | FLA, 201st overall 2018 |
| 9 |
|
Mitchell Lewandowski (A) | Senior | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 178 lb (81 kg) | 1998-04-17 | Clarkston, Michigan | Chicago (USHL) | — |
| 10 | 
|
A. J. Hodges | Freshman | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 184 lb (83 kg) | 2001-08-24 | Littleton, Colorado | Sioux City (USHL) | — |
| 11 |
|
Tommy Apap (C) | Senior | F | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 206 lb (93 kg) | 1996-02-27 | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | Youngstown (USHL) | — |
| 12 |
|
Tommy Miller (C) | Senior | D | 6' 1" (1.85 m) | 191 lb (87 kg) | 1999-03-06 | West Bloomfield, Michigan | USNTDP (USHL) | — |
| 13 |
|
Kristóf Papp | Freshman | F | 5' 11" (1.8 m) | 174 lb (79 kg) | 2001-06-27 | Budapest, Hungary | Des Moines (USHL) | — |
| 14 |
|
Adam Goodsir | Junior | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 196 lb (89 kg) | 1998-09-22 | Okemos, Michigan | Tri-City (USHL) | — |
| 15 |
|
Christian Krygier | Junior | D | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | 2000-05-05 | Novi, Michigan | Lincoln (USHL) | NYI, 196th overall 2018 |
| 16 |
|
Brody Stevens | Senior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 193 lb (88 kg) | 1997-04-26 | Ann Arbor, Michigan | Green Bay (USHL) | — |
| 17 | 
|
Kyle Haskins | Freshman | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2000-02-16 | Huntington, Vermont | Waterloo (USHL) | — |
| 19 | 
|
Nicolas Müller | Sophomore | F | 6' 0" (1.83 m) | 182 lb (83 kg) | 1999-06-21 | Arisdorf, Switzerland | Modo J20 (J20 SuperElit) | — |
| 20 |
|
Josh Nodler | Sophomore | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 193 lb (88 kg) | 2001-04-27 | Oak Park, Michigan | Fargo (USHL) | CGY, 150th overall 2019 |
| 21 | 
|
Jake Smith | Senior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 188 lb (85 kg) | 1996-11-28 | East Amherst, New York | Chilliwack (BCHL) | — |
| 22 | 
|
Dennis Cesana (A) | Junior | D | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 182 lb (83 kg) | 1998-04-04 | Providence, Rhode Island | Brooks (AJHL) | — |
| 23 |
|
Jagger Joshua | Sophomore | F | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | 1999-03-29 | Dearborn, Michigan | Muskegon (USHL) | — |
| 24 |
|
Austin Kamer | Senior | F | 5' 10" (1.78 m) | 181 lb (82 kg) | 1996-05-23 | Grand Rapids, Michigan | Lone Star (NAHL) | — |
| 27 | 
|
Mitchell Mattson | Junior | F | 6' 4" (1.93 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | 1998-01-02 | Grand Rapids, Minnesota | Sioux Falls (USHL) | CGY, 126th overall 2016 |
| 28 | 
|
Gianluca Esteves | Senior | F | 5' 9" (1.75 m) | 172 lb (78 kg) | 1997-01-29 | Winnipeg, Manitoba | Aston (NAHL) | — |
| 29 |
|
Pierce Charleson | Freshman | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | 2000-02-27 | Aurora, Ontario | Brooks (AJHL) | — |
| 30 |
|
Jon Mor | Freshman | G | 6' 2" (1.88 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | 2000-07-20 | Highland Park, Illinois | Langley (BCHL) | — |
Standings
edit| Conference record | Overall record | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | T | OTW | OTL | 3/SW | PTS | PT% | GF | GA | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | ||
| #8 Wisconsin † | 24 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 52 | .722 | 92 | 52 | 31 | 20 | 10 | 1 | 118 | 80 | |
| #7 Minnesota * | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 48 | .727 | 69 | 44 | 31 | 24 | 7 | 0 | 117 | 64 | |
| #9 Michigan | 20 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 32 | .550 | 69 | 45 | 26 | 15 | 10 | 1 | 91 | 51 | |
| #17 Notre Dame | 24 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 41 | .542 | 65 | 53 | 29 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 84 | 78 | |
| Penn State | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 20 | .389 | 48 | 68 | 22 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 65 | 81 | |
| Ohio State | 22 | 6 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 20 | .273 | 39 | 82 | 27 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 53 | 101 | |
| Michigan State | 22 | 5 | 16 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | .250 | 32 | 70 | 27 | 7 | 18 | 2 | 40 | 77 | |
| Championship: March 16, 2021 † indicates conference regular season champion * indicates conference tournament champion Rankings: USCHO.com Top 20 Poll | ||||||||||||||||||
Schedule and Results
edit| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Decision | Result | Attendance | Record | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | |||||||||||
| November 19 | 6:04 PM | vs. Arizona State* | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | BTN | DeRidder | T 1–1 OT | 100 | 0–0–1 | |||
| November 20 | 6:04 PM | vs. Arizona State* | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | DeRidder | W 2–0 | 100 | 1–0–1 | ||||
| November 28 | 5:30 PM | at #10 Ohio State | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio | DeRidder | W 3–2 OT | 0 | 2–0–1 (1–0–0) | ||||
| November 29 | 5:30 PM | at #10 Ohio State | Value City Arena • Columbus, Ohio | DeRidder | L 2–4 | 0 | 2–1–1 (1–1–0) | ||||
| December 3 | 8:00 PM | vs. #5 Minnesota | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | FSD, FSN | DeRidder | L 1–3 | 100 | 2–2–1 (1–2–0) | |||
| December 4 | 8:05 PM | vs. #5 Minnesota | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | FSD, FSN | DeRidder | L 2–4 | 88 | 2–3–1 (1–3–0) | |||
| December 19 | 6:36 PM | at #16 Notre Dame | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana | NBCSN | DeRidder | T 1–1 OT | 0 | 2–3–2 (1–3–1) | |||
| December 20 | 5:06 PM | at #16 Notre Dame | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana | NBCSChi | DeRidder | W 4–3 OT | 0 | 3–3–2 (2–3–1) | |||
| January 3 | 3:00 PM | vs. Penn State | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | DeRidder | L 0–1 | 125 | 3–4–2 (2–4–1) | ||||
| January 4 | 3:00 PM | vs. Penn State | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | DeRidder | L 5–1 | 100 | 4–4–2 (3–4–1) | ||||
| January 8 | 7:04 PM | at #9 Michigan | Yost Ice Arena • Ann Arbor, Michigan | DeRidder | L 0–9 | 100 | 4–5–2 (3–5–1) | ||||
| January 9 | 4:30 PM | vs. #9 Michigan | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | DeRidder | W 3–2 | 100 | 5–5–2 (4–5–1) | ||||
| January 15 | 6:04 PM | at Penn State | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | DeRidder | L 2–3 OT | 177 | 5–6–2 (4–6–1) | ||||
| January 16 | 3:04 PM | at Penn State | Pegula Ice Arena • University Park, Pennsylvania | DeRidder | L 1–3 | 195 | 5–7–2 (4–7–1) | ||||
| January 23 | 4:00 PM | vs. Ohio State | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | BTN | DeRidder | L 1–5 | 123 | 5–8–2 (4–8–1) | |||
| January 24 | 4:00 PM | vs. Ohio State | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | DeRidder | W 2–0 | 101 | 6–8–2 (5–8–1) | ||||
| January 29 | 8:04 PM | vs. #13 Wisconsin | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | DeRidder | L 0–6 | 0 | 6–9–2 (5–9–1) | ||||
| January 30 | 4:04 PM | vs. #13 Wisconsin | Kohl Center • Madison, Wisconsin | DeRidder | L 1–4 | 0 | 6–10–2 (5–10–1) | ||||
| February 14 | 3:00 PM | vs. Wisconsin* | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | DeRidder | L 2–3 | 101 | 6–11–2 | ||||
| February 15 | 5:00 PM | vs. Wisconsin* | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | DeRidder | W 2–1 | 81 | 7–11–2 | ||||
| February 19 | 8:05 PM | at #4 Minnesota | 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota | DeRidder | L 2–4 | 0 | 7–12–2 (5–11–1) | ||||
| February 20 | 6:05 PM | at #4 Minnesota | 3M Arena at Mariucci • Minneapolis, Minnesota | DeRidder | L 1–5 | 0 | 7–13–2 (5–12–1) | ||||
| February 26 | 6:00 PM | vs. Notre Dame | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | Charleson | L 0–2 | 103 | 7–14–2 (5–13–1) | ||||
| February 27 | 3:00 PM | vs. Notre Dame | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | DeRidder | L 0–2 | 0 | 7–15–2 (5–14–1) | ||||
| March 5 | 4:00 PM | vs. #5 Wisconsin | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | DeRidder | L 0–4 | 0 | 7–16–2 (5–15–1) | ||||
| March 6 | 2:30 PM | vs. #5 Wisconsin | Munn Ice Arena • East Lansing, Michigan | BTN | Charleson | L 1–2 | 0 | 7–17–2 (5–16–1) | |||
| Big Ten Tournament | |||||||||||
| March 14 | 4:05 PM | vs. #4 Minnesota* | Compton Family Ice Arena • Notre Dame, Indiana (Big Ten Quarterfinal) | BTN | Charleson | L 1–2 OT | 134 | 7–18–2 | |||
| *Non-conference game. #Rankings from USCHO.com Poll. All times are in Eastern Time. | |||||||||||
Scoring statistics
edit| Name | Position | Games | Goals | Assists | Points | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell Lewandowski | LW | 27 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 28 |
| Dennis Cesana | D | 27 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 10 |
| Josh Nodler | C/RW | 27 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 0 |
| Charlie Combs | LW | 23 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 21 |
| Tommy Apap | F | 25 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 8 |
| Nicolas Müller | C/RW | 26 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 8 |
| Jagger Joshua | F | 26 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 41 |
| Kyle Haskins | F | 27 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| Mitchell Mattson | C | 21 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Brody Stevens | C | 27 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 18 |
| Adam Goodsir | F | 25 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| Tommy Miller | D | 27 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Nash Nienhuis | D | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Kristóf Papp | C | 25 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| Gianluca Esteves | F | 23 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Cole Krygier | D | 25 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 25 |
| Christian Krygier | D | 26 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 54 |
| A. J. Hodges | F | 22 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| Aiden Gallacher | D | 26 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 23 |
| Austin Kamer | RW | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Calvin Dybicz | D | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Pierce Charleson | G | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jake Smith | F | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Powell Connor | D | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Drew DeRidder | G | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bench | - | - | - | - | - | 8 |
| Total | 40 | 71 | 111 | 282 |
Goaltending statistics
edit| Name | Games | Minutes | Wins | Losses | Ties | Goals Against | Saves | Shut Outs | SV % | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierce Charleson | 7 | 326 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 210 | 0 | .938 | 2.57 |
| Drew DeRidder | 24 | 1304 | 7 | 15 | 2 | 60 | 723 | 2 | .923 | 2.76 |
| Empty Net | - | 14 | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Total | 27 | 1646 | 7 | 18 | 2 | 77 | 933 | 2 | .924 | 2.81 |
Rankings
edit| Poll | Week | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 (Final) | ||||
| USCHO.com | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | - | NR | |||
| USA Today | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | |||
USCHO did not release a poll in week 20.[6]
References
edit- ^ "NCAA approves blanket waiver for 2020 fall sports athletes to retain year of eligibility". CBS Sports. August 21, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "DI Council grants waiver to allow transfer student-athletes to compete immediately". NCAA. December 16, 2020. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
- ^ "2019–20 Men's Ice Hockey Roster". Michigan State Official Athletic Site. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
- ^ "Michigan State Spartans (Men) 2020-2021 Schedule and Results". College Hockey Stats. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ "Michigan State Univ. 2020-2021 Skater Stats". Elite Prospects. Retrieved March 7, 2020.
- ^ "USCHO Division I Men's Poll". USCHO.com. Retrieved November 26, 2019.