Spartans Start Final Home Stretch This Weekend vs. Notre Dame

Games 23-24: Notre Dame (10-12-2, 8-10-2-1-2-2 B1G) at Michigan State (6-13-2, 5-12-1-2-1-0 B1G)
Dates | Times: Friday, Feb. 26 | 6 p.m. // Saturday, Feb. 27 | 3 p.m.
Location: East Lansing, Mich. | Munn Ice Arena
Web Stream: BTN +
Radio: TCF Bank Spartan Media Network | MSUSpartans.com & MSU Spartans app | Local: WJIM 1240-AM
Game Notes: Michigan State | Notre Dame | Big Ten

On The Fly…
• Michigan State will start is final home stand of the season this weekend when it hosts Notre Dame on Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (3 p.m.).

• The Spartans are scheduled to play their final five games of the regular season all at Munn … The five-game home stand is the longest for MSU since playing six straight at home early in the 2016-17 season.

• A trio of Spartans are tied for the team lead in points with 11 – Mitchell Lewandowski (6g, 5a), Josh Nodler (3g, 8a) and Dennis Cesana (1g, 10a).

• Seniors Mitchell Lewandowski (1-1—2) and Tommy Apap (2-0—2) and sophomore Josh Nodler (1-1—2) all have points in two of the last four games.

• With 49 career goals and 50 assists, Mitchell Lewandowski enters Friday's game one point shy of 100 for his career.

• This weekend's matchup features the top-two teams in the faceoff circle in the Big Ten as Notre Dame leads the league at .538, which ranks sixth nationally, while MSU is second at .534, which is seventh in the country.

• Three Spartans rank in the top 10 in the Big Ten in winning percentage – Kristof Papp (1st; .606, 63-41); Tommy Apap (8th; .563, 222-172); and Josh Nodler (10th; .544, 198-166).

• Drew DeRidder leads the nation in both total saves (672) and saves per game (30.55) … DeRidder, who has started every game in goal for the Spartans, ranks fourth in the league in both GAA (2.67) and save percentage (.926).

• Tommy Miller ranks second in the Big Ten and third in the country in total blocked shots (58) and is fourth nationally in blocks per game (2.64) … Miller is tied with Jerad Rosburg for third most in program history at 260.

• Kyle Haskins leads all Spartan freshmen with five points (1g, 4a) … Haskins and defenseman Aiden Gallacher are the two Spartan rookies that have played in all 22 games.

About Notre Dame
Notre Dame is coming off a loss (4-2) and tie (5-5) and shootout win at No. 5 Wisconsin … The Irish have played 20 conference games and are tied for third place with Michigan with 29 points apiece … Notre Dame is 7-2-1 on the road this season … Junior Alex Steeves leads Notre Dame in goals (13) and points (26), while junior Graham Slaggert leads in assists (16) … Dylan St. Cyr has played a majority of games in goal, including both at Wisconsin, and owns a .910 save percentage and 2.68 GAA … Notre Dame's .167 power-play percentage ranks sixth in the Big Ten, while its .788 penalty kill percentage is fifth in the league.

The Matchup
Michigan State is unbeaten vs. Notre Dame in the last six meetings between the teams at 3-0-3 … Josh Nodler has five points (1g, 4a) and is plus-6 in six career games vs. Notre Dame … Dennis Cesana also has six points (1g, 5a) against the Irish in 12 career games, while Mitchell Lewandowski has seven points (3g, 4a) in 16 games vs. ND … MSU leads the all-time series, 65-51-15, including a 37-19-5 mark at home.

matchup v ND

From the First Series vs. Notre Dame – Dec. 19-20
MSU got its first OT win at Notre Dame since 1972 in the 4-3 victory on Dec. 20, courtesy of Tommy Miller 1:26 into the extra session … Tommy Apap scored in both games – his first goals of the year … The finale marked the first time this season a Spartan recorded multiple points as Tommy Miller (1-1--2), Nico Müller (0-2--2) and Josh Nodler (0-2--2) all did so … Drew DeRidder had the fourth and fifth 40-plus save games of his career, making 47 and 42, respectively.

Notables from the Minnesota series, Feb. 19-20
The Spartans held Minnesota to 0-for-4 on the power play in the two games … Pierce Charleson made his third appearance of the season on Saturday, stopping 20 of 21 shots he faced in 41:28 of action.

DeRidder's Career Year
A year after playing four games, Drew DeRidder has become a workhorse for the Spartans this season, starting all 22 games. The junior has faced more shots (726) and made more saves (672) than any other goaltender in the nation. The 2018-19 Big Ten All-Freshman team selection enters the weekend fourth in the Big Ten in save percentage at .926 and is fourth in GAA at 2.67.

DeRidder's current .926 save percentage is .021 higher than his career average entering the season and .020 above that of his freshman year.

DeRidder, who has two shutouts this year, garnered two straight Big Ten First Star of the Week accolades earlier this season (Dec. 23 and Jan. 6). In going 1-0-1 at Notre Dame, Dec. 19-20, DeRidder made 89 total saves, making 47 and 42 stops, respectively.

He is one of 35 goaltenders to be named to the Mike Richter Award watch list, which is presented annually to the nation's top goaltender.

Honoring the Seniors
Michigan State will pay tribute to its senior class following the conclusion of Saturday's game at Munn. Mitchell Lewandowski, Tommy Apap, Tommy Miller, Brody Stevens, Jake Smith, Austin Kamer, Gianluca Esteves and Charlie Combs will all be recognized in a postgame ceremony.

Lewandowski on the Cusp of 100 Career Points
Senior Mitchell Lewandowski is one point away from reaching 100 for his career, entering Friday's game with 49 goals and 50 assists in 130 games. So far this season, the native of Clarkson has six goals and five assists.

Lewandowski, the last remaining member of MSU's high-powered KHL line that also included Taro Hirose (33-83--116; 2016-19) and Patrick Khodorenko (54-66--120; 2016-20), is looking to become the third member of that trio to reach 100 career points.

Miller's Block Party
Senior defenseman Tommy Miller is one of the nation's top shot blockers. He is fourth in the nation in total blocks (58) and sixth in blocks per game (2.64).

His season high in blocks is seven, which he recorded Dec. 20 at Notre Dame – a game in which he also scored the game-winning goal in overtime and set up the game-tying goal in the third period.

For his career, Miller has a total of 260 blocked shots, which is tied with Jerad Rosburg for third most in Spartan history (since 2005-06).

Spartans Start Final Home Stretch This Weekend vs. Notre Dame

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Dennis Cesana

Pierce Charleson

Charlie Combs

Gianluca Esteves

Aiden Gallacher

Kyle Haskins

Taro Hirose

Patrick Khodorenko

Mitchell Lewandowski

Tommy Miller

Josh Nodler

Kristof Papp

Jerad Rosburg

Brody Stevens