Michigan
Michigan State
Michigan Set to Host Michigan State in Big Ten Quarterfinal Series
3/4/2020 6:16:00 PM | Ice Hockey
THIS WEEK
Fri-Sun., March 6-8 -- vs. Michigan State - Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals (Yost Ice Arena)
Friday, March 6 -- vs. Michigan State, 7 p.m.
TV: BTN+ | Tickets | Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
Saturday, March 7 -- vs. Michigan State, 7 p.m.
TV: BTN+ | Tickets |Â Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
Sunday, March 8 -- vs. Michigan State, 6 p.m. (if necessary)
TV: BTN+ | Tickets |Â Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio
• Complete Game Notes (PDF)Â
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The No. 3-seeded University of Michigan ice hockey team will begin postseason play this weekend when it hosts No. 6 Michigan State the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals at Yost Ice Arena. The best-of-three series will begin Friday (March 6) with a 7 p.m. puck drop. Saturday's game two is also slated for a 7 p.m. start, and game three -- if necessary -- will begin at 6 p.m. All three games will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
The Series
• College hockey's most-played rivalry is back as Michigan takes on Michigan State in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Michigan leads, 163-136-24, in the all-time series against its in-state rival with the teams splitting their four games this season. MSU won both games at Yost in November, while Michigan captured a 5-1 win in East Lansing in February, followed by a 4-1 win at Little Caesars Arena to win the fourth straight Iron D trophy at the Duel in the D.
• This will be the first time Michigan and Michigan State meet in a Big Ten playoff series. The teams have played in 18 postseason games against each other, in three different conferences. They met in the Big Ten tournament in 1968 and 1969 before Michigan's 4-1 win in the semifinals in 2015. The last time they squared off in the postseason was 2010 when they faced off in the CCHA quarterfinals; Michigan won, 5-1 and 5-3, in East Lansing.
The B1G Tornament
U-M is 6-6 in the Big Ten Tournament since 2014. The Wolverines won the tournament in 2016 as the No. 2 seed defeating No. 1 seed Minnesota, 5-3. It came just a year after the Gophers defeated the Wolverines, 4-2. in the 2015 championship game. This will be the fourth time in seven years that Michigan is the No. 3 seed (2014, 2015, 2018).
Wolverine Bites
• Michigan captured the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament after closing out the second half of the season 9-3-2. The Wolverines are undefeated on the road since January with a 6-0-2 record to move from last place in the B1G standings (seven points) into a three-way tie for second place with an 11-10-3 conference record. With a 16-14-4 overall record, the Wolverines are tied for 17th in the ever-important Pairwise Rankings.
• Michigan's scoring offense ranked 44th in the nation during the first half of the year, and is tied for ninth in the second half, improving from 2.16 goals per game to 3.36 gpg. The top-three scorers on the team are seniors: Jake Slaker and his 28 points (team-best 12 goals, team-high 16 assists), Will Lockwood (8G, 13A), and Nick Pastujov and freshman Cam York each had 16 points. Jacob Hayhurst, Johnny Beecher and Nick Blankenburg are right behind with 14 points apiece.
• Defensively, Michigan ranks eighth in the nation, holding teams to 2.12 goals per game. Sophomore netminder Strauss Mann is seventh in the nation in goals-against average (1.97) and sixth in save percentage (.936). Michigan ranks third in the nation in blocked shots, averaging 15.21 per game with senior Luke Martin second in the nation in the category with 80.
Scouting the Spartans
• Michigan State is the No. 6 seed in the B1G Tournament with an 11-11-2 Big Ten record. Last weekend, the Spartans went 1-0-1 at Notre Dame, rebounding from a four-game losing skid.
• MSU is 48th in scoring offense, averaging 2.35 goals per game but is 18th in scoring defense limiting teams to just 2.41 gpg.
• Senior netminder John Lethemon ranks fourth in the nation in save percentage with a .937 and is 14th in goals-against at 2.10 with five shutouts.
• Offensively, the Spartans are led by senior Patrick Khodorenko, who has 33 points on 16 goals and 17 assists. Sophomore defenseman Dennis Cesana is next on the scoring chart with 22 points, followed by junior Mitchell Lewandoski with 20.
Up Next
The winners of the Big Ten tournament quarterfinal series will advance to the semifinals. No. 1 seed Penn State will host the lowest advancing seed, with the highest remaining seed hosting the other semifinal.
2020-21 New Season Tickets
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