# 2020–21 Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey season

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.

## Season

As 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. 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.
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

| 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

| 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

As of January 3, 2021.

## Standings

2020–21 Big Ten ice hockey Standingsvte :
| | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Conference record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall record | Overall 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

| Date | Time | Opponent$^#$ | 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

| 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

| 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

| Poll | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 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.