Following the tale of two games that was the Michigan State Spartans’ series with the Michigan Wolverines, Head Coach Danton Cole and the 5-5-2 Spartans (4-5-1 in the Big Ten) are set to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions for the second time in under three weeks. Coach Cole, Charlie Combs, and Christian Krygier addressed the media on Tuesday, talking about the previous weekend’s series, and looking forward to Penn State.

Cole began his availability with a quick opening statement. “Another big weekend coming up for us, and the way the Big Ten is set up right now, these games are all very important, you can tell by the standings, there are a lot of teams bunched up with the exception of Minnesota. We’re going into Penn State, they had a nice split at Ohio State last weekend, we had a split against Michigan last weekend. All these points are important, and it feels like a playoff weekend every week. Had a couple good days of practice, built off of some things from last week, there were some good lessons, some hard lessons from last weekend, you can take those and move on, and the guys are anxious to play again.”

Despite their next two series being against Penn State and Ohio State, two teams the Spartans have already faced, Coach Cole said that they will still take it game-by-game rather than focusing on the series as a whole and going into the series aiming for a sweep.

The Spartans have taken away a lot from their last two series against Penn State and Michigan and will work to continue building on that in their series this weekend. “(Penn State) generates a lot offensively, get a lot of pucks to the net, they come at you hard. I’d take more out of last weekend from the Michigan series in how vigilant and dedicated you need to be to play a certain way on the right side of the puck and being ready from the drop, and that’s one thing, playing at Penn State, I know there’s no crowds which makes it a little different, it’s a fast rink, the puck gets around the boards quick, they’re at home, they’re a little faster. I think that’s the biggest thing, to make sure that we are ready to match that speed, that intensity, not get caught watching the paint dry and wondering what happened not being ready from the drop of the puck.”

With regards to Drew DeRidder taking a seat in the first period of the first game, Coach Cole said that everyone has their moments and it was a good opportunity to get Pierce Charleson in. He had no doubt that DeRidder was going to come back in for the second game, prepared to play.

Coach Cole compared the series against Michigan to his time with the USNTDP. “As a player, I think it’s easier to rebound and get yourself back into it. As a coach, you’re trying to figure out all 26 guys on the team, I was trying to rack my brain around if I’d ever had a loss like that coaching, but a mentally, deflating type (loss), everyone’s had some of those. One thing I think is underestimated with the National Team (USNTDP) is the development opportunity there is for the coaches and the different mental scenarios you go through. The first year there, we’re playing with 16-year old kids in a league that’s all 19 and 20-year olds, and regardless of how good they are, you’re constantly resetting, you’re not going to have a lot of success… I think the time spent there is invaluable in terms of figuring that out, the psychology you get back, and as a coach, sometimes it’s harder after a win. You’re feeling good and you want to keep them at that moment while you do. When you lose, there’s a bunch of stuff that we had to do better. It was emotional but not a yelling thing after the game (the 9-0 loss to Michigan), and I let the captains handle a little bit of it after that before they got on the bus. By the time I got home, I had a list of things that we could do better, and you get your video ready and go through it the next day. I liked the approach the guys had. You go through it and sometimes that’s a challenge that’s thrown at you and that’s part of the fun of the job. I don’t want to do that too often, but once was enough.”

The Spartans have been strong down the middle, and sophomore Nico Muller. “I think he’s done a really nice job. He got thrown with not a lot of reps and not a lot of practice that one weekend and did an outstanding job, and I think he’s a real smart player, he cerebrally understands angles, understands some prerecoveries, does a lot of things well. He’s been able to fit in there, plus he can make some plays, so we’ve liked him there”

Coach Cole said that the player he replaced down the middle, freshman Kristof Papp, “I think Kristof will end up back at center at some point, but I think it takes a little bit of pressure off of him, and it’s really not that unusual, guys jump to the NHL and get flipped to wing to learn it a little bit… if we had had non-conference and exhibition games we could’ve worked him in a little bit more, but we saw that and we will build him back the other way.”

Since A.J. Hodges has been out of the lineup, Mitchell Lewandowski moved up to the first line with Charlie Combs and Josh Nodler. When asked about playing with the two of them, he started with a simple statement. “I just think they are two great hockey players and they are easy to play with. I think it was an easy connection, just the way we all play and think the game, just how hard we all work, I think it was an easy click for us and try to keep it going.”

Christian Krygier broke down the play to get the puck over to Josh Nodler for the game-winning goal versus Michigan. “I was creeping into the zone, there were four guys ahead of me so I was the last guy back. The puck popped out and I saw that the net was open, but I saw three or four guys coming into that lane, so I decided to drag it a little bit, I saw Nodler before the puck popped out for the one-timer. I had that in my mind the whole time, just take a little time, move over and pass it over to Nodler so he has a little extra time getting that goal off.”

Krygier also has a different pairing this year as instead of playing with his twin brother Cole, he is playing with Dennis Cesana. “Dennis is a fun player to play with. He skates well, he moves the puck well, creates a lot of offense. I think it’s been good playing with him. In the past, I’ve spent a lot of time in the defensive zone, but playing with him, I get a lot more opportunities in the offensive zone. He’s a good player so it’s fun playing with him.”

The Michigan State University Spartans and Penn State University Nittany Lions face off tonight at 6 P.M. EST and tomorrow at 3 P.M. EST.

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