In addition to sitting atop the CCHA standings, MSU also leads many of the league’s team statistical categories.
Through 13 games, the Spartans have scored more goals (3.62 per game) while giving up fewer (1.69) and have also killed off a greater percentage of opponents’ power plays (.894) than any other team.
MSU head coach Ron Mason particularly enjoys that third statistic.
“Our penalty kill’s been phenomenal,” MSU head coach Ron Mason said of the unit that is ranked eighth nationally. “But we kill too many penalties. We shouldn’t have to kill so many penalties.”
Actually, MSU is the least-penalized team in the CCHA at 11.20 minutes per game, but that’s beside the point.
MSU’s penalty kill success shouldn’t be much of a shock, considering last year’s team only allowed 15 power play goals all season and negated 91.1 percent of the opposition’s chances.
This year’s edition had gone five straight games without surrendering a power play tally before No. 1 Minnesota went 2-for-6 with a man-advantage in Sunday’s 4-4 tie with MSU.
But the Spartans know to keep that number in perspective, seeing as the Golden Gophers’ power play leads the nation with a .365 success rate.
“Normally, I’d be kind of disappointed giving up two power play goals,” senior defenseman Jon Insana said. “But looking at the way the game was flowing - a five-minute major (penalty), a couple 5-on-3s - it was a tough game to kill penalties in.
“But we scored three (power play goals), so that’s the most important thing - to match or beat their special teams. You at least want to be a wash on special teams so you can leave it up to your 5-on-5 play, where we feel comfortable.”
The basic nature of the penalty kill necessitates a self-sacrificing philosophy by the players on the ice.
Freshman center Lee Falardeau said penalty killers have to do whatever it takes to knock loose pucks out of the zone, block slap shots from the point, and clear out opposing players stationed in front of the net.
“We have to go out there and do our job the whole time,” said Falardeau, one of MSU’s top penalty killers. “It’s a lot of hard work, but I like it.”
Because of the physical and mental discipline necessary to kill penalties, Mason rotates numerous players through the team’s two units to keep minds and bodies fresh.
“We cycle quite a few guys through because we have that mentality that all of us want to kill those penalties and coach can throw any of us out there,” junior left wing Brian Maloney said. “We look for guys that grit their teeth and want to get that puck out.
“We all take pride in that.”
But penalty killing is a rehearsed art, not an inherited talent. Freshman center Jim Slater said practice makes perfect for MSU.
“The whole week of practice, coach is always telling us about their power play and we go over video a lot,” Slater said. “You’re down one guy, so you gotta have great position with your body and stick.”
And you need to have a good goaltender, Mason said. For all the work the forwards and defensemen do, Mason attributes a lot of the Spartans’ penalty killing success to junior goaltender Ryan Miller stopping shots that would beat most goalies.
