{"id":90760,"date":"2019-01-30T14:00:30","date_gmt":"2019-01-30T20:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/?p=90760"},"modified":"2020-08-24T13:01:31","modified_gmt":"2020-08-24T18:01:31","slug":"national-leading-scorer-hirose-bringing-swagger-to-up-and-coming-michigan-state-squad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uscho.com\/2019\/01\/30\/national-leading-scorer-hirose-bringing-swagger-to-up-and-coming-michigan-state-squad\/","title":{"rendered":"National leading scorer Hirose bringing swagger to up-and-coming Michigan State squad"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Taro<\/a>
Taro Hirose leads Michigan State – and the country – with 42 points this season for Michigan State (photo: Bradley K. Olson).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Michigan State\u2019s Taro Hirose doesn\u2019t spend a ton of time thinking about the fact that he leads the nation in points and assists.<\/p>\n

But he does have a family member that acts as his personal statistician.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know my dad, for sure, he\u2019s keeping track and letting me know what\u2019s going on,\u201d the junior forward said.<\/p>\n

Hirose\u2019s 42 points, 29 of which are helpers, are good enough for the top spot as the calendar turns to February.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s sort of surreal for me right now — I never expected to be in the Hobey conversation or leading the nation in points,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s crazy what\u2019s going on right now, but I just really focus on what the team\u2019s doing and trying to help them win.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Calgary native isn\u2019t the Big Ten\u2019s only representative at the top of the points list, though.<\/p>\n

Penn State\u2019s Evan Barratt and Alex Limoges are third and fourth respectively, Ohio State\u2019s Mason Jobst is tied for sixth and Patrick Khodorenko, Hirose\u2019s linemate, is tied for eighth. That talent level from his opponents helps add fuel to the fire, according to Hirose.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor sure, every time I go out there I want to be the best player on the ice,\u201d he said \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of unbelievable players in the Big Ten, so every time I step on the ice against those guys, it\u2019s sort of a competition with them and making sure that I can prove to myself that I can play better than those guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hirose says that he views himself as a pass-first player and that his teammates have learned how to turn that into an advantage for themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when I\u2019m in high-scoring areas, a lot of guys are looking to go down and block shots and get in lanes, so I try to look off of guys\u2019 heels and in between their sticks and legs for openings where my teammates are,\u201d Hirose said. \u201cMy teammates know that I like to play that way, so they\u2019re good at just getting open and finding space, and hopefully I can find them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Khodorenko has 14 goals this season and third linemate Mitchell Lewandowski has 11. The KHL Line, a play on the first letter of each last name, has been the engine that drives the Spartans this season. Hirose said that each player brings something different to the table.<\/p>\n

\u201cPat (Khodorenko), he\u2019s sort of a workhorse, he\u2019s a bigger guy in the lineup so he does a lot of work down low,\u201d he said. \u201cOff the rush, he\u2019s really fast and likes to take the puck to the net. He\u2019s probably the shooter on our line. Then (Lewandowski), he\u2019s got unbelievable vision and poise with the puck, he\u2019s not going to just throw pucks away, he\u2019s looking to hold onto it and make a lot of plays anywhere on the ice. That gives us the chance to enter the zone with speed and create chances off the rush.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even while playing the role if dish-master, the junior has lit the lamp 13 times himself this season, one more than his total from last season. Trying to put the puck on net has been more of a priority this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cScoring was something that I wanted to focus on more this year, and be attacking more and shooting the puck,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve learned a lot about how to get shots through and where the big scoring areas are for me. That\u2019s been a huge thing for me, so far, being able to contribute in that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hirose has improved his numbers each season and the team has generally followed suit. The Spartans were a seven-win team his freshman year and won 13 games last season. This year Michigan State owns a 9-13-4 record.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of improvement since I got here,\u201d Hirose said. \u201cThe pace of play, the guys are playing a lot faster, and in the offensive zone, the defensemen are jumping in and creating chances for us. I\u2019ve always said we\u2019re a lot better team when our defensemen are getting pucks through and jumping in on the rush. We\u2019ve got guys that have a lot of skill and skating ability and when we utilize that, we\u2019re a lot more dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

That being said, the alternate captain knows there\u2019s a lot of work left to do before the team is where it wants to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the rest of the year, we need to focus on the defensive end, when we\u2019re breaking out the puck and being a little more clean with it,\u201d he said. \u201cI think that will lead to faster transitions and we can use our skill and speed to attack off the rush and create plays.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hirose gave a lot of credit for Michigan State\u2019s improved results to head coach Danton Cole and his assistants Chris Luongo and Joe Exter. All three joined the program before last season.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey bring an intensity that wasn\u2019t here before,\u201d Hirose said. \u201cEvery time we go out for practice, or games or anything that we\u2019re doing, all the guys are all over us and making sure that we give 100 percent effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey know that we can make mistakes, and those are going to happen, but as long as we\u2019re working hard and being intense with it, we can overcome those mistakes. That\u2019s been a huge aspect for us, and the teaching aspect. Making sure guys are learning to play the game the right way and doing things right every day has been a huge aspect for the whole team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Michigan State\u2019s Taro Hirose doesn\u2019t spend a ton of time thinking about the fact that he leads the nation in points and assists (photo: Bradley K. Olson).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":90761,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[855],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNational leading scorer Hirose bringing swagger to up-and-coming Michigan State squad - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Michigan State\u2019s Taro Hirose doesn\u2019t spend a ton of time thinking about the fact that he leads the nation in points and assists (photo: Bradley K. 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