Taro Hirose Named Big Ten Third Star of the Week

EAST LANSING -- Michigan State junior forward Taro Hirose has been named the Big Ten's Third Star of the Week, it was announced by the conference office on Tuesday, Jan. 15. Hirose, who leads the nation in both points and assists, had two goals and two assists in last weekend's split at No. 11 Penn State.

Hirose had a power-play goal and assisted on the Spartans' other goal in the opener before adding another critical goal and helper Saturday night in a 6-4 win. On Saturday, he extended the Spartans' lead to 3-1 with 5.2 seconds to play in the opening period. Later on, he tallied the primary assist on Mitchell Lewandowski's power-play goal, which proved to be the game-winner.

Hirose leads the nation with 35 points and 24 assists. The native of Calgary, Alberta, has points in five of the last six games with nine total (4g, 5a) over the span. He has had multiple points in half of the Spartans' 22 games this season.

Tuesday's weekly conference honor was the third of the season for Hirose.

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