Penn State men’s hockey hoping to turn its luck around at Michigan’s Yost Ice Arena

Historic Yost Ice Arena has mostly been a house of horrors for the Penn State men’s hockey team, and that’s something the Nittany Lions hope to change this weekend.

Sixth-ranked Penn State has a 2-9 record in the facility that was built in 1923 — and was then the largest indoor building of its kind on any college campus in the United States. It has been renovated six times, and it’s arguably one of the cathedrals for college hockey.

Still, it’s been a tough place to visit for Penn State, which last won at the 5,800-seat arena on Nov. 21, 2014. Even with Michigan struggling a bit, the Nittany Lions know the challenge they face.

“They’re Michigan, they’re a talented team. I think they’re a very dangerous team,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. “More at the top of our minds is we haven’t had success at Yost. We have to look at ourselves first. We’ve played well and lost and we’ve played very poorly and lost.”

Gadowsky often talks about collecting information and finding ways to improve and learn from any situation. He pointed to “an epiphany” after the team’s most recent loss that might lead to important changes going forward.

Still, he had no common theme or reason for Penn State’s struggles at Yost Arena.

It’s probably a little more comforting for Penn State to focus on itself. Plenty of positives exist there — including the typically strong offense (4.60 goals per game, third in the nation) and the nation’s best power-play unit (converting on 32.8% of its chances). Penn State has scored at least one power-play goal in seven consecutive games and eight of its last nine.

For their part, Penn State’s players preached that same focused approach.

“We just want to get the first one and go from there,” junior forward Evan Barratt said. “We just have to treat it like another weekend.”

Barratt has scored a goal in three consecutive games, with a point in the last seven. He recorded five goals and an assist in four games against Michigan last year.

Michigan won its first Big Ten Conference game of the season Sunday on the road against No. 19 Wisconsin. Michigan also led the first game of that weekend series, 2-0, before losing.

For Penn State, senior forward Nikita Pavlychev would be a valuable addition but his status remains uncertain because of an injury.

“Obviously, he brings elements to our game that it’s difficult to duplicate,” Gadowsky said. “We’re waiting. He’s been day-to-day for a while and we’re looking forward to getting that final OK — and whether or not it’ll be in the near future.”

No. 6 Penn State (11-4, 6-2 Big Ten) at Michigan (5-9-2, 1-6-1)

Game: 8:30 p.m. Friday, 7:30 p.m. Saturday

Radio/TV: Game coverage on 103.1 FM and GoPSUsports.com, with Friday’s game televised by Fox Sports 1 and Saturday’s available on BTN+

Notable: Michigan leads the series, 15-12, with a 9-2 advantage at home. … Penn State’s power-play percentage (32.8) ranks first nationally while Michigan’s (16.9) ranks 39th. … Freshman forward Johnny Beecher leads UM with eight points (four goals and four assists).

This story was originally published December 5, 2019 at 3:40 PM.