Penn State men’s hockey to face top-ranked Michigan State in home series
Maybe it was finally a matter of the odds and some hockey luck. Maybe it was cathartic and the start of more of the same.
It was certainly necessary.
The Penn State men’s hockey team earned its first Big Ten Conference victory of the season Sunday, dropping Notre Dame, 3-0, in South Bend, and ending a nine-game winless streak in conference play. It was the longest such streak in program history, matching a mark from Penn State’s first season in the conference.
After the breakthrough W, nothing gets any easier for Penn State. That happy moment moves to the rearview and a two-game home series against the nation’s best team — top-ranked ranked Michigan State — looms this weekend.
At this point of the season Penn State’s players have pulled on more alternate jerseys than they’ve chalked up Big Ten victories, and they’re serious about changing that ratio.
It will not be easy against Michigan State. Its only conference blemish was a surprising shutout at Wisconsin in early December. Otherwise, MSU has outscored Big Ten opponents by a total of 12 goals in 10 games.
Its most recent series, also against Wisconsin, was split with a game in East Lansing and a game at Wrigley Field as part of the same Frozen Confines event last weekend when Penn State lost the first of its two-game series against Notre Dame at the ballpark in Chicago. Michigan State won both games against Wisconsin 4-3, with one reaching overtime.
Michigan State has been mostly dominant this season. Its 39 goals lead the conference, and it has the best shooting percentage (11.6%) of teams in conference play. All its even-strength success has made the fact that it has just a half dozen power-play goals in conference action pretty much meaningless.
Junior forward Isaac Howerd leads Michigan State with 13 goals and 14 assists, 27 points. Those totals put him third on the conference scoring list.
That’s just ahead of Penn State sophomore Aiden Fink, who sits fourth on the scoring list with 26 points, nine goals and 17 assists.
Stopping the puck might be most important this weekend, though, and both teams goaltenders have been strong.
Michigan State sophomore Trey Augustine, who was named Most Outstanding Player in last season’s conference tournament, is 11-2-1 with two shutouts this season. He’s allowing 1.98 goals per game.
Penn State’s Arsenii Sergeev returned from injury last week. He’s a favorite among teammates and has played well at times — especially in his two most recent games. He was named the conference’s First Star of the Week for his play against Notre Dame when he stopped 77 of 80 shots at Penn State went 1-0-1 in the series.
Penn State (7-9-1, 1-8-1 Big Ten) vs. No. 1 Michigan State (17-2-1, 8-1-1)
Series: 7 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday
Audio/Radio: GoPSUsports.com, 103.7 FM
Streaming: BTN+
Notable: Penn State leads the all-time series, 21-19-6, with a 12-7-3 advantage on its home ice. … Penn State has not beaten MSU since Nov. 18, 2022, though. Since then, the Spartans have gone 5-0-2 against the Nittany Lions. … The two games against MSU are the start of a six-game homestand that includes visits by Canisius (Jan. 17-18) and Ohio State (Jan. 24-25) to Pegula Ice Arena.