Penn State men’s hockey faces No. 2 Michigan in high-stakes road series

It’s another tough assignment for the Penn State men’s hockey team, facing one of the nation’s top-ranked teams on the heels of an off week and potentially distracting off-ice publicity for one of its top players.

It’s been 13 days since Penn State dropped the second of two games to then-No. 2 Michigan State in front of an energetic crowd (74,575, the second largest in the history of outdoor college hockey) at Beaver Stadium, putting the Nittany Lions on a two-game losing streak.

It seemed standout forward Gavin McKenna might be lost for a bit, too.

The most serious charges against him after an altercation in State College on Jan. 31 have been dropped, though, and neither the Big Ten Conference nor Penn State plans any disciplinary action. McKenna’s preliminary hearing was moved from earlier this week to March 11.

So, it’s somewhat business as usual leading into this weekend as the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions travel to face No. 2 Michigan for a two-game series.

“It’s daunting. However, that’s what we wish for,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. “There’s no question that those teams that go to the postseason from the Big Ten will be battle tested.”

Michigan had been atop the rankings for 10 consecutive weeks, but the Wolverines dropped a spot this week after splitting a series with Michigan State, which moved to No. 1.

Michigan coach Brandon Naurato, who agreed to an updated and more lucrative contract last month, said his team embraced being atop the poll.

“We’re proud of it,” Naurato said. “I think that makes it even better being hunted by everyone else. It keeps you hungry. It doesn’t hurt that the Big Ten is so tight and so deep that you don’t have a lot of wiggle room to get comfortable.”

There will be little room to get comfortable on the ice this weekend. The teams are familiar with each other and separated by just shades of gray statistically. It’s going to be a matter of effort and persistence, rather than surprises, as the teams seek hard-fought victories.

The familiarity includes team leaders and former junior hockey teammates T.J. Hughes (Michigan) and Aiden Fink (Penn State) on opposite sides. Additionally, Hughes was part of the Spengler Cup team that included five Penn State players, with Gadowsky as coach, in December.

Penn State continues to lead the Big Ten in penalty minutes (535) and Michigan — the nation’s highest-scoring team (4.68 goals per game) — converts on 29.8% of its power-play opportunities.

At the same time, Penn State has the conference’s best penalty kill, stopping opponents 86.7% of the time.

“Their power pay is excellent. It’s certainly a part of any series against Michigan,” Gadowsky said. “You are going to have to kill eventually, to be prepared. We’re not only going to have to manage the systematic aspects of it but the emotions as well.”

And you can expect the maize-and-blue crowd at Michigan’s historic Yost Arena to bring an emotional charge to the competition — especially after Michigan’s fall from No. 1 and the McKenna matter.

No. 6 Penn State (18-8, 10-6 Big Ten) at No. 2 Michigan (23-5, 14-4)

Series: 6:30 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday

Audio/Radio: GoPSusports.com, 103.7 FM, 104.3 FM

Streaming/TV: B1G+ (Friday), BTN (Saturday)

Notable: Michigan leads the all-time series 32-21-1 with a 12-10-1 advantage on its home ice. The teams split two games in Hockey Valley earlier this season. … Michigan split a two-game series with Michigan State last weekend. MSU handed Penn State its two most-recent losses, a 6-3 decision on Jan. 30 and a 5-4 overtime loss at Beaver Stadium on Jan. 31. … Penn State (53.8%) and Michigan (53.2%) are one-two in faceoff wins in the conference. … While Michigan averages a nation’s best 4.68 goals per game, Penn State is 10th (3.58). … Penn State has lost forward Alex Servagno with injury through at least the rest of the regular season.