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Jan. 16, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's hockey team (4-12-1, 0-4-0-0 Big Ten) will search for its first Big Ten victory when it travels to East Lansing, Mich., for a two-game series against Michigan State (6-10-3, 0-2-2-2 Big Ten) Jan. 17-18.
Both games of the weekend series will air on national television with a 6:30 p.m. faceoff each night. Friday evening's matchup will broadcast on BTN, while Saturday's series finale will air on NBC Sports Network. On the radio, fans can listen to Penn State Hockey on the Penn State Sports Network (Friday) and WRSC 103.1 FM (Saturday).
LAST YEAR IN EAST LANSING
During its inaugural NCAA Division I season, Penn State traveled to Michigan State Jan. 25-26, 2013 for its first road series against a future Big Ten team. The Lions dropped the first game, 5-3, before defeating the Spartans by a 3-2 margin on BTN in the finale.
Forwards Casey Bailey (1g, 3a) and Max Gardiner (4a) paced the team with four points each during the series. Then-freshman netminder Matthew Skoff played both games for the Nittany Lions and corralled 31 shots in the Penn State victory.
WELL-KNOWN NETMINDERS
Penn State goaltender Matthew Skoff and Michigan State netminders Jake Hildebrand and Will Yanakeff all played for the USHL's Sioux City Musketeers during parts of the 2009-10 season. Skoff and Hildebrand, both Pittsburgh-area natives, also played for Sioux City during the 2010-11 season and competed for the Pittsburgh Hornets youth hockey organization.
MICHIGAN NATIVES
Junior forward Jacob Friedman (West Bloomfield), sophomore defenseman Mark Yanis (Grosse Pointe Woods) and freshman forward Zach Saar (Richland) all hail from Michigan.
LOIK SETS PERSONAL FIRST
With a goal and an assist against Minnesota Monday, Jan. 13, sophomore forward Curtis Loik notched his first career multi-point game. The North Vancouver, B.C., native's goal was his first since Oct. 25.
GLEN FINDING GROOVE
Sophomore forward David Glen, who ranked second on the team with 25 points in 2012-13, has recorded points in back-to-back games for the first time this season. The Fort Saskatchewan, Alta., native, who produced a two-point weekend (1g, 1a) against Minnesota, has collected three points (1g, 2a) in the last four games.
IN THE CIRCLE
Redshirt junior Taylor Holstrom ranks sixth in the conference in faceoff winning percentage (.576). Sophomore David Glen (.560) and freshman David Goodwin (.556) rank ninth and 10th, respectively.
McADAM SHINES VS. GOPHERS
Freshman Eamon McAdam collected a combined 62 saves, including a career-high 42 stops Sunday, Jan. 12, in the Nittany Lions' weekend series against No. 1 Minnesota.
SCHEID SURGING
Redshirt sophomore forward Eric Scheid has recorded nine points (5g, 4a) in the past nine games. In 2013-14, the Blaine, Minn., native is tied for sixth in the Big Ten with eight goals and is tied for fifth in power-play markers (3).
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Penn State underclassmen have accounted for nearly 75 percent of the team's offense. The Nittany Lions' top four scorers are either freshmen or sophomores, with redshirt sophomore Eric Scheid leading the way with 13 points (8g, 5a).
SHORTHANDED LEADERS
Penn State and Wisconsin are tied for the conference lead with three shorthanded goals.
SACRIFICING THE BODY
Junior defenseman Patrick Koudys leads the Big Ten with 38 blocked shots. The Smithville, Ont., native averages 2.24 blocks per game.
JUHA AMONG NATION'S BEST
Sophomore Luke Juha is tied for fifth among NCAA blueliners with four power-play goals. In the Big Ten, Juha is tied for second among defensemen in power-play points (7) and is tied for third among all skaters in PPGs (4). The Nittany Lions are 2-2-0 when he scores a goal.
LOOKING AHEAD
Following their weekend series with the Spartans, the Nittany Lions will play their final non-conference game of the season when they welcome No. 4/3 Boston College to Pegula Ice Arena Saturday, Jan. 25.