Feb. 11, 2015
| PENN STATE at MSU | |
| 15-7-4 (7-2-1-0 B1G) | 10-12-2 (4-4-2-2 B1G) |
| Friday, Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 13 at 6 p.m. | |
| MUNN ICE ARENA | EAST LANSING | |
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| SATURDAY TV Big Ten Network |
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| TEAM STATISTICS Penn State | Michigan State |
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| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | MSU | |
| 15-7-4 | Overall Record | 10-12-2 |
| 7-2-1-0 | Conference Record | 4-4-2-2 |
| 93 | Goals Scored | 54 |
| 71 | Goals Allowed | 59 |
| 3.6 | Goals Scored/gm. | 2.2 |
| 2.7 | Goals Allowed/gm. | 2.5 |
| 1082 | Shots | 739 |
| 41.6 | Shots/gm. | 30.8 |
| 150 | Assists | 86 |
| 22-100 | Power Plays | 13-89 |
| .220 | Power-Play Pct. | .146 |
| 71-88 | Penalty Kills | 72-83 |
| .830 | Penalty-Kill Pct. | .867 |
| 739 | Saves | 652 |
| 0 | Shutouts | 2 |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The Nittany Lions venture outside the Keystone State for the first time in two months when it faces Michigan State for a two-game series Friday & Saturday at Munn Ice Arena.
Friday's contest is slated for a 7:05 p.m. puck drop on Fox Sports Detroit/BTN2Go, while Saturday's game will air on Big Ten Network/BTN2Go.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
Michigan State (10-12-2, 4-4-2-2 Big Ten) enters the weekend after a pair of neutral site conference games vs. Michigan (2-1 win at Joe Louis Arena on Jan. 31; 4-1 loss at Soldier Field on Feb. 7). The Spartans haven't dropped a home game since Feb. 5, going 3-0-1 in the past four college games with an exhibition win thrown in there.
Led by the conference's top goaltender Jake Hildebrand, the Spartans have been a tough team to score on this season. Hildebrand has a .920 save percentage and a 2.38 GAA with two shutouts. Additionally, the MSU defense blocks nearly 16 shots per game, keeping shots on goal to less than 30.
Offensively, the Spartans are guided by Matt Berry, who has played in the four games since the last time Penn State and Michigan State met, leading the team with four points. Overall, Berry has 17 points on eight goals and nine assists, while Michael Ferrantino leads the squad in goals with nine. Travis Walsh has a team-best 10 assists.
EARLIER THIS YEAR
Penn State used a pair of comebacks to earn four of six points against the Spartans at Pegula Ice Arena (Jan. 16-17). In the opener, the two teams skated to a 2-2 tie as David Goodwin's late third-period goal forced overtime where the Spartans took the shootout point. Eric Scheid scored to even the score for a brief moment in the first period.
Saturday's contest saw Penn State's top line break out for four goals and four assists in a 5-2 victory. PSU scored the final four goals led by Casey Bailey's two tallies to offset Villiam Haag's second goal of the weekend and a Ferrantino tally late in the first. Nate Jensen, Goodwin and Taylor Holstrom combined to cap Penn State's scoring.
SERIES HISTORY WITH MICHIGAN STATE
All-Time Series: Michigan State 4-2-2
PSU at home: 1-1-2
PSU at MSU: 1-3-0
PSU on Neutral Ice: 0-0-0
PSU Streak: 1 win, 2 unbeaten
First Meeting: 1/25/13, MSU 5-3
Last Meeting: 2/15/14, MSU 2-1
Last PSU Win: 1/17/15, 5-2
Last MSU Win: 2/15/14, 2-1
Last Tie: 1/16/15, 2-2 (MSU-SO)
Largest PSU Win: 5-2, 1/17/15
Largest MSU Win: 3-0, 1/17/14
LIONS COMPLETE SEASON SWEEP OF BADGERS
Penn State checked off two more items off its first-time list as it swept Wisconsin (5-2 and 4-1) for its first Big Ten home sweep and first Big Ten season sweep of an opponent.
No strangers to a deficit, the Nittany Lions overcame Wisconsin, 5-2, Friday night at Pegula Ice Arena in front of 6,033 fans. Casey Bailey had a game-high three points including an absolute blast in the third period to pace the Penn State offense.
Sparked by Bailey's offense and the expert play by defensemen Connor Varley and Nate Jensen, Penn State was able to down the Big Ten's last place team, Wisconsin.
The Nittany Lions scored four unanswered goals for a second straight game, overcoming a 2-1 first-period deficit as the team's three leading scorers--Bailey, Eric Scheid and David Goodwin--mounted a comeback and finished off the Badgers.
Tommy Olczyk put PSU ahead early in the first period with his sixth of the year, while Taylor Holstrom added an empty netter.
In net, PJ Musico saved 35 shots for his second straight win in as many starts, stopping 17 Badger efforts in the third period alone.
On Saturday, Penn State would play in a game where it never trailed for just the second time in the 2015 calendar. Musico saved 27 shots and four different Nittany Lions scored to win, 4-1.
Luke Juha and Dylan Richard made it a 2-0 game in the second period before Adam Rockwood's 4-on-4 goal cut the lead in half, 2-1, midway through the second.
The Badgers seemed to tie it with 12:11 remaining in the third as Aidan Cavallini tipped in a goal. Following a lengthy review, the goal was ruled off due to a high stick. What went to happen 88 seconds later would all but seal the game for Penn State.
James Robinson scored his third career goal, all of which have come vs. Wisconsin, to make the score 3-1 with 10:43 remaining. Erik Autio put the cherry on top with his first career goal of the season on the power play in the final minutes.
MUSICO GARNERS BIG TEN ATTENTION
Senior goaltender PJ Musico became the eight different Nittany Lion to win a Big Ten weekly award when he was named the Third Star of the Week on Tuesday (Feb. 10).
The conference tabbed Musico's performances that helped Penn State (15-7-4, 7-2-1-0 Big Ten) sweep Wisconsin. Musico registered a .954 save percentage over the course of the two games, topping all other Big Ten netminders who played two games.
Musico's rise to being the current Penn State starter has been rather innocuous after starting the season as the third-string goalie. Musico's first appearance of the season came Dec. 30 against Western Michigan in a reserve role.
MUSICO TO MY EARS
Entering the season, PJ Musico was Penn State's third goaltender and didn't see action through the first 16 games of the year. Since then, Musico has played in seven of the last 10 games, initially in a reserve role earning more playing time on each occasion, before garnering his first start vs. No. 14 Vermont.
Against the Catamounts, Musico made 33 saves to earn his second win of the year, improving to 2-1-1. His 33 saves were the most since making 46 at Wisconsin on Feb. 24, 2014. The start was his first since March 7, 2014, also against Wisconsin.
Last weekend's performance moved Musico to 4-1-1 with a .938 save percentage and a 1.92 goals-against average in 281 minutes of play.
BACK IN THE USCHO RANKINGS
Penn State, which is riding an eight-game unbeaten streak, was voted 19th by USCHO.com on Monday afternoon (Feb. 9). Penn State last was ranked Dec. 15-Jan. 4 at No. 20.
The Nittany Lions are just two points behind first-place Michigan in the Big Ten standings. Penn State is tied for the nation's longest active unbeaten streak with Robert Morris, who checks in at No. 18. Michigan is No. 12 according to the USCHO voters.
The No. 19 ranking is the highest in Penn State's short varsity history. The Nittany Lions have yet to be ranked in the USA Today/USA Hockey rankings, which rank the 15 best teams in the country.
In the PairWise, which attempts to mimic the ranking procedure the NCAA Selection Committee uses for the NCAA Tournament, the Nittany Lions are tied for 20th. Sixteen teams comprise the NCAA Tournament with six automatic bids and 10 at-large bids.
DEFENSIVE CORPS STEPPING UP OFFENSIVELY
Over the past seven games, Penn State has received a crucial scoring and assist bump from an unfamiliar place: the defense.
The Nittany Lion defense has contributed four goals and 16 assists for 20 points, which may not seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but that's 43.5 percent of the entire defense's point output for the year.
For Penn State, the production has been widespread with every defenseman that's skated in more than one game tallying at least two points.
CARDIAC CATS STRIKE AGAIN
In 2015, the Nittany Lions have made it a habit of going down early and finding a way back to even the score or win.
In all but two of the nine games during 2015, Penn State has trailed and in five of those eight games, PSU fell behind by multiple goals. Nevertheless, Penn State came back to tie or go ahead in each instance. The record in those games is 3-1-2.
This season as a whole, Penn State has come back to even the score or go ahead from multiple-goal deficits on five occasions, going 3-1-1.
In all, Penn State has come back to tie or go ahead 12 times this season, going 8-2-3.
RIGHT WHERE WE WANT `EM
The Nittany Lions have excelled in goals while trailing or tied in the New Year. Penn State leads the nation in this category over that time frame with 28 goals (3.11 per game), 50 assists (5.56 per game) and 78 points (8.67 per game). PSU has scored 38 total goals in that span, which means 73.7 percent of the team's goals have come while tied or behind.
While tied or trailing since Jan. 9, Penn State leads in the county in even-strength goals (21) and goals that carry two assists (23).
THIRD PERIOD SCORING LEADERS
Since Penn State's first game of the new year on Jan. 9, the Nittany Lions lead the country in third-period goals with 20, an average of 2.22 per game.
Leading the Penn State third-period charge is Casey Bailey with five goals, while line mate David Goodwin has three tallies in that span.
OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION FUELING LIONS
Penn State is currently riding a program-best eight-game unbeaten stretch having scored a bevy of goals in the past nine games. The Nittany Lions have tallied 38 goals (4.22 per game), scoring at least four goals in all but one game in that stretch. The 4.22 goals per game rank third nationally since Jan. 9 behind only Michigan (5.57) and BU (4.33)
Penn State scored five goals or more in three straight games for the first time in program history against Michigan State and Northern Michigan.
JUNIORS PROVIDING THE SCORING
Penn State's juniors have been the most productive scoring class this year with 45 goals and 58 assists for 103 points. The three other classes combined have totaled 48 goals and 92 assists for 140 points.
BALANCED NITTANY LION SCORING
Penn State has 93 goals through 24 games, an average of 3.58 goals as opposed to last year's 2.22 average (80 goals in 36 games).
Eight Nittany Lions have tallied 10 or more points so far this season: Casey Bailey (33), Taylor Holstrom (27), David Goodwin (24), Eric Scheid (22), Scott Conway (19), Dylan Richard (17), Curtis Loik (16) and Luke Juha (13). Last season 12 Lions garnered at least 10 points or more in 36 contests.
Moreover, 19 different Nittany Lions have registered a goal this season with a total of 22 Lions recording a point. In 2013-14 alone, 16 Lions scored goals with 21 total earning points.
SECOND LINE SCORING RE-EMERGES
Penn State's second line of Eric Scheid, Dylan Richard and Scott Conway provided the scoring punch it was missing from its top line against Northern Michigan and has continued through to last weekend vs. Wisconsin.
The trio has now appeared in nine games this season (7-0-2), tallying 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points and a plus-10 rating. The scoring marks and plus-minus rating rank each second on the team.
SCHEID'S CONTRIBUTIONS CONTINUE
Forward Eric Scheid missed six games and returned to the ice in impressive fashion, tallying four multi-point games and a pair of two-goal performances to pace the Penn State offense since Jan. 9.
Scheid has tallied a point in eight of nine games since his return and is currently on his second five-game point streak of the season.
Scheid is second on the team with 13 goals. The Nittany Lions went 2-4-0 in during his absence, which puts PSU at 13-3-4 when Scheid is in the lineup.
FIRE AWAY!
Penn State likes to shoot the puck. A lot. The Nittany Lions lead NCAA Division I men's hockey with 41.62 shots per game, nearly six more shots per game than second best Boston University (35.77).
The Nittany Lions have fired 50 or more shots on six occasions this season, going 4-0-2. Moreover, PSU has attempted 40 or more shots 14 times, going 9-3-2 in those games.
The Nittany Lions have out-shot their opponents in 22 of 26 games this year. Thanks to two shots in the final seconds, Ohio State became the second team to out-shoot the Nittany Lions when PSU won, 4-1. Michigan out-shot PSU in both games this season. Wisconsin tied the shot total at 37 in Friday's game. PSU is 12-6-4 when out-shooting its opposition.
Against Northern Michigan, Penn State shot the puck 117 times with 53 on Friday vs. NMU and 64 on Saturday in an overtime tie.
Contributing to the staggering shot totals is Casey Bailey who leads the nation in shots on goal (157), averaging a nation-high six shots a game. Bailey has three games of 10 shots or more this season.
Penn State ranks second nationally in shots on goal margin per game (+10.46), while Michigan State ranks 30th of 59 teams at +1.17.
Michigan State ranks 24th nationally in shots per game with 30.79, while ranking 30th nationally in shots allowed per game (29.62). PSU is tied-for-38th in that category (31.15).
In games where PSU fails to shoot at least 30 times Penn State is 1-0-1 with a tie vs. Alaska Anchorage and a win at Michigan.
TOP LINE REMAINS PRODUCTIVE, INTACT
Penn State has used 36 different offensive line combinations through 26 games, but one thing has remained constant: David Goodwin-Taylor Holstrom-Casey Bailey will play and score.
The three have combined for 35 goals, 43 assists and a plus-37 rating. Currently, the line is 13-5-4 this season.
The threesome have been together in 22 of 26 contests (only times not together were Oct. 17 at Alaska, Dec. 5-6 at Wisconsin and Dec. 30 vs. Western Michigan), accounting for 78 of Penn State's 243 points (32.1 percent).
Only the Richard-Conway-Scheid line (34 points) has more than nine points this season.
BAILEY FOUR OFF SCORING LEAD
Behind a Big Ten-leading 19 goals, junior forward Casey Bailey has regained his scoring form from 2012-13 that saw him tally 14 goals during his freshman campaign. Last season, Bailey tallied nine goals in 32 games.
Entering this week, Bailey is behind only Union's Daniel Ciampini (23 goals), RIT's Matt Garbowsky (21) and Minnesota State's Bryce Gervais (20) while tied with AIC's Austin Orszulak.
Bailey ranks fourth nationally in goals per game (0.73) and tied-for-11th nationally in points per game (1.27)
Bailey is first on the team with 10 multi-point games this season and has 18 in his Penn State career. He has tallied a point in 19 of 26 games this year.
ROLLING WITH HOLSTROM
Penn State's most productive passer has been Taylor Holstrom with six goals and 21 assists for 27 points.
His 21 assists are the most in a Penn State uniform in a single season. Holstrom is three dishes away from matching his freshman performance in 2010-11 at Mercyhurst.
Currently, Holstrom is sixth in the nation with 0.91 assists per game.
BAILEY, HOLSTROM UP FOR HOBEY BAKER
The forward tandem of Casey Bailey and Taylor Holstrom were nominated for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award, as announced Wednesday, Jan. 7. Fan voting, which accounts for one percent of all voting, continues through March 8 before the 10 finalists are named.
Bailey leads the Big Ten in goals (19), while Holstrom is three assists off the Big Ten lead with 21.
IMPROVING IN BIG TEN PLAY
The Nittany Lions started 0-9-0-0 in Big Ten play last season, but finished the year going 3-7-1-0 down the stretch before going 1-1 in the Big Ten Tournament.
A sweep of Wisconsin put PSU at 7-2-1-0 this season. The Nittany Lions have gone 11-10-2-0 vs. Big Ten competition since Feb. 8, 2014. Penn State has already surpassed its Big Ten win total from last season.
Penn State sits in second place in the Big Ten with 22 points behind Michigan (24). The Nittany Lions are one of only two Big Ten teams to defeat the Wolverines this season, winning at Yost Ice Arena on Nov. 21.
AVOIDING THE PENALTY BOX
Penn State has been penalized fewer times in 2014-15, averaging 4.1 penalties per game and 9.7 minutes per game, resulting in 88 power play chances for its opponents (3.39 per game). The 88 penalty kill attempts are tied for the ninth fewest in the country.
Last year, The Nittany Lions were committing 5.3 penalties for 12.3 minutes per game and teams were capitalizing on 18.9 percent of the resulting power plays (4.42 chances per game). This year's penalty kill is allowing goals 17.0 percent of the time. The result has been only 15 power-play goals against, the second fewest in the Big Ten and tied for the 13th fewest in the country.
POWER PLAY WOES CORRECTED?
The Nittany Lions were one of the top power play units in the nation, ranking as high as fifth in mid-December, however PSU had been struggling on the man-advantage of late.
During a six-game home stand (Jan. 9-24) Penn State staggered to a 3-for-31 stretch on the power play, slipping to 14th nationally in power play percentage (20.9).
Following a 2-for-12 weekend vs. NMU, which snapped a 1-for-19 skid, the Nittany Lions pegged Vermont's second-ranked penalty kill for a key goal in three opportunities.
This past weekend, Penn State went 2-for-6 against Wisconsin. PSU rose to ninth in the country with a 22.0 percent conversion rate. Wisconsin has the 13th-rated penalty kill at 86.7 percent.
BLOCKING SUCCESS
Penn State's defense has allowed an average of 31.2 shots per game to reach net this year, but that number would be higher if not for the blocking ability of PSU's defensive corps, which has stopped 337 from reaching frame (12.96 per game).
Senior captain Patrick Koudys (43), junior Luke Juha (37) and sophomore David Thompson (33) lead the team in the category.
PACKING THE PEG
Penn State has played to a sellout crowd in 29-of-32 home games, including 13 of 14 this season. More than 6,000 fans have filed into the arena on 18 occasions with a season-high 6,203 see Penn State beat Northern Michigan, 5-4, on Friday, Jan. 23. That crowd was the fourth-best at PIA.
Currently, Penn State ranks seventh in average attendance (6,014) and leads the nation in building capacity percentage (104.0 percent). Only Quinnipiac (102.0) can boast a capacity percentage over 100.
Last season, 108,193 total fans packed Pegula Ice Arena during the facility's inaugural campaign, filling the 5,782-seat arena with an average of 6,011 fans per game.
NEXT TIME OUT
Penn State returns home for a crucial home series when it faces Minnesota for the first time this season. The Nittany Lions and Gophers drop the puck at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Feb. 20 for a Big Ten Network telecast before Saturday's 5 p.m. ET game on ESPNU.