MADISON, Wis. – The sixth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions close out a mini four-game road swing as they travel to Wisconsin for a pair of Big Ten Conference matchups against the Badgers on Friday and Saturday evening.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Dates: Friday, November 30 | Saturday, December 1
Place: Kohl Center – Madison, Wisconsin
Time: Friday at 8 p.m. (ET) | Saturday at 8 p.m. (ET)
TV: Fox-Sports Wisconsin
Watch: Friday BTN2Go | Saturday BTN2Go
Listen: Friday | Saturday
Live Statistics: Live Stats (Both games)
Game Notes: Penn State
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
- Penn State concludes its two-week road trip as they travel to Wisconsin to battle the Badgers in a pair of Big Ten Conference matchups.
- Wisconsin is Penn State's most common opponent with 25 meetings all-time entering the 2018-19 season with the Nittany Lions holding the 14-9-2 advantage in the series including a 13-3-2 mark since the start of the 2014-15 season. PSU is 6-5-1 all-time at the Kohl Center.
- In nine career games against the Badgers, Nate Sucese leads the team with 13 career points on six goals and seven assists including a hat-trick last season while in one game less classmate Denis Smirnov has collected 11 points on six goals and five assists.
- Junior Liam Folkes also has four career goals against the Badgers as the Nittany Lions are outscoring Wisconsin 37-25 over the past two seasons averaging 4.11 goals per game.
- In nine career games against the Badgers, goaltender Peyton Jones has a 5-2-2 record with a 2.40 goals against average and a .924 save percentage and one career shutout.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
- Wisconsin has started slow in Big Ten play posting just a 1-3-2 record and a 5-7-2 overall record, but the Badgers are coming off a successful road weekend at Yost against Michigan where they earned a pair of ties and took three of six points from the Wolverines.
- Wisconsin lost three of its top six scorers from last season's team including leading scorers Ryan Wagner and Trent Frederic who were the only two Badgers to hit the 30-point mark at 33 and 32, respectively. Frederic led the team with 17 goals and Wagner was second with 15.
- This season Wisconsin defensemen are currently two of the top-four scorers with sophomore Wyatt Kalynuk pacing the team with 11 points and freshman K'Andre Miller adding 10. Wisconsin only has four double-digit scorers so far this season as Seamus Malone and Tarek Baker have added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
- Sophomore Sean Dhooghe is leading the team with seven goals followed by Kalynuk with five. The Badgers have seen 15 players light the lamp, but no other player has more than three goals.
- Jack Berry returns between the pipes, but has split time early with freshman Daniel Lebedeff and the latter has registered the better numbers with a 3-3-1 record to go along with a .922 save percentage and a 2.26 goals against average.
- Berry is currently 2-4-1 with a .891 save percentage and a 3.42 goals against average. Both goalies have started seven games and appeared in eight.
- Wisconsin has a 4-2-0 record at home this season, but is 0-5-0 when trailing after the first period and 0-6-0 when trailing after two periods.
LEADERS OF THE PACK
- Even after being held off the scoresheet for just the second time all season during last Saturday's 5-2 loss at Ohio State, sophomore Evan Barratt maintains his national lead with 21 points on the season while his 10 goals rank tied for second.
- During his program record 11-game point-streak, Barratt set additional program standards with a seven-game goal streak as well as five-straight multi-point efforts and eight overall.
- With 21 points in his first 13 games this season, Barratt is just one point off the pace Denis Smirnov had when he set the Penn State single-season scoring record with 47 points during the 2016-17 season. Through his first 13 games that season, Smirnov registered a 10-game point-streak and seven multi-point efforts. Both players enjoyed a hat-trick during that span as well separated by just one calendar day.
- Classmate Alex Limoges is hot on his line mates heels with 20 points of his own to rank second nationally while his eight goals and 12 assists both rank in the top-10. The last teammates to finish 1-2 in the national scoring race were Michigan's Kyle Connor and J.T. Compher in 2015-16.
- Limoges saw his 10-game point-streak snapped last Friday night, but bounced back with a power-play goal on Saturday as he too has only been kept off the scoresheet twice this season.
- Combined with junior Liam Folkes, the trio has gone 14-straight games with at least one goal and lead the entire NCAA with 57 points this season on 23 goals and 34 assists in 13 games.
WINNER, WINNER CHICKEN DINNER
- Junior Denis Smirnov registered the game-winning goal last Friday on the power-play for Penn State giving him his first GWG of the season and the eighth of his career moving him into a tie with Andrew Sturtz '18 for the Penn State career record for game-winning goals.
- The goal was also his 10th career power-play tally moving him into a tie for fourth all-time with David Goodwin '17. Smirnov has a pair of power-play tallies this season after tying the single-season program standard with six as a sophomore in 2017-18.
WE'VE GOT THE POWER(PLAY)
- Penn State has scored at least one goal on the man-advantage in seven-straight games going 8-for-24 (33.3 percent) over that stretch. The Nittany Lions now lead the Big Ten and rank seventh in the nation at 26.1 percent (12-for-46) on the power-play this season and are5-for-12 (41.7 percent) in Big Ten play.
- This weekend the Nittany Lions will be facing a Wisconsin team who ranks last in the Big Ten and 52nd in the nation on the penalty kill at 75.7 percent (53-for-70). The Badgers' 17 power-play goals allowed are the most in the country while their 70 penalty kill attempts are the most in the Big Ten and tied for fifth most in the nation.
- Wisconsin is averaging 6.2 penalties per game and 5.0 penalty kill attempts per game so far this season.
CAPTURING THE CREASE
- Last weekend against Ohio State, junior goaltender Peyton Jones made a season-high 41 saves on Friday night including 21 in the final period en route to a 4-3 victory. His 21 saves in the final period were a new career-high for most stops in a single frame.
- The following night, Jones passed Matt Skoff '16 setting a new program record for career saves which now stands at 2,122. With 79 games played in his career Jones is also now in sole possession of the record for most games played by a goalie passing Skoff's 77.
POSITIVE IMPACT
- Freshman defenseman Paul DeNaples has transitioned seamlessly to the college game and currently leads the nation with a plus-19 rating during his first 13 collegiate games.
- DeNaples has been on the ice for 25 goals for and only six goals against and is ranked five points higher than his next closest competitor in teammate Nate Sucese who is plus-14.
- With five points this season on five assists, DeNaples has also already surpassed his entire point total from 55 games last season with the Sioux Falls Stampede where he registered two goals and two assists for four points.
- Penn State as a whole is plus-21 to rank second in the nation behind St. Cloud State at plus-22.
BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BEST, SIR
- Whether shooting the puck or passing this season, the Nittany Lions lead the nation in most offensive categories including goals (69), assists (124), points (193), goals per game (5.31) and shots on goal (41.69) as well as leading the nation with 241 blocked shots and 18.54 blocks per game.
DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
- Penn State entered Big Ten play two weeks ago against Michigan outscoring its opponents, 22-6, in the third period, but have been outscored 12-3 over the final twenty minutes the last four games including surrendering a pair of two goal leads against the Wolverines.
- Penn State has entered the final period tied or with the lead in all four B1G games and in all, but two games this entire season with a 9-2-0 record in such games with its only two losses coming in each of the last two weeks.
CLASSMATE CHASE
- With 37 career goals apiece juniors Denis Smirnov and Nate Sucese are tied for sixth on the Penn State all-time list and just one goal shy of Eric Sheid for fifth.
- Smirnov currently sits in fourth on the Penn State all-time scoring list with 82 points while Sucese is three points back and only one point shy of tying Casey Bailey for fifth.
- Sucese is also just outside the top-10 all-time in assists with 42 trailing Taylor Holstrom '15 and Trevor Hamilton '18 who each have 43 to their name and are tied for ninth in program history.
NEXT UP
- Penn State returns home for a pair of Big Ten contests against No. 8 Notre Dame next Friday and Saturday evening with Saturday serving as the annual Teddy Bear Toss game.