EAST LANSING, Mich. – The 17th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions close out the season series with Michigan State as they travel to East Lansing for a pair of 7 p.m. contests against the Spartans on Friday and Saturday evening.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Dates: Friday, February 15 | Saturday, February 16
Place: Munn Ice Arena
Time: Friday at 7 p.m. | Saturday at 7 p.m.
Streaming Video: BTN-Plus
Watch: Friday | Saturday
Listen: Friday | Saturday
Live Statistics: Live Stats (Both Games)
Game Notes: Penn State | Michigan State | Big Ten
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
- Penn State hits the road to conclude the season series against Michigan State in East Lansing with a pair of 7 p.m. games on Friday and Saturday evening. The two teams split their earlier series in Hockey Valley.
- This marks the 25th and 26th meetings all-time with Penn State holding the 12-8-4 advantage including a 10-2-2 record since the start of the 2015-16 campaign. However, the Nittany Lions are 5-6-1 all-time at Munn Ice Arena, but after losing five of their first six games at Munn, Penn State is 4-1-1 since.
- Senior Chase Berger leads all Nittany Lions with seven goals and six assists for 13 points in 14 career games vs. the Spartans while junior Nate Sucese has added five \goals and a pair of assists for seven points in 10 games played.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
- The Spartans enter the weekend having won just once in their last six games after sweeping Minnesota in the middle of January. Michigan State is 10-15-5 overall and 6-10-4-2 in Big Ten play currently sitting in sixth place with 24 points.
- Michigan State is led by its top line of Taro Hirose, Patrick Khodorenko and Mitchell Lewandowski also known as the 'KHL Line' who have combined for 53.5 percent of MSU's goals this season scoring 46-of-86 goals. The KHL Line is also responsible for 48 percent of total offense and has scored nine of the teams last 12 goals over their last five games.
- Hirose leads the entire nation with 47 points while his 32 assists also pace the nation. Khodorenko's 16 goals tie for second in the Big Ten and sixth in the nation. Both Hirose and Khodorenko have already surpassed their career-high for points while Lewandowski is just one point shy of his mark from his freshman season.
- Khodorenko's seven power-play goals are tied for second in the Big Ten and fifth in the nation as Michigan State's power-play ranks third in the Big Ten and 13th in the nation converting at 22.2 percent (24-for-108).
- Freshman Drew DeRidder has started five-straight games between the pipes for the Spartans going 1-2-2 over that span, DeRidder currently leads the team with 16 starts including 13 in Big Ten play posting a 3-7-5 overall record with a .910 save percentage and a 3.12 goals against average. John Lethemon has 14 starts this season with a 7-8-0 record, .896 save percentage and a 3.51 goals against average.
- The Spartans boost a 6-4-2 record at home this season compared to just 4-11-3 away from Munn Ice Arena. Michigan State is 3-1-1 in its last five home games with the one loss coming last Saturday against Michigan.
BIRO, BERGER, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA
- Penn State's line of Chase Berger, Brandon Biro and Alec Marsh has been one of the most consistent lines since being constructed a few months ago and their chemistry shined last weekend against Minnesota.
- The BBM line combined for 14 points on four goals and 10 assists while collectively finishing the weekend with a plus-10 rating. In 11 games together this season the trio has combined for 16 goals and 23 assists for 39 points and a plus-22 rating.
- This season when paired with Berger, Marsh alone has five goals and five assists for ten points in 13 games while he has just two points in 10 games without Berger by his side.
- In the last three seasons, Marsh has skated in 84 games registering 14 goals and 17 assists for 31 points. Marsh has been paired on the same line with Berger in 44 of those games scoring 11 goals while adding 11 assists for 22 points. So, in 40 games without Berger by his side Marsh has registered just three goals and six assists for nine points.
- Marsh played in 37 games as a freshman registering career-highs with seven goals and 14 assists for 21 points, but didn't play a single game with Berger. The senior's 121 career games played rank tied for eighth all-time.
EVERYDAY A STAR IS BORN
- Penn State had not one, but two First Stars of the Week following its weekend sweep against Minnesota as both Biro and Berger earned weekly awards. Berger was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week receiving just his third career weekly honor and his first in over two years while Biro earned NCAA First Star accolades becoming just the second Nittany Lion in program history to receive weekly recognition from the NCAA.
- The duo tied each other for the national lead with five points over the weekend as both scored a pair of goals while adding three assists. Berger had the primary assist on both of Biro's goals as did Biro on Berger's two scores. Biro's goal Saturday night proved to be the eventual game-winner, his third of the season to tie Alex Limoges for the team lead in that category.
- At the conclusion of the weekend, Biro saw himself pass Casey Bailey for sixth all-time on the Penn State scoring list with 82 career points while his 58 career assists are good for third all-time. In just 26 games this season Biro has already tied each of his career-highs of nine goals and 22 assists for 31 points set last season in 37 games played.
- Following his five point weekend, Berger now ranks second in Penn State history in all offensive categories with 49 goals and 63 assists for 112 points. The senior is now spitting distance of Andrew Sturtz's '18 career goals record of 54 as well as David Goodwin's '17 record for points at 128.
- Berger has surpassed the 20-point mark in a season for the fourth-straight year while his 12 goals stand just one shy of his career-high of 13 registered during both his freshman and sophomore campaigns. His 143 games played are just four shy of Goodwin's program record and are tied for the tenth most in the nation and rank atop everyone in the Big Ten.
- Berger also dominated the draw over the weekend winning 23-of-33 face-offs and currently ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 25th in the nation with a .583 winning percentage on the year.
NATE THE GREAT
- If it wasn't for Denis Smirnov's incredible 47-point freshman campaign, junior Nate Sucese would hold most of Penn State's rookie records himself after a 17-19-36 stat line during his first season in Hockey Valley and he hasn't cooled off since.
- Sucese lit the lamp three more times last weekend during a sweep over Minnesota and has now moved into fourth on the Penn State all-time points list with 92 as well as tying David Goodwin '17 for fourth on the all-time goals list with 44. Sucese has scored 13 or more goals now in each of his first three season while registering at least 25 points. The junior also has a career plus-35 rating, which at the moment ranks third all-time at Penn State.
WINCHESTER'S FINEST
- Winchester, Virginia native Alex Limoges has been on fire as of late scoring five goals during Penn State's mini three-game winning streak. The sophomore now has 16 goals this season good for second in the Big Ten and tied for sixth in the nation while his 36 points also rank sixth in the nation and are good for third in the Big Ten.
- The sophomore's four multi-goal games this season rank second in the nation behind ASU's Johnny Walker and Lake Superior State's Diego Cuglietta who each have six to their credit.
- So far this season, Penn State has an 11-1-0 record in games where Limoges scores a goal.
D-MAN MOVES
- Senior Kevin Kerr registered a pair of assists last Friday moving him past Vince Pedrie for fourth all-time in program history for points by a defenseman with 53 now to his credit while his 45 assists tie him with Luke Juha '16 for second on the all-time assist list for defensemen and ninth on the overall list.
THREE AND BELOW
- During this brief three-game winning streak the Nittany Lions are outscoring opponents 18-6 allowing just two goals in each contest after struggling most of the year on defense.
- Penn State ranks just 54th in the nation allowing 3.64 goals per game, but is 13-0-1 this season when holding its opponents to three goals or less. However, Penn State is just 3-10-1 on the year when allowing four or more goals.
MR. JONES
- During his current three-game winning streak junior goaltender Peyton Jones has shined with a 2.00 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.
- Jones' 12 wins this season tie Notre Dame's Cale Morris for the most in the Big Ten and rank tied for 17th nationally. Jones already holds the Penn State career record with 52 victories.
WE'VE GOT THE POWER
- Penn State scored on 50 percent of its power-play chances last weekend against Minnesota and currently ranks second in the Big Ten behind the Gophers and sixth in the nation at 25.8 percent (24-for-93).
NEXT UP
- The Nittany Lions return home for their last regular season series at Pegula Ice Arena as they welcome the Wisconsin Badgers to town next weekend.