EAST LANSING, Mich. – The ninth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions look to rebound after a tough weekend as they travel to No. 19 Michigan State for a pair of Big Ten Conference games this weekend.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Dates: Friday, January 24 | Saturday, January 25
Place: Munn Ice Arena
Time: Friday at 7 p.m. | Saturday at 6 p.m.
Streaming Video: Friday | Saturday
Listen: Friday | Saturday
Live Statistics: Live Stats (Both Games)
Game Notes: Penn State | Michigan State
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
- This weekend marks the 29th and 30th meetings all-time between the two schools with Penn State holding the 14-10-4 advantage after the two teams split the earlier series in Hockey Valley back in November. The teams have split each of the last four series after Penn State had been on a six-game unbeaten streak against the Spartans and had won eight of 10. MSU leads the all-time series at Munn Ice Arena by the slim 7-6-1 margin.
- Senior Nate Sucese leads all active Nittany Lions with 12 points in 14 career games against the Spartans scoring six goals while adding six assists. Junior Sam Sternschein has also had success against the Green and White with four goals and three assists for seven points in just nine games. Senior Nikita Pavlychev has also added four goals and three assists in 12 games against Sparty.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
- The Spartans are tied with Penn State for second in the Big Ten with 25 points just a single point behind Ohio State in first and enter the weekend having split their last two B1G series against Minnesota and Wisconsin to begin the new year winning each Friday contest, but dropping the series finale.
- MSU is led by senior goaltender John Lethemon who is currently pacing the conference with his .943 save percentage while his 1.87 goals against average is just .01 behind OSU's Tommy Nappier for the top spot in the Big Ten. Nationally, Lethemon ranks second and eighth, respectively, in save percentage and goals against average.
- Offensively, Michigan State is led by senior Patrick Khodorenko with 25 points on 11 goals and 14 assists as his goal and point totals each rank tied for third in the Big Ten. Junior Mitchell Lewandowski's 17 points are tied for 11th in the conference as he has scored seven goals while adding 10 assists.
- MSU's defense ranks third in the Big Ten and 16th nationally allowing just 2.29 goals per game as Lethemon and a strong PK have been main factors. The Spartan PK ranks third in the conference and 22nd in the nation killing off 83.2 percent (79-for-95) of opponent power-play chances.
- The Spartans lead the Big Ten in faceoff percentage winning 54.3 percent of draws, a mark good for fifth nationally as junior Tommy Apap leads the way at 58.3 percent good for second in the conference and 22nd nationally.
B1G TIMERS
- Penn State boasts five of the top-10 scorers in the conference with senior Nate Sucese and junior Evan Barratt leading the way with 28 points while Limoges (23), Hults (20) and Biro (18) rank fifth, eighth and ninth, respectively, in the Big Ten.
- Junior Sam Sternschein's team-leading 11 goals are tied for second in the conference with MSU's Patrick Khodorenko and just two shy of Wisconsin's Cole Caufield for the Big Ten lead. Barratt, Folkes and Sucese are tied for sixth in the Big Ten with nine goals each.
- In conference only games, Barratt leads the conference with 16 points in 14 games on seven goals and nine assists while Limoges is tied for second with 14 points on six goals and eight assists. Sucese is tied for fourth with 13 points on six goals and seven assists while Cole Hults leads all players with 11 assists in 14 conference games. Sternschein's eight goals in Big Ten play are also tied for the conference lead.
POWERFUL PK
- Penn State has been excellent this season on the penalty kill as the Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten and rank 11th in the nation killing off 86.5 percent (77-for-89) of opponent power-plays.
- Over the last seven games, Penn State is 25-for-26 on the PK and had a streak of 18-straight snapped last Friday as Michigan converted a 5-on-3 opportunity. However, the Nittany Lions responded and successfully killed of a five-minute major a few minutes later and went a perfect 5-for-5 on Saturday to begin a new streak.
TURN UP THE AUTIO
- During the first period last Saturday, sophomore Oskar Autio set a new Penn State record for consecutive scoreless minutes, a streak that lasted 167:09 passing Matt Skoff's mark of 151:13 that stood nearly seven years.
- Autio earned a tie in the game, the first of his career, moving his record to 2-1-1 this season in four starts. Autio has compiled a 1.87 goals against average and a .930 save percentage in five total appearances this season.
KAPTAIN KRIS
- Senior alternate captain Kris Myllari picked up a pair of assists last Saturday against Michigan moving him into a tie with Luke Juha '16 for second all-time for points by a defenseman with 60 for his career. Myllari's 19 career goals are the most all-time by a Nittany Lion blue-liner.
- Myllari also leads the team with 52 blocked shots this season ranking third in the Big Ten and tied for fourth nationally averaging 2.17 per game.
STRONG ON THE DRAW
- Sophomore Aarne Talvitie leads the Big Ten and ranks 19th nationally on face-offs this season winning 58.9 percent (142-for-241) of his draws.
- Freshman Connor MacEachern is the only other Nittany Lion in the top-50 nationally at 56.9 percent (156-for-274) placing him fourth in the Big Ten.
- The Nittany Lions rank fourth in the Big Ten winning 51.6 percent of draws this season a mark good for 20th nationally.
HOCKEY VALLEY FIVE-0
- Saturday night's tie against Michigan marked the first time this season Penn State hasn't finished off a game when leading after two periods. It also marks the first non-win for the Nittany Lions in a game they have scored at least four goals in this season moving to 12-0-1 in such games.
- The key number for Penn State is five as the Nittany Lions are a perfect 10-0-0 this season when scoring five or more goals and are an eye-popping 76-1-2 all-time when reaching five goals.
- Penn State leads the Big Ten and is currently ranked tied for fourth in the nation averaging 3.83 goals per game.
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS
- Following a post-game stat correction to the game's first goal against Robert Morris two weeks ago, senior Nate Sucese collected a trio of assists moving him past David Goodwin '17 and into the top spot on the Penn State all-time points list with 129 for his career. The senior also set the Penn State all-time goals record earlier this season and his 71 career assists are tied for the second most in program history.
- Sucese added a goal last weekend against Michigan giving him 130 points for his career, the second most among active players in the Big Ten only behind Ohio State's Tanner Laczynski with 134 and the third nationally while his 59 career goals lead the Big Ten and rank second nationally.
GETTING CROWDED
- Not only is Sucese at the top of the record books, but six of the top-10 scorers in program history are all current members of the roster. Led by Sucese with 130 points, Smirnov (113), Biro (109), Folkes (95), Limoges (94) and Barratt (89) rank fourth, fifth, seventh, eighth and ninth, respectively.
- Smirnov (49), Folkes (46), Biro (38) and Limoges (38) also join Sucese in the top-10 on the all-time goals list.
NEXT UP
- The Nittany Lions return home to battle Notre Dame next Friday and Saturday evening with the series finale serving as the Hockey Valley White Rush where fans are encouraged to wear white while the team will don Penn State football inspired White Rush uniforms.
For more information on the 2019-20 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: the Official Bookstore of Penn State Athletics, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.