UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – No. 10/9 Penn State looks to rebound against No. 14/13 Wisconsin after being swept in Minnesota last week to open the 2020-21 campaign.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Dates: Monday, November 23 | Tuesday, November 24
Place: LaBahn Arena | Madison, Wisconsin
Time: Mon: 6:00 p.m. | Tue: 6:00 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network
Streaming Video: Monday | Tuesday
Listen: Monday | Tuesday
Live Statistics: Live Stats
Game Notes: Penn State
PEGULA ICE ARENA FAN CUTOUTS
- The Penn State Hockey season is going to be like no other. It's not going to be the same without the strength of all our fans cheering from the stands. As we prepare for the 2020 season, Penn State fans still have the opportunity to make their mark in Pegula Ice Arena by purchasing a fan cutout!
- The cutouts are $45 and will be added to Pegula Ice Arena as purchased throughout the season. To make sure yours is in place by our home opener on December 2 you must purchase by Monday, November 23. LINK TO BUY.
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
- This week marks the 37th and 38th meetings in the all-time series. With 36 meetings entering the week, Wisconsin is the team Penn State has played the most in its eight-year Division I history. The Nittany Lions lead the all-time series 20-13-3 but are just 7-7-2 all-time in Madison.
- This week marks the first-time ever the Nittany Lions will play a game at LaBahn Arena and they hope the smaller ice sheet plays to their advantage after having posted just a 1-3-2 record in their last six games at the Kohl Center.
- Penn State won the season series last year with a 3-1-0 record outscoring the Badgers 16-9 over the four-game series. After a long stretch of Penn State dominance from 2014-2018 (Penn State, 13-3-2) the series has evened off over the past two seasons with the Nittany Lions holding the slim 6-4-1 record (includes a three-game playoff series won by Penn State in 2019).
- Senior Alex Limoges enjoys playing the Badgers as he leads all Nittany Lions with 20 points (7G, 13A) in 15 career games against Wisconsin including his red hot performance during a three-game playoff series back in 2019 where he registered five goals and two assists for seven points. Limoges also had a career-best four points with four assists in a game at the Kohl Center back in 2018.
- Senior Sam Sternschein has added five goals and a pair of assists for seven points against the Badgers in 14 games while junior Paul DeNaples also feasts off the Badgers having scored two of his five career goals against Wisconsin while adding five assists for seven points in 11 games.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
- The Badgers are coming off being swept at home by Michigan last Thursday and Friday and are now 2-2-0 on the year, but are tops in the Big Ten with seven points and a 2-2-0-1 record.
- Wisconsin returns six of its top-10 scorers from a season ago including leading scorer and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Cole Caufield. The first-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens led the team with 19 goals and 36 points in 2019-20 and has four points (all assists) through the first four games of 2020-21.
- The Badgers lost three players early to the NHL as defensemen Wyatt Kalynuk and K'Andre Miller along with forward Alex Turcotte each singed their entry-level contracts in the offseason. Forward Sean Dhooghe then transferred to Arizona State.
- Senior Linus Weissbach leads the Badgers on offense so far this season with five points on a pair of goals and three assists.
- Sophomore and 2020 first-round pick Dylan Holloway scored a pair of goals in the Badgers opening weekend sweep of Notre Dame, but has since departed to be a part of Canada's training camp for the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championships and will not return to the Badgers until January.
- Wisconsin opened the season with three completely new goalies on the roster, but seem to have found a solid option in graduate transfer Robbie Beydoun who has started all four games this season for the Badgers posting a 2.22 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
- The Badgers are 4-of-14 on the powerplay so far this season ranking third in the Big Ten at 28.6 percent while their PK is 7-of-10 at 70 percent a mark good for fifth in the conference.
JUST ANOTHER BRICK IN THE WALL
- Sophomore Kevin Wall had just seven points on a pair of goals and five assists in 26 games last season but he has already matched his 2019-20 goal output in the first two games of 2020-21 having scored in each game against Minnesota last week.
- Wall is now riding a career-best three-game point/goal streak dating back to last season.
- All four of Wall's career goals and six of his nine points (4G, 2A) have come against the Gophers in six games while he has only three points in 22 games against teams not named Minnesota.
GOALTENDING TANDEM
- With the graduation of Peyton Jones, Penn State has an opening in net for the first time in four years and both junior Oskar Autio and freshman Liam Souliere started a game last week against Minnesota. Both looked strong making quality saves and shutting down good scoring opportunities.
NEXT UP
- Penn State returns home after a week on the road as they get set to host the sixth-ranked Michigan Wolverines at Pegula Ice Arena on December 2-3.
For more information on the 2020-21 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.