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No. 6/6 Men's Hockey Welcomes No. 17/18 Michigan State for Weekend Series


UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 6th-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions continue Big Ten play as the No. 17/18 Michigan State Spartans descend on Hockey Valley for a Friday-Saturday series as the top-two teams in the B1G standings meet for the first time this season.

FOLLOW THE ACTION
Dates: Friday, November 18 | Saturday, November 19
Place: Pegula Ice Arena | University Park, Pa.
Time: FRI: 7:00 p.m. | SAT: 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: Friday | Saturday
Streaming Video: Friday | Saturday
Listen: Friday | Saturday
Live Statistics: Live Stats
Game Notes: Penn State | Michigan State

THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP

  • This weekend marks the 39th and 40th meetings all-time between the two programs with Penn State holding the 20-14-4 advantage including a commanding 11-4-3 mark at Pegula Ice Arena. The Nittany Lions have won seven of the last 12 meetings dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season, however, the teams split the series last year with Penn State winning the first game of each series and Michigan State winning the second.
  • This marks just the second series all-time between the two teams with each program ranked in the top-20 as Penn State enters the weekend No. 6 and Michigan State No. 17. The Spartans are ranked for the first time since late in the 2019-20 season. The last time these teams met as ranked foes, on January 24-25, 2020, the series was split at Munn Ice Arena with the Spartans winning the opening game 4-2 before the Nittany Lions responded with a 2-1 victory in overtime. Connor McMenamin scored the game-winning goal with the Spartans ranked 19th and Penn State ranked ninth.
  • Michigan State enters the weekend with four-straight victories in Big Ten play as the Spartans have leapfrogged the Nittany Lions and into first in the conference standings with 14 points through the first six games of the season. Penn State sits second with 13 points as the two teams picked to finish seventh and sixth, respectively, in the preseason coaches' poll have turned the tides early on in conference action.
  • This weekend's series features the two hottest goaltenders in the Big Ten as playing for his third team, Spartan net-minder Dylan St. Cyr leads the Big Ten and ranks tied for fifth in the nation with a .936 save percentage while Liam Souliere is second in the Big Ten and tied for 10th nationally with a .932 save percentage. Souliere's 1.81 goals-against average paces the Big Ten and is good for 11th in the nation while St. Cyr ranks third in the Big Ten and 18th nationally with a GAA of 2.00. Souliere's eight victories this season are a new career-best and place him tied for the Big Ten lead and second in the nation while St. Cyr's seven victories are tied for second in the Big Ten and fifth nationally.
  • This weekend will also provide a little strength vs. weakness on special teams with Michigan State boasting the second-best penalty kill in the Big Ten at 87.2 percent (39-for-45) to rank eighth in the nation against Penn State's lackluster powerplay which has converted just 11.8 percent (4-for-34) of its chances ranking just slightly above Wisconsin in the cellar of the Big Ten and 50th out of 62 teams nationally. Penn State has scored just one powerplay goal in six conference games this season and are currently on an 0-for-12 stretch over the past two weeks.
  • Senior Connor MacEachern leads all Nittany Lions with seven points on four goals and three assists in 12 career games against the Spartans while classmate Tyler Gratton has added three goals in 10 games against Michigan State and Paul DeNaples has scored two of his eight career goals while adding a trio of assists for five points in 16 games against Sparty.
  • Junior Liam Souliere hasn't had the most success in his career against Michigan State posting a 1-2-0 record with a 3.12 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage in three starts.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE

  • Sparty enters the weekend ranked for the first time in over two years and riding a four-game winning streak and five-game unbeaten streak having secured 14-of-15 B1G points over the last five games. Michigan State is currently one point ahead of Penn State in the Big Ten standings.
  • This weekend marks just the second road series for Michigan State this season and only its fourth and fifth road games. The Spartans are 1-1-1 on the road this season.
  • After losing longtime stalwart, Drew DeRidder, between the pipes to North Dakota and the transfer portal, The Spartans signed Dylan St. Cyr out of the portal to his third team in the past three seasons and he's paced the Green and White to an 8-3-1 start this season. St. Cyr is 7-3-1 with one shutout. The senior has a .936 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against average this season to rank first and third in the Big Ten and tied for sixth and 18th in the nation, respectively. Between stops in South Bend, Hamden, Connecticut and now East Lansing, St. Cyr has compiled a 33-17-4 career record with a 2.06 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage.
  • Offensively, the Spartans are without six of their top-10 scorers from last season, however, they do return each of their top-3 in Jesse Tucker, Jeremy Davidson and Erik Middendorf. Middendorf led the team with 12 goals last season and already has four through 12 games this season while Davidson has yet to find the back of the net in 2022-23 after lighting the lamp 11 times a season ago. Tucker led the Spartans with 22 assists and 24 points last season but has just one goal and two assists for three points so far in 2022-23.
  • Michigan State is paced by freshman Daniel Russell with 15 points on four goals and a team-best 11 assists through 12 games this season while Jagger Joshua leads the team with five goals. Russell's 15 points rank third in the Big Ten while his 11 assists are good for second.
  • Senior Nicolas Müller is the Big Ten First Star of the Week, as announced on Tuesday by the Conference office. Müller was the team's top scorer last weekend, with a pair of goals and two assists for four points. Müller's 3-7-10 scoring line is his best single-season points total in his career. He has played in 110 career games for the Spartans (9-22-31).
  • MSU has a balanced offensive attack with five players having at least 10 points, as does Minnesota. Only Michigan (8) has more.
  • MSU's scoring defense (2.25 goals allowed per game) is second in the Big Ten and 14th nationally. MSU's scoring offense (3.25 goals per game) is fifth.

MOVIN' ON UP

  • From the depths of the unranked to begin the season, Penn State has steadily climbed the polls over the past six weeks coming in at No. 6 this week marking the highest ranking for the Nittany Lions in over two years dating back to January 13, 2020 when Penn State was also No. 6.
  • Penn State is coming off back-to-back weeks in which it knocked off the top-ranked team in the nation marking the first time in the history of college hockey that a team has done so. The two victories against Michigan and Minnesota when each team was ranked No. 1 came just six days apart.
  • The Nittany Lions are 53-83-9 all-time against ranked teams. When they themselves are ranked in the top-20 Penn State is 95-66-13 including a 29-26-6 mark when ranked inside the top-10.

IDENTITY LINE

  • Since the start of Big Ten play the forward line of junior classmates Christian Sarlo, Xander Lamppa and Tyler Paquette has played to the identity of Penn State Hockey being hard on pucks and getting to the dirty areas and the trio has produced 15 points on seven goals and eight assists in the six conference games.
  • Lamppa had a career long four-game point streak and three-game goal streak entering last weekend's series at No. 1 Minnesota and while he was held off the scoresheet in the opening game, Sarlo broke through for a goal in each game marking his first two of the campaign.
  • The goals for Sarlo mark the first time in his career he has scored in back-to-back games, and he is now riding a career-best four game point streak.
  • With Sarlo getting into the goal column last weekend, Penn State has now seen 18 different players register at least one goal and 23 players with at least one point. These marks continue to lead the nation ahead of Michigan who has seen 17 different players light the lamp and 21 registered at least one point.

LEADERS OF THE B1G

  • In six Big Ten contests this season Lamppa and senior Connor McMenamin lead the way for the Nittany Lions with seven points each to pace the Big Ten. McMenamin's six assists also pace the conference while Lamppa's three goals are tied for fifth just one shy of four different players with four each.
  • Junior Liam Souliere paces the Big Ten with a 1.68 goals-against average in conference only games while his .939 save percentage is good for second behind St. Cyr's .948 in six conference games.
  • As a team, the Nittany Lions are allowing just 1.67 goals per game in six Big Ten games this season to pace the league. Souliere also has a pair of shutouts to his credit. Overall, Penn State leads the Big Ten and ranks tied for eighth nationally allowing just 2.08 goals per game.
  • On the offensive side of the ice, Penn State ranks second in the Big Ten and tied for fourth in the nation averaging 4.00 goals per game themselves.

OLD MAN CALDER

  • Graduate transfer Ashton Calder potted his sixth goal of the season last Thursday at Minnesota marking the 50th of his career and tying the team lead. Calder's 50 career goals place him second among active players across the country just two shy of Northeastern's Aidan McDonough. Calder has skated in 152 career games, the fourth most among active players.

PARKING INFORMATION

  • Like last season, parking for Penn State men's ice hockey games at Pegula Ice Arena will be available at the following locations beginning two hours prior to the start of the game: Stadium West, Jordan East and Porter North.
  • There is no charge for those patrons will a valid Penn State parking permit.
  • Prepaid parking is available through the ParkMobile App for $5.50 through midnight the night before the event or for $10 on the day of the event. Season parking packages are also available for $100 through October 6.
  • For Men's Hockey games that overlap with Bryce Jordan Center events, day-of-event payment may be as high as $30 for those without a permit or prepayment. There are also $1 per hour parking options available at the East Deck for most games.
  • ParkMobile prepayment availability ends at 11:59 p.m. the night before each event. Events will not be selectable on the site after that time, and payment must then be made on site upon arrival to event parking staff (cash only).

NEXT UP

  • Penn State remains home with a quick turnaround against the Alaska Nanooks on Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving.
  • This marks the first meetings between the two programs in three years dating back to an October series during the 2019-20 season in which Penn State won the opening night 7-0 before being dropped the following night 4-0. The Nittany Lions are just 1-2-0 all-time in three meetings against Alaska.

For more information on the 2022-23 season presented by the Penn State Bookstore: 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.