UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The No. 19 Penn State Nittany Lions take a break from Big Ten Conference play this weekend as they welcome Lindenwood to Hockey Valley for a post-Thanksgiving series at Pegula Ice Arena.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Dates: Friday, November 24 | Saturday, November 25
Place: University Park, Pa.
Time: 4 p.m. | 4 p.m.
Tickets: Friday | Saturday
Streaming Video: Friday | Saturday
Listen: Friday | Saturday
Live Statistics: Live Stats
Game Notes: Penn State
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
- This weekend marks the first-ever meeting between Penn State and Lindenwood as the Lions become the 40th different NCAA Division I team the Nittany Lions have faced.
- This marks just the second season in NCAA Division I for Lindenwood after going 7-22-1 in its inaugural season in 2022-23. The Lions do not have a conference affiliation and are currently one of six schools competing as an independent for the 2023-24 season.
- Lindenwood is 0-9-1 all-time against Big Ten opponents being outscored 54-19 in those contests with the lone tie coming earlier this season against Ohio State. Big Ten teams are averaging 5.4 goals per game against the Lions while they have only managed 1.9 per contest.
SCOUTING LINDENWOOD
- The Lions enter the weekend 3-7-2 overall but are winners of two of their last three games against Augustana and LIU after a winless stretch of seven (0-5-2). Lindenwood's other victory came in the second game during opening weekend, a 4-3 decision at Air Force.
- Lindenwood is without the services of three of its top five scorers from a season ago but the Lions do return David Gagnon who paced the team with 30 points on 13 goals and 17 assists last season. Gagnon has had a slow start this season only contributing two goals and two assists in 12 games. Gagnon tied for the team lead last season with 13 goals along with Hunter Johannes who has since transferred to North Dakota.
- Freshman Jake Southgate leads Lindenwood with 10 points on five goals and five assists and is currently riding a career-long four-game point streak. Southgate has scored in two of his last three games and leads the Lions with five goals in 12 games.
- Junior Kyle Jeffers is currently riding a three-game goal scoring streak and is tied with Southgate for the team lead with five goals. He has added four assists for nine points, one behind Southgate for the team lead.
- Between the pipes the Lions return Trent Burnham who started half of Lindenwood's 32 games last season posting a 5-10-1 record with a .901 save percentage and a 4.25 goals-against average. So far this season Burnham has started all 12 games for Lindenwood posting a 3-7-2 record with a .900 save percentage and a 4.18 goals-against average.
- The Lions are scoring just 2.4 goals per game to rank tied for 48th nationally and have the sixth worst powerplay in the nation converting just 3-of-33 chances (9.1 percent) including an 0-for-6 showing last week against LIU. Two of their three powerplay goals game in a 5-3 win against Augustana two weeks ago.
- Lindenwood's PK numbers can be deceiving ranking 40th in the nation at 78.9 percent (45-for-57), however, six of those goals came in one game, a 10-1 loss at Michigan which saw the Wolverines go 6-for-9 in the game.
MILESTONE MOMENTS
- Last Saturday's victory over No. 12 Michigan marked the 200th win in program history and head coach Guy Gadowsky has accounted for all of them along with longtime assistant, now associate head coach, Keith Fisher.
- The win was also the first for Penn State at Yost Ice Arena since December 2019 and just the fourth victory all-time in Ann Arbor.
- Senior goaltender Liam Souliere secured career win No. 32 with the victory moving him into a tie with Matt Skoff '16 for second on the Penn State all-time wins list.
FRESHMEN PHENOMS
- In last weekend's split at No. 12 Michigan the freshmen class really took a giant leap in their development combining for seven of the nine goals the Nittany Lions scored in the two games.
- The "Kid Line" consisting of Aiden Fink, Reese Laubach and Matt DiMarsico finished with a stat line of six goals and eight assists for 14 of Penn State's 25 total points last weekend (56 percent).
- Dane Dowiak also tallied his first career goal last Friday while Reese Laubach added the game-winner on Saturday night.
- While there may only be five members of the freshman class, they have combined for 28 percent of Penn State's total offense and 31 percent of goal scoring through 13 games this season. However, they have really found their stride ever since conference play began as those numbers have increased to 36 percent of total offense and 50 percent of goal scoring as they pace the Nittany Lions with 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in six Big Ten games this season.
B1G STARS, B1G LEADERS
- Freshmen classmates Aiden Fink and Matt DiMarsico were named Big Ten Hockey's Second and Third Star of the Week, respectively, following their output in a weekend split at No. 12 Michigan.
- Fink led all Big Ten players over the weekend with four goals and six points in the split against the Wolverines as he tallied back-to-back multi-point efforts. The rookie potted one goal with one assist on Friday night before netting the 11th hat-trick in Penn State history while adding one assist for a career-best four points in a 5-3 victory on Saturday.
- The hat-trick was the first for a Nittany Lion since Kevin Wall '23 tipped the hat against Niagara on October 22, 2021. It was also just the second away from Hockey Valley in program history joining Liam Folkes '20 who scored three times at Merrimack back on November 29, 2019.
- Fink's hat-trick is also just the fourth for a Nittany Lion against a Big Ten opponent, first-ever on the road, and first since Evan Barratt back on November 17, 2018.
- Fink's 15 points lead the team and are tied for the third-most nationally among freshmen while his seven goals also pace the Nittany Lions and are tied for fourth in the nation among rookies.
- Fink has now scored in four of his last five games including three-straight, a new career-long goal streak, and with points in three-straight games he has tied his career-best point streak. In six Big Ten games this season, the Calgary, Alberta native leads the conference with his six goals while his eight points are tied for second.
- DiMarsico also had back-to-back multi-point efforts against Michigan, the first two of his career, as he matched Fink with six points on the weekend with one goal and five assists. Four of the five assists were primary helpers including on each of Fink's three goals on Saturday night.
- DiMarsico set a new career-high with four points on Saturday while tying the Nittany Lion single-game record for assists with four. DiMarsico is the first player to hit that mark since Connor McMenamin '23 had four assists against Wisconsin on January 22, 2021.
- DiMarsico is tied for fourth on the team with 10 points on three goals and seven assists, however, eight of those points have come in Big Ten play as he is tied with Fink for second in the conference for points while his six assists in league play are tied for the Big Ten best.
ISN'T THAT SPECIAL
- Special teams were a key contributor in Penn State's split last weekend against No. 12 Michigan as the Nittany Lions went 3-for-7 on the man-advantage with at least one powerplay goal in each game.
- Penn State was also 8-for-9 on the penalty kill including a perfect 5-for-5 in Saturday's victory against the top powerplay team in the nation entering the weekend. This also included killing off the entirety of a five-minute major penalty on Friday.
- The Nittany Lions have been assessed two major penalties over the past two weekends, but have not allowed a goal during each of the ensuing opponent powerplays.
NEXT UP
- Penn State remains home and resumes Big Ten play with a series against No. 8 Minnesota next Friday and Saturday evening. Friday's contest will serve as the annual Teddy Bear Toss.
For more information on the 2023-24 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.