Men's Hockey Welcomes No. 1 Michigan State for B1G Series in Hockey ValleyMen's Hockey Welcomes No. 1 Michigan State for B1G Series in Hockey Valley

Steven Walter

Men's Hockey Welcomes No. 1 Michigan State for B1G Series in Hockey Valley

Penn State looks to sustain momentum with the start of a six-game homestand as the No. 1 Michigan State Spartans come to Hockey Valley for a Big Ten Conference series on Friday and Saturday evening.

Opens in a new window Tickets Opens in a new window Watch Friday | B1G+ Opens in a new window Watch Saturday | B1G+ Opens in a new window Listen Opens in a new window Live Stats Opens in a new window Penn State Notes Opens in a new window Michigan State Notes
Penn State vs. No. 1/1 Michigan State
Pegula Ice Arena | University Park, Pa.

Penn State vs. No. 1/1 Michigan State

Penn State
Penn State

8-9-1 | 1-8-1 B1G

vs.
No. 1/1 Michigan State
No. 1/1 Michigan State

17-2-1 | 8-1-1 B1G

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State looks to sustain momentum with the start of a six-game homestand as the No. 1 Michigan State Spartans come to Hockey Valley for a Big Ten Conference series on Friday and Saturday evening.

Follow the Action

Follow the Action

Dates: Friday, January 10 | Saturday, January 11
Place: University Park, Pa.
Time: 7 p.m. | 6 p.m.

Series Breakdown

THIS WEEK’S MATCHUP

  • This week marks the 47th and 48th meetings all-time between the two programs with Penn State holding the slim 21-19-6 edge in the series including the 12-7-3 mark at Pegula Ice Arena.
  • Since the start of the 2022-23 season, The Spartans hold a 5-1-2 record against the Nittany Lions having won each of the past two season series including last year’s series taking 10-of-12 points after winning the final three contests outright including a sweep in Hockey Valley as MSU outscored Penn State 12-3 in those two games.
  • Michigan State enters the weekend ranked No. 1 in both national polls marking the first time the Nittany Lions will battle the top-ranked team in the nation in over two years. Penn State is 2-5-0 all-time against the top team in the country and became the only team in the history of college hockey to defeat separate No. 1 teams in back-to-back weeks when they downed Michigan and Minnesota to open the month of November in 2022.
  • Graduate Students Jimmy Dowd Jr. and Tyler Paquette pace the Nittany Lions offensively against Michigan State registering nine and seven points, respectively, against the Spartans with Dowd collecting one goal and eight assists in 15 career games against MSU and Paquette adding a pair of goals and five assists in 12 games. In 11 career games, senior Danny Dzhaniyev has chipped in one goal and five assists for six points while sophomore Aiden Fink notched a pair of goals in four games against Sparty last year.

 

YOUTHFUL EXUBERANCE

  • Michigan State is the youngest team in the Big Ten and the fifth youngest in the nation with an average age of 21 years and five months while Penn State is the fourth youngest team in the conference and 12th-youngest in the nation with an average age of 21 years and nine months.

SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE

  • The Spartans enter the weekend ranked No. 1 in both polls, are unbeaten in their last seven games and winners of five-straight with a 17-2-1 record overall with their only losses coming at the hands of Wisconsin and Boston College, both shutouts.
  • Seven of MSU’s last eight games dating back to Dec. 6 have been away from Munn Ice Arena, and the Spartans are 6-1-1 in that stretch.
  • Michigan State ranks second in the Big Ten and seventh in the nation averaging 3.40 goals per game led by Isaac Howard with 13 goals, a mark good for second in the Big Ten and second nationally while Daniel Russel has added 10 goals placing him tied for seventh in the conference and 19th in the nation.
  • MSU has scored 55 of its 68 goals this season at even strength - that ranks second nationally to Minnesota, who has scored 70 of its 91 that way.
  • Howard paces the offense with 27 points, 11 points clear of the next closest Spartan, to rank third in the Big Ten and fourth nationally.
  • The Spartans are peppering opponents nets this season averaging 36.6 shots per game to rank second in the Big Ten and third in the nation.
  • Between the pipes MSU returns Trey Augustine who is coming off his second consecutive IIHF World Junior Gold Medal with Team USA and ranks third in the Big Ten and 11th in the nation with a .930 save percentage while his 1.98 goals-against average also places him third in the conference and is good for 13th nationally.
  • The Spartans are allowing just 1.85 goals allowed per game, the least in the Big Ten and third fewest in the nation as in Augustine’s absence, fellow sophomore Luca Di Pasquo has started six games posting a perfect 6-0-0 record with a .945 save percentage and a 1.32 goals-against average.

CHASING 400

  • Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky currently sits tied for 33rd with former Minnesota head man Doug Woog on the college hockey all-time wins list after securing win No. 390 last Sunday at Notre Dame.
  • In his sights are longtime North Dakota Bench Boss John “Gino” Gasparini (392) and former Wisconsin and CC head man Bob Johnson (394) while current Bemidji State head coach Tom Serratore sits at 396 and counting.
  • Among active coaches, Gadowsky ranks 12th and sits behind only Jeff Jackson and Bob Motzko in the Big Ten.

 

PHENOMENAL FINK

  • Sophomore Aiden Fink has points in 10 of his last 11 games and is currently leading the Big Ten and ranks third nationally averaging 1.44 points per game while his 26 points rank fourth in the conference and are tied for fifth in the nation.
  • Fink’s nine goals are tied for the ninth-most in the Big Ten while his 17 helpers are tied for second in the conference and third in the nation.

 

WELCOME BACK, ARSI!

  • Junior goaltender Arsenii Sergeev missed the previous seven games with a lower-body injury before returning last weekend against Notre Dame and picked up right where he left off stopping 77-of-80 shots over the two games posting a .963 save percentage and a 1.44 goals-against average in the series.
  • Sergeev was named the Big Ten First Star of the Week following his performances which included a career-high 43 saves on Friday night at Wrigley followed by a 34-save shutout on Sunday in South Bend. The shutout was his second of the season and the third of his career.
  • Sergeev raised his save percentage by .016 over the weekend as he now sits fourth in the Big Ten and tied for 19th nationally at .922 while his 2.16 goals-against average ranks fifth in the Big Ten and good for 24th in the nation.
  • The junior also chipped in offensively with a pair of secondary assists on the weekend with one in each game marking the first time a Nittany Lion net-minder has registered points in back-to-back games. Sergeev becomes just the fourth Penn State goaltender all-time to register multiple points as he now sits fourth all-time with two while his two helpers this season are tied for the third-most points in a single season for a goalie at Penn State.
  • Sergeev’s two shutouts are also now just one shy of Liam Souliere’s program record of three from the 2022-23 season.

 

DOMINATING THE DOT

  • Penn State has been exceptional at the dot all year as the Nittany Lions lead the nation winning 56.5 percent of their faceoffs. Penn State has only lost the faceoff battle three times this season and is actually 2-1-0 in those games.
  • Freshman Charlie Cerrato leads the team and ranks second in the Big Ten and third in the nation among true centerman averaging 10 or more draws per game winning 61.6 percent (181-for-294) on the season.
  • Sophomore Dane Dowiak has also stepped up ranking third in the Big Ten and sixth in the nation at 60.4 percent (122-for-202).

 

WHAT’S UP CHUCK?

  • Freshman Charlie Cerrato registered the first multi-goal game of his career last Sunday against Notre Dame marking his sixth multi-point effort of the season.
  • Cerrato is now tied for second on the team with eight goals, a mark good for second in the Big Ten and tied for sixth in the nation among rookies. His 15 points are the fourth-most among conference freshmen and are tied for 12th in the nation for first-year players.
  • The two goals on Sunday were the first for Cerrato away from Pegula Ice Arena this season.

 

DON’T GET SHORT WITH US

  • Reese Laubach notched the second shorthanded goal of his career against Army becoming just the 10th Nittany Lion all-time to register multiple shortys for his career.
  • The Nittany Lions now have four shorthanded tallys on the season to lead the Big Ten and rank tied for third in the nation behind only Clarkson and UConn who each have five. The four shortys are the most for Penn State since registering seven during the 2018-19 campaign.
  • Penn State had just one shorthanded goal last season and prior to this season had registered just six shorty’s since the start of the 2019-20 campaign.
  • Penn State’s single-season record for shorthanded tallies came during the 2015-16 season when the Nittany Lions potted 12.

 

NEXT UP

Penn State takes a break from Big Ten play to close out its non-conference slate with a weekend series against Canisius at Pegula Ice Arena on Friday and Saturday.

For more information on the 2024-25 season, visit the men's hockey ticket page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Follow the Nittany Lions

Follow the Nittany Lions

Visit GoPSUSports.com for more information on Penn State men's ice hockey. Fans can keep up to date with all things Hockey Valley on X and Instagram @PennStateMHKY, in addition to the team’s Facebook page at facebook.com/pennstatemenshockey.