GAME DAY: Penn State Men's Hockey at No. 2/2 Michigan

THIS WEEK’S MATCHUP

• This weekend marks the 58th and 59th meetings in the all-time series with Michigan holding the 34-21-2 edge including the 18-7-1 mark at Yost Ice Arena.
• Michigan won the season series last year taking 8-of-12 points with a 2-1-1 record including a shootout victory. The Wolverines then defeated the Nittany Lions 5-2 in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals on their way to the championship.
• Sophomore goaltender Josh Fleming went 1-1-1 against Michigan during his freshman season posting a .908 save percentage and a 3.28 goals-against average over his three starts.
• Senior Reese Laubach has nearly 20 percent of his all-time points in 14 games against the Wolverines as he leads all Nittany Lions with 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points against Michigan. Classmate Dane Dowiak has also seen success against Michigan with seven points in 12 games on four goals and three assists.
• Michigan is the youngest team in the nation with an average age of 20 years and three months while the Nittany Lions have the fourth youngest team in the conference and the 11th youngest nationally with an average age of 21 years and five months.

FRESHMEN FOCUS

• Penn State’s seven-member freshman class has combined for 22 points (7G, 15A) through the first 10 games of the season, a mark tied for second in the Big Ten with Michigan State behind Ohio State’s 25, while ranking tied for 12th nationally.
• Justin Larose leads all Nittany Lion rookies with seven points on two goals and five assists while Kale Dach has added a pair of goals and four assists for six points and Shea Busch recently netted his first two goals of the season last weekend against Notre Dame. Even goaltender Ryder Fetterolf has a point with the secondary assist on Jackson Smith’s OT-winner against Canisius last month.

SPECIAL SITUATIONS

• Penn State went 3-for-6 with the man-advantage last weekend against Notre Dame improving to 7-for-28 (25 percent) on the season, a mark good for fourth in the Big Ten and 19th nationally. PSU has scored at least one man-advantage goal in six of its last eight games and is converting at 33 percent (3-for-9) in conference games.
• On the other side of the puck, the Nittany Lions have the best penalty kill in the conference at 83.8 percent (31-for-37) including an 11-for-12 (91.7 percent) mark in Big Ten play.

NEXT UP

Penn State remains on the road to close out it’s mini four-game road trip with a weekend series in Madison against No. 1 Wisconsin as Big Ten play rolls along.

 

SCOUTING MICHIGAN

• Michigan enters the weekend 8-1-0 following its bye week and remains No. 2 in the national polls. The Wolverines split their opening conference weekend, dropping their first game of the season at Ohio State before securing an overtime victory the following day.
• The Wolverines continue to lead the nation in scoring offense, with 46 goals through nine games and an average of 5.11 goals per game. Michigan also owns the nation’s best scoring margin, outscoring opponents by an average of 2.56 goals per game, and leads the nation in assists (83) and points (109).
• Senior Jayden Perron was named HCA National Player of the Month for October after collecting 16 points in eight games. He scored a nation-best 10 goals and added six assists while going on a nine-game goal-scoring streak and a 13-game point streak dating back to the 2025-26 season. Perron is six points shy of reaching 100 career points.
• Senior Michael Hage was named Big Ten First Star of the Week on Nov. 3 after a six-point weekend at Ohio State that included his third career five-point outing. He overtook teammate Perron as the nation’s leading scorer with 20 points, including a nation-best 16 assists.
• Hage and Perron are the only two players in the nation averaging more than 2.00 points per game, with Hage at 2.22 and Perron at 2.11.
• Jake Ivankovic returns between the pipes for his sophomore season and is off to an 8-1-0 start with a 2.33 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage to rank fourth and sixth in the Big Ten, respectively, while his eight victories are the most nationally.

SIZZILIN’ SMITTY

• Sophomore defenseman Jackson Smith has points in eight of his 10 games this season including three multi-point games along with tying his career-high of three points against Canisius and Minnesota.
• Smith has points in three-straight Big Ten games and leads the Nittany Lions with six points on one goal and five assists in four conference games this season.
• Smith’s 13 points this season are tied for the team lead and good for tops in the Big Ten among defensemen and tied for second nationally while his 10 assists pace all blueliners in the nation.
• The Calgary native moved into fifth all-time in goals by a defenseman in Penn State history with 14 for his career as he is now just one goal shy of Luke Juha ‘16 for fourth.

SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORE

• Maine transfer Justin Poirier is tied for the team lead with 13 points on five goals and eight assists and is currently riding a career-long seven-game point streak.
• Poirier has points in nine of his 10 games played this season with four multi-point games and is tied with Smith for third in the Big Ten and 11th nationally in scoring while his five goals are tied for fifth in the conference and 28th in the nation.