The men’s hockey will continue to play B1G against Michigan State this weekend

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Nittany Lions will return home after playing four games in a six-night trip to the Twin Cities as they continue the Big Ten game against Michigan State Spartans on Friday and Saturday nights at the Pegula Ice Arena.

FOLLOW THE MEASURE
Dates: on Friday 3 December | Saturday, December 4th
Place: Pegula Ice Arena | University Park, Pa.
Time: Fri: 19:00 | Sat: 17:00
Bunting: Friday | on saturday
Streaming video: Friday | on saturday
Listen: Friday on saturday
Live Stats: Live statistics
Game Notes: Penn State | State of Michigan

TODAY’S MATCH

• This weekend, the 35th and 36th matches between the two teams are held by Penn State 18-12-4, including a 5-3-0 mark over the past two seasons. Penn State won the season series last year, securing 8/12 points 3-1-0 against MSU with two setup wins and one overtime. Penn State is at an all-time 10-3-3 against Michigan State at the Pegula Ice Arena, including 9-2-1 since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Senior Clayton Phillips leads all current Nittany Lions games with five points out of two goals and three assists in 13 matches against Spartans. Connor MacEachern has scored four points (1G, 3A) in eight of his careers against Sparty.
• Senior goalkeeper Oskar Autio has been the most successful of his career against Michigan State. He set a 3-0-0 record in four matches. Three starts recorded 0.953 rebounds and 1.15 goals against average. Desert recorded one of four career breaks last season at Michigan State with a 1-0 win, the only game in the 10 Penn State Hockey season that the Nittany Lions have won with that result. Deserted have only allowed four goals in more than 200 minutes of ice time in their careers against Spartans.

THE STATE OF MICHIGAN

• Michigan State (8-5-1) has already won more games in just 14 games this season than in the full 2020-21 season, ending 7-18-2.
• After losing four of the five games in late October and early November, MSU has won four consecutive wins in a series of sweeps against Ferris State and Wisconsin and will move into the weekend after last weekend’s weekend.
• The Spartans will return their top 10 scorers of the seven seasons, including Mitchell Lewandowski, Dennis Cesana and Josh Nodler’s top three.
• Michigan State is also returning both net guards who saw action in the 2020-21 season, led by All-Big Ten’s acclaimed goalkeeper Drew DeRidder. DeRidder have started in 10 of this season’s 14 matches and set a 6-3-1 record with 0.943 rebounds and 2.08 goals on average. He finished first and third in Big Ten. fourth and 14th country in each category.
• Lewandowski leads the team with 13 points out of five goals and eight assists in just nine games this season. Lewandowski’s 13 points are good for 13th place in Big Ten.
• Second-year student Jeremy Davidson leads Spartans with seven goals during the year and is seventh in Big Ten.
• The Spartans both score 2.50 goals per match and allow 2.50 goals per game. Their attack ranks just above Wisconsin in Big Ten, while their defense is fourth in Big Ten and 17th in the country.
• Michigan State is changing 25 percent (11-44) of its chances of finishing third in Big Ten and dividing the nation into 12th. Sparta’s PK has also been strong with 81.1 percent (43-53) finishing third in Big Ten.
• More than half of the 35 Michigan State goals scored this season have been scored in the third period, with the Spartans beating their opponents 18-9 in the final 20 minutes of play.

SOPHOMORE SURGE

• Under Tyler Paquette, The Nittany Lion sophomore class achieved six of the 16 goals scored by Penn State in the most recent four-game field trip. Second-year players also added six assists and have now accumulated 34 points (14G, 20A) in 15 games this season, just three points away from their freshman total score (12G, 25A) in 22 games last season.
• Paquette scored three goals in a series sweep of St. Thomas last week, including her second goal game of the season on Tuesday and the first winning goal of her career on Wednesday.
• Paquette named Big Ten Second Star of the Week on Wednesday after her second-year classmate Jimmy Dowd Jr. earned third star recognitions.
• Last week was the first time in his career that Paquette have recorded points in consecutive games, while his five goals this season are good for the team’s third and share 13th place in Big Ten. A sophomore will only register a lone entry point in six games.
• Dowd Jr.’s nine points are just one point deadlock out of the 10 points he registers as freshmen in the 2020-2021 season, and are good seventh among defenders.

RISE, STAY UP

• Penn State have scored the opening goal in this season in 11 of 15 matches and are doing so 8-3-0. In the last five seasons, Nittany Lions is now 75-20-9 in scoring first.

RULES FOR MEDICINES

• Penn State’s five-member freshman class has scored eight goals this season, and the Nittany Lions is a perfect 7-0-0 when the starting light comes on.

LINE CHANGE

• Head coach Guy Gadowsky made a line change five games then a rolling freshman Ryan Kirwan top row with senior Ben Copeland and junior Kevin Wall, and it pays for itself.
• Each player has a career-long scoring streak, as the exchange with Kirwan and Wall each had five games and Copeland had six games.
• The trio have scored a total of seven goals and given 13 assists to 20 points and have a total of plus-7 in five games. Copeland also leads Penn State with six power points (2G, 4A) and Wall with five (2G, 3A).
• Wall will accelerate Penn State with the top 10 goals of his career, second in Big Ten and eighth in the country, while his 16 points are seventh and 29th nationally in the conference.
• Copeland leads Nittany Lions by 10 points and finishes sixth in Big Ten, while her 14 points mark 12th in the conference. A parent has scored all 14 points in the last 11 games and scored at least one point in 10 of those 11 matches.
• Copeland’s 1.08 points per game this season ranks seventh in Big Ten, while Wallin’s 1.07 is a good eighth.

KECKS GIVES IT

• Junior Connor MacEachern recorded a point in three of four games, all wins, during the Minnesota road trip. Penn State is now 7-2-0 this year when MacEachern reaches the statistics table.
• MacEachern’s eight goals are a new career best and nearly double compared to his freshman and second year combined. Junior’s eight goals are fifth in Big Ten and ranked 21st nationally.

NITTANY LION SPECIAL

• Penn State has scored at least one power game goal in all but six games this season, including three out of four on a Minnesota cross-country trip, and currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten and 17th in the nation with 24.1 percent (13-54). Nittany Lions is 8-1-0 in scoring a powerplay goal.
• In contrast, Penn State has struggled with penalties recently, allowing at least one male goal in six consecutive games and eight out of nine in total after giving up just one goal out of 28 chances in the first six season opener games. Six of the last nine goals allowed by the Nittany Lions have come into the power game.
• Senior goalkeeper Oskar Autio has fallen victim to 11 powerplay goals out of 25 surrendered goals this season. Taking into account the human interest, the saving percentage of the Auto is 0.931 at a constant intensity.

TIME FOR FIVE

• Penn State hit his magical five-goal number twice during his four-game trip and advanced to an all-time level of 88-1-2 when he scored five or more goals. Penn State was 4-0-0 in such games in the 2020-21 season, when it was 11-0-0 in scoring five or more goals in the 2019-20 season.
• The Nittany Lions have now won 30 games in a row to score five or more goals, including all six so far this season. The last and only loss came in Wisconsin on December 1, 2018, a loss of 8-5.

NEXT

• Penn State will end this semester with a game in the Big Ten series in Wisconsin next Friday and Saturday.

For more information on the 2021-22 season, featured at the Penn State Bookstore: Penn State Athletics Official Bookstore, visit the men’s hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.