Around the Big Ten Hockey: Week of Nov. 3

It’s about to get crazy in the Big Ten. With so many great matchups coming up this weekend, it’s a great time to dive in and look at all the inter-conference battles that are about to take place.

No. 4 Michigan at No. 5 Wisconsin

Let’s start things off with a top-five matchup. The Wisconsin Badgers are coming off of a huge week where they swept No. 1 Minnesota Golden Gophers. Wisconsin moved from No. 14 to No. 5 and Minnesota moved from No. 1 to No. 6.

Now, the Badgers will have a test against a well-known opponent. The Michigan Wolverines have so many players on the roster who are at the top of the NCAA in point production.

Rutger McGroarty has been joined by T.J. Hughes as the team’s points leaders. Each player has 15 points on the year. Seamus Casey has tallied 14, with Gavin Brindley and Dylan Duke not too far behind with 13 points of their own.

For the Badgers, Mathieu De St. Phalle leads the way with 10 points. Goaltending has been a strength for the program this season with Kyle McClellan recording a 7-1 record with a 1.62 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage.

No. 12 Michigan State at No. 13 Ohio State

The Michigan State Spartans are looking to bounce back after a tough weekend against Boston College where they got swept. That didn’t stop players like Red Savage from continuing to produce points on the score sheet.

Savage is now up to 11 points on the season. Nicolas Muller, Joey Larsson and Artyom Levshunov have continued to impress.

Ohio State got a handful of points in their recent matchup against Nebraska Omaha. No one pops off the scoresheet, but Davis Burnside and Stephen Halliday have been consistent scorers with seven points in as many games.

Goaltender Logan Terness was awarded First Star of the Week honors by the Big Ten after he stopped 64 of 66 shots and helped kill off all nine penalties.

Notre Dame at No. 17 Penn State

Notre Dame had an up-and-down series against Mercyhurst but still came away with a sweep. As the only unranked team in the Big Ten, they will get a shot at the rankings against the Nittany Lions.

Ryan Bischel has been good against Penn State recently, recording a career-high 52-save performance against the program last season.

Penn State has had its struggles this year, dropping a couple of games against unranked non-conference opponents. The goaltenders have been a question mark as Liam Souliere has not exactly been at his best early on.

No. 6 Minnesota vs. No. 14 Minnesota Duluth

After the sweep, Minnesota will try its best to get back on track, but it won’t be easy as the Gophers will face a strong Bulldogs team.

Jimmy Snuggerud continues to lead the goal category with five and has seven points overall. Oliver Moore has been a point-per-game player so far in his young career with six goals in six games.

Brody Lamb scored only eight points in 39 games last season, this year he’s on pace to smash his record, already having four goals and six points in six games.

Anthony Desher is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email acd5698@psu.edu.