Nov. 20, 2014
| PENN STATE at MICHIGAN | |
| 6-2-2 (0-0-0-0 B1G) | 4-5-0 (0-0-0-0 B1G) |
| Friday, Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. | |
| Saturday, Nov. 22 at 7:35 p.m. | |
| Yost Ice Arena | Ann Arbor, Mich. | |
| GAME DAY CENTRAL |
| FRIDAY: BTN2Go | Live Audio ($) | |
| FRIDAY TV: Fox Sports Detroit PLUS |
| FRIDAY RADIO: 103.1 WRSC FM |
| SATURDAY: BTN2Go | Live Audio ($) | |
| SATURDAY TV: Comcast Network 900 |
| SATURDAY RADIO: 103.1 FM WRSC |
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| TEAM STATISTICS Penn State | Michigan |
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| INSIDE THE NUMBERS | ||
| PSU | MICH | |
| 6-2-2 | Overall Record | 4-5-0 |
| 0-0-0-0 | Conference Record | 0-0-0-0 |
| 38 | Goals Scored | 30 |
| 22 | Goals Allowed | 32 |
| 3.8 | Goals Scored/gm. | 3.3 |
| 2.2 | Goals Allowed/gm. | 3.6 |
| 413 | Shots | 319 |
| 43.1 | Shots/gm. | 35.9 |
| 62 | Assists | 56 |
| 11-41 | Power Plays | 5-34 |
| .268 | Power-Play Pct. | .147 |
| 22-29 | Penalty Kills | 24-31 |
| .759 | Penalty-Kill Pct. | .774 |
| 269 | Saves | 231 |
| 0 | Shutouts | 0 |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State men's hockey plays its second consecutive series on the road when it opens Big Ten play at Michigan Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21-22 at Yost Ice Arena.
Friday's game will be televised by Fox Sports Detroit PLUS and Saturday's game on Comcast Network 900 (in Michigan). Both games will be carried by BTN2Go for Big Ten Network television customers to follow along on their mobile devices and computers.
The Nittany Lions enter the second year of Big Ten competition against the Wolverines, against whom the Lions own a 3-2-0 all-time record. Friday's game is the first meeting between the two teams since a dramatic 2-1 double-overtime win in the Big Ten Tournament this past March.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
Michigan (4-5-0) comes into the series having swept AIC last weekend at home by scores of 5-2 and 6-3. The sweep snapped a three-game skid with losses coming against Boston University and this week's No. 1 team, Michigan Tech. The Wolverines are 3-1-0 at home, dropping the home opener against New Hampshire on Oct. 17.
Michigan ranks fourth nationally in shots per game (35.44), while scoring 3.33 goals per game, good for a tied-12th in the country. The Wolverines score at a 14.7 percent clip on the power play, while allowing 22.6 percent on the penalty kill.
The offense is led by Zach Hyman with his 10 points on four goals and six assists. Two other Wolverines, Alex Kile and Andrew Copp, each have four tallies. Kile leads the team with three power-play goals. Dylan Larkin, Zach Werenski and JT Compher join Hyman for the team lead in assists with six.
In net, Zach Nagelvoort has played the majority of the minutes (380:35) with a160 saves to his name. His goals-against average stands at 3.31 with a save percentage of .884 and a 2-4-0 record. Steve Racine has played nearly 155 minutes with a 3.88 GAA, .877 save percentage and a 2-1-0 record.
SERIES HISTORY WITH MICHIGAN
All-Time Series: Penn State leads 3-2-0
PSU Record at MICH: 1-1-0
PSU Streak: 1 win
First Meeting: 2/7/14, MICH 7-3
Last Meeting: 3/20/14, PSU 2-1 (2OT)
Last PSU Win: 3/20/14, 2-1 (2OT)
Last MICH Win: 2/22/14, 5-2
Last Tie: n/a
Largest PSU Win: 4-0, 2/8/14
Largest MICH Win: 7-3, 2/7/14
PSU EARNS HISTORIC SPLIT AT LOWELL
The Nittany Lions went to fourth-ranked UMass Lowell and came away with a historic 4-1 victory after a tough 5-3 loss the night before. Saturday's result gave the Penn State program a win over its highest ranked opponent, the first against a top-five team.
In Friday's setback, Casey Bailey, Tommy Olczyk and David Goodwin tallied goals.
The next time, a focused group of Lions hit the ice and wasted little time in asserting their authority, going ahead 2-0 after 10 minutes and 3-0 after 20. Bailey opened the scoring with a pair of goals before Eric Scheid capped the impressive first period with his sixth of the year.
The second period was a continuation of the first as Olczyk bagged is second goal in as many games just 47 ticks into the frame. Redshirt-senior Taylor Holstrom pitched in with three assists to claim the national lead in the category (13) and climb into a tie for first in points with 16. Holstrom had five assists on the weekend.
Sophomore goaltender Eamon McAdam saw his first action on Friday night, stopping 17 of 18 shots in relief. He earned his first start since February on Saturday and did not disappoint, giving up just a lone goal against the nation's top scoring offense in 60 minutes of action. McAdam had 24 saves in the win, stopping 41 of 43 shots he saw in 90 minutes of play.
WINS OVER RANKED TEAMS
Penn State's victory over UMass Lowell was the program's fifth against ranked competition. Prior to Saturday, PSU was 0-8-0 against top-five squads. Last season, Penn State went 3-16-0, with all three wins coming against Michigan, while in 2012-13 the Nittany Lions went 1-3-0. Penn State now stands at 5-20-0 all-time against ranked teams.
BAILEY, HOLSTROM EARN BIG TEN HONORS
Penn State forwards Casey Bailey and Taylor Holstrom were named Big Ten First and Third Stars of the Week, respectively, on Tuesday morning (Nov. 18).
Bailey was named the top star in the conference following a three-goal, four-point weekend at No. 4 UMass Lowell where Penn State earned a historic split with the River Hawks. Bailey scored and assisted on Friday night before tallying the first two goals in a 4-1 win at UML, the first victory over a top-five team in school history.
Bailey currently leads the Big Ten in goals per game (0.80) and shots per game (5.40). The weekly honor is the first for the Alaskan, who leads the team in goals (8) and is one off tying for the national lead.
Holstrom earned his first Big Ten weekly honor by dishing five assists in the split at UMass Lowell. On Friday, Holstrom tallied two helpers before giving out three more in Saturday's dominating win over the fourth-ranked River Hawks. In all five cases, Holstrom provided the primary assists.
The Californian leads the nation in assists per game (1.44), total assists (13), while tying for the national lead in total points (16), just one shy of his total from 2012-13 and 2013-14. Holstrom leads the conference in points per game (1.78), which ranks him second in the country.
TOP LINE REMAINS PRODUCTIVE, INTACT
Penn State has already used 19 different offensive line combinations in the first 10 games, but one thing has remained constant: David Goodwin-Taylor Holstrom-Casey Bailey will play and score.
The threesome have been together in nine of 10 contests (only time not together was Oct. 17 at Alaska when Holstrom sat out), accounting for 37 of Penn State's 100 points. The three have combined for 15 goals, 22 assists and a plus-23 rating. Currently, the line is 6-1-2 this season.
At UMass Lowell, the line amassed four goals, seven assists and 11 points.
ROLLING WITH HOLSTROM
Penn State's most productive point-scorer has been Taylor Holstrom with three goals and 13 assists for 16 points.
Holstrom currently ranks first nationally in assists (13) and in a tie for first in points (16). He has tallied a point in every game he's played this season and leads the team with five multi-point games.
BAILEY REGAINING SCORING FORM
Behind a Big Ten-leading eight goals, junior forward Casey Bailey has regained his scoring form from 2012-13 that saw him tally 14 goals his freshman year. Last season, Bailey tallied nine goals in 32 games.
Bailey is second on the team with four multi-point games and recently registered a two-goal game against UMass Lowell on Saturday.
ERIC THE CLUTCH
Forward Eric Scheid has been Penn State's go-to guy for a late-game goal. Scheid ranks tied for fifth in the nation with three game-winning goals this season, earning his third by scoring 16 seconds after PSU's game-tying goal vs. Bentley on Halloween in the third period.
Scheid is second on the team in scoring with six goals, adding a first-period insurance goal last weekend in a 4-1 win over UMass Lowell.
ERIK THE PASSER
Prior to the season, head coach Guy Gadowsky identified freshman defenseman Erik Autio as one of Penn State's best passers. It took four games, but Autio has registered an assist in three straight contests all on the power play.
While he didn't tally a point at Lowell, Autio and teammate Luke Juha were effective in Penn State's efforts. The defensive pairing had matching plus-two ratings Friday night and were both plus-one the following night.
FIRE AWAY!
Penn State likes to shoot the puck. A lot. The Nittany Lions lead NCAA Division I with 41.30 shots per game, 3.38 shots clear of Miami (37.92) and 4.9 shots clear of Robert Morris (36.40).
Penn State has out-shot its opponent in every game this season, but may meet its match this weekend. Michigan ranks fourth nationally with 35.22 attempts per game.
LIONS BOAST CHART-TOPPING OFFENSE
Penn State's has been impressive in the early going, ranking in the top 10 in several offensive categories.
PSU leads the country in shots per game (41.30), tied for second in goals per game (3.80, only behind UMass Lowell), fourth in power play percentage (26.2), tied for fourth in goal differential (+16), tied-seventh in total goals (38) and tied for eighth in power-play goals (11).
Among Big Ten teams, Penn State leads in shots (43.12), goals (38), goals per game (3.80) goal differential (+16), power-play goals (11), while giving up the fewest goals against per game (2.20).
SECOND PERIOD IS BEST
Penn State's best period this year is the second, with a 16-5 scoring advantage. PSU has out-scored its opponents in all three periods (9-7 in the 1st, 13-10 in the 3rd). Penn State's shot percentage is .121 as opposed to .068 and .092 in the first and third periods, respectively.
The Nittany Lions have dominated the shot totals in every period this season (132-95, +37 in the 1st; 132-99, +33 in the 2nd; 141-92, +49 in the 3rd), improving each frame.
JUNIORS PROVIDING THE SCORING
Penn State's juniors have been the most productive class in scoring this year with 21 goals and 19 assists for 40 points. The three other classes combined have totaled 17 goals and 43 assists for 60 points.
EVEN-STRENGTH GETTING IT DONE
Penn State has a plus-16 goal differential this year because of two key situations: 5-on-5 (+10) and 5-on-4 power play (+11). Despite an early short-handed goal, the 4-on-5 penalty kill registers a -6.
AVOIDING THE PENALTY BOX
Penn State has been less penalized in 2014-15, averaging 3.5 penalties per game and 8.1 minutes per game, resulting in 29 power play chances for its opponents. Last year, The Nittany Lions were committing 5.3 penalties for 12.3 minutes per game and teams were capitalizing on 18.9 percent of the resulting power plays. This year's penalty kill hasn't fared as well, allowing 24.1 percent.
BALANCED NITTANY LION SCORING
Penn State has 38 goals through four games, an average of 3.80 goals as opposed to last year's 2.22 average.
Moreover, 14 different Nittany Lions have already registered a goal this season with a total of 22 Lions recording a point. In 2013-14 alone, 16 Lions scored goals with 21 total earning points.
BLOCKING SUCCESS
Penn State's defense has allowed an average of 29.1 shots per game to reach net this year in good part of the blocking ability of PSU's defensive corps, which has stopped 137 from reaching frame.
Three Nittany Lions share the team lead for blocks with 17: Luke Juha, Patrick Koudys and Connor Varley. David Thompson is fourth with 13.
SKOFF GETS THE NOD IN 2014-15
Proclaimed the starter by head coach Guy Gadowsky in the offseason, junior Matthew Skoff started the final 11-of-15 games for the Nittany Lions last season, while compiling an 8-13-2 record with a 2.95 goals-against average, .906 save percentage and a shutout.
This season, Skoff started the first nine games of the season, becoming the goalie of record in a career-best 12 straight games dating to last season.
Skoff's career record stands at 22-23-4, starting 5-2-2 this year. He has a 2.32 GAA and a .919 save percentage this season, which is better than his career numbers of 2.67 and .914.
NITTANY LIONS HEADS TO MSG NEXT WEEK
Penn State will face off against Cornell in The Frozen Apple at New York's Madison Square Garden Saturday, Nov. 29, 2014 at 8 p.m.
The Nittany Lions will make their first appearance at the home of the NHL's New York Rangers. Madison Square Garden will be the fourth NHL arena the Nittany Lions have visited.
The teams will face off during Thanksgiving weekend for the first time as NCAA Division I foes. The first meeting between the two teams occurred during Penn State's first varsity stint on Feb. 5, 1944 in Ithaca.