EAST LANSING – The No. 8 Michigan State hockey team will travel to South Bend, Indiana this weekend for a road series against Notre Dame at Compton Family Ice Arena.

The Spartans enter this road series sitting at the top of the Big Ten with 37 points and a conference record of 11-3-2. Notre Dame enters the series on a three-game winning streak and fourth in the Big Ten with 24 points and a 7-7-2 conference record.

MSU is coming off of a series split with No. 9 Minnesota at home last weekend. In the first matchup, the Spartans rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to defeat the Gophers 3-2 on a last-second goal by sophomore forward Daniel Russell. MSU fell to Minnesota 5-1 in the second matchup.

Sophomore forward Karsen Dorwart and fifth-year senior forward Nicolas Muller, who have been impressive in the last two series for the Spartans, are key players to watch for in this series. 

The Fighting Irish last weekend swept Penn State in South Bend. Notre Dame beat the Nittany Lions 4-1 in the first matchup and 6-3 in the second matchup. Freshman forward Danny Nelson and graduate forward Patrick Moynihan led the way for the Fighting Irish with five goals combined in the series.

Key players for Notre Dame in this series include senior forward Landon Slaggert, the leading goal scorer on the season for the Fighting Irish with 16 goals. Graduate defenseman Ryan Siedman is a player to watch out for on the defensive end. Seidman is third in the Big Ten in blocked shots with 46 on the season.   

The Spartans will open up the series against the Fighting Irish at Compton Family Ice Arena on Friday night. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m.