EAST LANSING– The Spartans travel to State College this weekend to battle against the No. 5/5 Penn State Nittany Lions in their second meeting of the season. Michigan State bested Penn State in their previous matchup, outscoring the Nittany Lions 7-1 in their two-game series to complete the sweep on home ice.
Penn State had a rough start to its calendar year, losing some players to the World Juniors tournament, and dropped a game on home ice to the Rochester Institute of Technology. Despite the shocking upset, the Nittany Lions continued to win seven straight contests, including a sweep over No. 5/5 Wisconsin at the time.
Unfortunate news came out of the Penn State program this week, as head coach Guy Gadowsky informed the media that sophomore forward Charlie Cerrato is likely done for the season. Prior to his injury, Cerrato tallied an impressive 24 points in 19 games and sat fourth in the nation for assists per game.
Freshman phenom Gavin Mckenna, the projected number one overall pick in the NHL Draft, has played excellent during Penn State’s winning streak. Recording his first collegiate hat trick last weekend, Mckenna sits tied with junior forward Matt DiMarsico for a team high of 29 points.
The Nittany Lions will look to defend their home ice, which happens to be in two different places this weekend. Friday night’s game will take place in Pegula Ice Arena, the traditional rink home to Penn State hockey. Saturday’s game will have a completely different feel, being played in Beaver Stadium, home to Penn State football. Weather is expected to be sub-20 degrees, and the Nittany Lion faithful are calling for a white out in what is sure to be a sold-out crowd.
When asked about the outdoor game head coach Adam Nightingale simply stated, “we’ve talked about where our focus is at practice tomorrow and then we have a game on Friday at Pegula, we’ll worry about that game when it gets here.”
Michigan State has won four straight contests coming into this matchup and are coming off a dominant weekend over the Minnesota Gophers.
Junior goaltender Trey Augustine continues his dominance, allowing 1.75 goals on average in those four games. Augustine remains No. 4 nationally in shutouts (3) and No. 2 in save percentage (.938).
Offensively, freshman forward Porter Martone and senior center Charlie Stramel are producing at one of the highest rates in the nation. The duo has combined for 58 points so far on the year, with a +/- of 43 while on the ice.
Amongst Martone and Stramel on the first line is senior forward Daniel Russel, who is no stranger to outdoor games. Russell played against the Wisconsin Badgers at Wrigley Field (home to the Chicago Cubs) last season and scored an overtime goal to secure the victory for Michigan State.
The Spartans sit at 2-2-2 all-time in outdoor games and look to improve to a winning record this weekend.
Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Friday night, and a quick turnaround for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday.
