Week 7 Hockey Release
Photo courtesy of Penn State Athletics
OFFICIAL RELEASE
• Following a week that saw the Big Ten occupy the top three spots in the national polls, the conference now sports four teams in the top-seven. The conference schedule will feature a top-five showdown for the second-straight week as No. 2/2 Michigan travels to No. 5/5 Penn State. Michigan leads the nation in scoring, averaging 5.08 goals per game, and is 4-1-0 in road games. Penn State is playing its last home games of the calendar year as the team is off in December while five players and Coach Guy Gadowsky head to the Spengler Cup. No. 1/1 Michigan State takes a seven-game win streak into its series at Notre Dame. MSU has won 10 of 11 games in the series to claim a 14-13-5 lead since Notre Dame joined the conference in 2017-18. No. 7/7 Wisconsin looks to retain its hold of first place in the Big Ten standings when Ohio State visits the Kohl Center. The Badgers have moved up 13 spots in the USCHO.com poll and 12 positions in the USA Hockey poll since the season began. Ohio State aims to make up ground in the standings coming off a bye week. Minnesota will host independent Long Island in the first meetings between the schools.
• Junior goaltender Trey Augustine was tabbed Big Ten First Star of the Week following Michigan State’s sweep of Penn State in East Lansing. Augustine held the nation’s sixth-best scoring offense to one goal and 0-for-9 on the power play, stopping 60-of-61 shots (.984). Goaltender Luca Di Pasquo turned in stellar numbers as well for Minnesota in a sweep of Notre Dame. The MSU transfer allowed one goal on 53 shots, registering a 0.50 goals-against average and a .981 save percentage along with an assist on the weekend.
• The Big Ten features several of the NCAA’s top statistical career leaders. Michigan’s T.J. Hughes leads active players with 52 goals, 86 assists and 138 points. He is averaging over a point per game during his time in Ann Arbor. Daniel Russell of Michigan State is unmatched with 12 game-winning goals while teammate Trey Augustine stands second in win percentage (.718). Minnesota’s Brody Lamb (129 games) and Luke Mittelstadt (128) rank second and fourth respectively in games played.
• The latest NCAA attendance report shows five Big Ten schools in the top-10. Minnesota is drawing the second-best average of 9,222 to 3M Arena at Mariucci, just head of third-place Wisconsin (8,472). Also listed are Michigan State (5th-6,556), Penn State (7th-6,357) and Michigan (10th-5,519). Penn State is playing to 111.5 percent over capacity, which leads the nation. The Nittany Lions will raise their home attendance considerably when outdoor hockey comes to Hockey Valley on January 31, 2026. Penn State will host Michigan State at West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium. It will mark the sixth time a Big Ten school has held an outdoor game on campus as Beaver Stadium (106,572 capacity) joins the ranks of Camp Randall Stadium, Michigan Stadium, Notre Dame Stadium, Spartan Stadium, and TCF Bank Stadium (now Huntington Bank Stadium). The Nittany Lions and Spartans are no strangers to playing outdoors, as both participated at the Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series at Wrigley Field in January.