Week 11 Hockey Release

Photos courtesy of Michigan State Athletics

OFFICIAL RELEASE

• A pair of Big Ten teams return to action this week, taking part in holiday tournaments in Wisconsin and Michigan. No. 2/2 Wisconsin, which has won its last five games, will meet Lake Superior State on Sunday at the 5th Annual Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The Badgers face either No. 12/12 Boston College or No. 7/8 Western Michigan on Monday. Wisconsin has won the last two Holiday Face-Offs and three of the four editions of the tournament. No. 3/3 Michigan State will look to defend its title at the 59th Annual Great Lakes Invitational (GLI), to be held at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. Coming off a 3-1 win over top-ranked Michigan on Dec. 6, MSU will encounter Ferris State on Sunday and face either Michigan Tech or rv/rv Miami (Ohio) on Monday. The Spartans have won 13 GLI titles (second-most), having played in every GLI since 1979.

• Big Ten schools have a three-week break before resuming Big Ten play the weekend of Jan. 9-10, 2026. With a third of the conference schedule completed, the nation’s top three ranked teams reside in the upper division of the league standings. No. 2/2 Wisconsin occupies first with 22 points, just ahead of No. 1/1 Michigan with 20 points and No. 3/3 Michigan State, which has 15 points and two fewer games played than Wisconsin and Michigan.

• The Big Ten has placed four players on the Canadian National Junior Team, which is preparing for the IIHF World Junior Championship that runs from Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Minnesota. The players are:

Michigan
#1 Jack Ivankovic, G
#29 Michael Hage, F
Michigan State
#22 Porter Martone, F
Penn State 
#9 Gavin McKenna, F

Team USA, with eleven current Big Ten players in training camp, will finalize its roster this week. Minnesota Head Coach Bob Motzko and Assistant Coach Steve Miller will lead the American side.

• Nine Big Ten players will play for the U.S. Collegiate Selects team at the 2025 Spengler Cup, which begins Friday. Penn State’s Guy Gadowsky will serve as head coach.

Michigan
#13 T.J. Hughes, F
Notre Dame
#22 Cole Knuble, F
#11 Danny Nelson, F
Penn State 
#15 Charlie Cerrato, F
#14 Matt DiMarsico, F
#18 Aiden Fink, F
#5 Mac Gadowsky, D
#86 JJ Wiebusch, F
Wisconsin
#19 Quinn Finley, F

The 97th Spengler Cup will take place Dec. 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland.  This year’s event marks the first time a team of college select players will compete. The six-team tournament field includes European professional teams HC Davos (Switzerland), Fribourg-Gottéron (Switzerland), IFK Helsinki (Finland) and Sparta Prague (Czech Republic) along with Team Canada. All games will be streamed on the Spengler Cup YouTube Channel.