Week 14 Hockey Release

Photo by: Brace Hemmelgarn / courtesy of Minnesota Athletics

OFFICIAL RELEASE

• Six Big Ten teams take to the ice this week as conference play reaches the halfway mark. No. 1/1 Michigan, which has opened a four-point lead in the standings, travels to Minnesota. Michigan has won eight of its last nine games while Minnesota, with a sweep this weekend, can climb back to .500 in league play. Since Big Ten play started in 2013-14, the Gophers have built a 25-17-6 series lead versus the Wolverines. No. 2/2 Wisconsin will host No 4/3 Michigan State in a top four showdown at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin swept two road games from Michigan State (ranked No. 1 at the time) in November. Both contests were decided by a goal and included an overtime session. Thursday’s tilt will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network. No. 8/8 Penn State stays at home to take on Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions have won their last three games by three goals-or-more; Notre Dame seeks its first league win of the season. Saturday’s contest from University Park will be carried by BTN. Ohio State, coming off a 2-1 upset of Michigan State, is idle this week.

• The Big Ten features four teams in the top 10 of the NCAA Power Index (NPI), which replaced the Pairwise as the data formula used to select teams for the NCAA Tournament. Michigan rates No. 1 in the NPI, followed by Wisconsin at No. 3, Michigan State at No. 6 and Penn State at No. 7. 

• Michigan’s T.J. Hughes leads NCAA active players with 153 career points—31 more than his nearest competitor—and owns the top spot with 56 goals. On the conference level, Hughes recently moved into third place for career points in conference play with 92. Hughes needs 11 points to surpass Minnesota’s Tyler Sheehy (2015-19) for second place. Hughes is also one marker shy of tying Ohio State’s Nick Schilkey (2013-17) for sixth place in all-time conference goals (36). It has been a stellar season for the Wolverines’ captain, who played for the U.S. Collegiate Selects at the Spengler Cup and is in contention for the Big Ten scoring title with a league-best 20 points in 12 conference games. 

• Four Big Ten goaltenders have made the watch list for the Mike Richter Award, which is presented to the nation’s top netminder. Among the 29 goalies included on the list are Michigan’s Jack Ivankovic, Michigan State’s Trey Augustine, Penn State’s Josh Fleming and Wisconsin’s Daniel Hauser. Ivankovic, Fleming and Hauser are freshmen while Augustine, a junior, was a finalist for the award last year. Big Ten goalies have won the Richter three times, most recently in 2024 (Wisconsin’s Kyle McClellan).

• Former Notre Dame Head Coach Jeff Jackson has been honored by the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) with the John MacInnes Award. The award recognizes individuals who have shown a great concern for amateur hockey in addition to achieving success behind the bench and posting outstanding graduation rates. Jackson spent 20 seasons at Notre Dame (2005-25), leading the Irish to 419 wins, 12 NCAA Tournaments and four Frozen Fours. Jackson will receive the MacInnes Award at the AHCA Convention in Bonita Springs, Fla.