Week 12 Hockey Release

• Big Ten Hockey begins the New Year with a conference series between No. 5/6 Wisconsin and rv/rv Notre Dame while No. 10/9 Minnesota, No. 19/18 Penn State and Ohio State take part in nonconference action. No. 15/15 Michigan and No. 8/7 Michigan State will play exhibition contests against the U.S. National Team Development Program (USNTDP) Under-18 Team.

• Wisconsin takes a seven-game winning streak into its weekend road series at Notre Dame, which marks the halfway point of the conference season for both teams and the first Big Ten games played since Dec. 9. With two points, the Badgers can take over sole possession of first place in the Big Ten standings. Notre Dame is coming off a home sweep of Augustana that saw freshman Cole Knuble score four goals to earn the Big Ten Second Star of the Week Award. Both games at the Compton Family Ice Arena will be streamed on Peacock.

• Out of conference, Ohio State will play a home-and-home series against instate rival Bowling Green starting Friday in Columbus as the teams meet for the 189th time. Penn State will host Atlantic Hockey member Army on Saturday while Minnesota entertains No. 20/20 Colorado College for a Sunday-Monday series in Minneapolis. The Gophers play their next six games at home.

• The U.S. National Junior Team, which features 12 players from the Big Ten, has reached the semifinals of the 2024 IIHF World Junior Championship in Gothenburg, Sweden. Michigan’s Gavin Brindley has scored a team-high six goals, and with eight points, is tied for second in team scoring with Michigan teammate Frank Nazar III. Michigan State goaltender Trey Augustine owns a 1.50 goals-against average and .952 save percentage in two appearances. The undefeated Americans (5-0) take on Finland Jan. 4 at 1:30 p.m. ET on NHL Network. Finland’s roster features Michigan State forward Tommi Männistö.

• Wisconsin concluded 2023 by capturing the Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Dec. 28-29. It was the second tournament championship in three years for the Badgers, who lead the nation with 16 wins. Coach Mike Hastings’ squad defeated Air Force and Northeastern by identical 3-0 scores behind shutouts from Kyle McClellan, who was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Goaltender. Sophomore Simon Tassy scored four goals, registering the team’s first natural hat trick since 2000, and was named Most Outstanding Forward. Junior Daniel Laatsch blocked six shots over two games to earn Most Outstanding Defenseman accolades. Across the lake in Grand Rapids, Mich., Michigan State reached the championship game of the Great Lakes Invitational on Dec. 29, skating to a 3-3 overtime tie against Michigan Tech. MSU missed out on the tournament title by dropping a shootout to the Huskies. MSU opened with a 4-1 win over Ferris State on Dec. 28 and placed two athletes on the all-tournament team — sophomore forward Joey Larson and junior defenseman David Gucciardi.