Week 6 Hockey Release

Photo by Brad Rempel / Minnesota Athletics

OFFICIAL RELEASE

• Big Ten Hockey teams prepare for the first full weekend of conference action with three series on the docket. No. 20/rv Notre Dame travels to No. 7/7 Michigan in a rematch of the 2024 Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals while No. 13/12 Ohio State takes on No. 4/3 Michigan State for the first time since the 2024 Big Ten Semifinals. The latest installment of the Border Battle finds No. 3/3 Minnesota heading to rv/rv Wisconsin. No. 19/19 Penn State is idle. All six games this weekend will be streamed on B1G+.

• Notre Dame junior Owen Say was named national Co-Goaltender of the Month by the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) following an outstanding October in net. A transfer from Mercyhurst, Say posted a 3-0-0 record along with a 1.00 goals-against average and .969 save percentage (stopping 95-of-98 shots).  He shared the award with Josh Kotai of Augustana. Say has won four of five games to start his Fighting Irish career.

• Ohio State extended its winning streak to seven games with a sweep of Lake Superior State at Value City Arena on Nov. 1-2. The Buckeyes exploded for 15 goals, winning by the scores of 9-3 and 6-2. Not surprisingly, Ohio State’s 2.38 scoring margin ranks sixth-best in the nation. OSU (7-0-1) is one of six remaining unbeaten teams in the nation, joining Denver (8-0-0), Colorado College (6-0-0), Maine (6-0-1), Cornell (2-0-0) and Dartmouth (2-0-0).

• Minnesota has also strung together a winning streak that has reached six games. The Golden Gophers opened conference play with a pair of wins against Penn State in Minneapolis. Jimmy Clark’s goal with 26 seconds left in the third period broke a scoreless tie in a 1-0 win Saturday as goaltender Liam Souliere made 28 saves to shutout his former team.  

• Michigan moved up four spots in the national polls after taking two games from No. 5/5 Boston University by the scores of 5-1 and 5-4 (OT). It was the highest-ranked road sweep in Michigan’s history and marked the first time since 2017 that BU had dropped a weekend set at Agganis Arena. Evan Werner scored the game-winner on Friday and finished with four points in the series to earn Big Ten First Star of the Week honors. Teammate Jackson Hallum recorded a hat trick and notched the overtime game-winner on Saturday to garner Big Ten Second Star of the Week accolades.

• Four Big Ten schools rank in the Top 10 in NCAA attendance. Wisconsin stands second nationally, averaging 9,377 spectators per game at the Kohl Center. Minnesota is right behind in third with an average of 8,982. Michigan State is seventh playing to 107 percent capacity at Munn Ice Arena with an average of 6,555 and Penn State owns the ninth-best average at 6,217.

• Tickets for the Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series are on sale at Cubs.com/BigTenHockey.