Week 9 Hockey Release

Photo courtesy of Michigan State Athletics

OFFICIAL RELEASE

• The week of Thanksgiving brings a slew of college hockey games with all seven Big Ten teams engaged in nonconference competition. The action begins with a Tuesday-Wednesday series between Colgate and Penn State, as the Nittany Lions complete a six-game homestand. No. 1/1 Michigan State is home against Lindenwood this weekend while No. 3/4 Minnesota plays host to Alaska. In a battle of Top 10 teams, No. 6/6 Michigan meets No. 7/7 Western Michigan in a home-and-home series. No. 12/12 Ohio State heads east to meet Princeton and Wisconsin entertains Alaska Anchorage at the Kohl Center. Rv/- Notre Dame travels to Northern Ireland to take part in the Friendship Four tournament, facing rv/rv Harvard on Friday and either Merrimack or No. 13/13 Boston University on Saturday.

• The only college hockey tournament played outside the United States, the Friendship Four has been contested since 2015. Notre Dame will be the first Big Ten team to compete in the event, which takes place at SSE Arena in Belfast. Notre Dame will attempt to capture the Belpot Trophy at the seventh edition of the tournament. The Friendship Four was created to promote education, social welfare, and community interaction between sister cities Belfast and Boston.

• Michigan State is the No. 1 ranked team in the country according to the USCHO.com and USA Hockey/The Rink Live polls. It marks the first time in 17 years the Spartans have earned top billing, dating back to their 2007 national championship. Since Head Coach Adam Nightingale’s arrival in 2022-23, MSU has won 63 percent of its games and last year pulled off the Big Ten “Double”, capturing the conference regular season and tournament titles. The last Big Ten team to achieve consensus No. 1 status was Minnesota on October 23, 2023. 

• Minnesota and Michigan completed sweeps last weekend, continuing a trend in conference play. Of the 10 conference series contested this season, nine have resulted in sweeps. Minnesota (twice), Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin have accomplished this feat on the road. Last season, 21 of 45 conference series resulted in two-game sweeps.

• Michigan tied a Big Ten record for most goals scored in a conference game in a 10-6 triumph of Penn State Saturday night in Pegula Ice Arena. Since Big Ten Hockey debuted in October 2013, a total of 840 conference games have been played and only twice has a team scored in double figures. Michigan has lit up the scoreboard both times by identical scores as a road team, having previously set the record against Ohio State on January 16, 2015.

• The Big Ten Conference is partnering with the Chicago Cubs to present the “Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series”, slated for January 3-4, 2025 at Wrigley Field. Tickets, starting at $15, are available at Cubs.com/BigTenHockey.