Week 12 Hockey Release

Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Athletics

OFFICIAL RELEASE

• A pair of Big Ten teams will participate in holiday tournaments to close the calendar year, looking to add hardware to their trophy cases. No. 1/1 Michigan State encounters Northern Michigan on Dec. 29 at the 58th Annual Great Lakes Invitational, to be held at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. MSU will face either -/rv Michigan Tech or No. 6/6 Western Michigan on Dec. 30. The Spartans have won 12 GLI titles (second-most) — their most recent title coming in 2009 — and have played in every GLI since 1979. Wisconsin, unbeaten in six of its last eight games (5-2-1), will meet Ferris State on Dec. 28 at the 4th Annual Kwik Trip Holiday Face-Off at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. The Badgers face either Connecticut or Alaska on Dec. 29. Wisconsin has won the event twice in three years and is the defending champion.

• USA Hockey has announced its 25-member squad for the 2025 IIHF World Junior Championship, which runs Dec. 26-Jan. 5 in Ottawa, Ontario. Six players from the Big Ten have been selected to represent Team USA:
F Oliver Moore, MINN (#11)
F Brodie Ziemer, MINN (#74)
F Danny Nelson, ND (#17)  
D Paul Fischer, ND (#16) 
D Logan Hensler, WIS (#3) 
G Trey Augustine, MSU (#1)
Minnesota Associate Head Coach Steve Miller will serve as an assistant coach for the United States. Augustine, Moore and Nelson played on last year’s squad that won the gold medal. In addition, Michigan State’s Maxim Štrbák is a candidate for Slovakia, having participated in their World Junior training camp.

• Notre Dame has been invited to take part in the 2025 Ice Breaker Tournament, scheduled for Oct. 10-11, 2025 at Mullett Arena in Tempe, Arizona. A collaboration of the Hockey Commissioners Association (HCA) and College Hockey Inc., the Ice Breaker traditionally marks the start of the NCAA Division I season and has been in existence since 1997. Notre Dame will be making its fifth appearance, having won the event in 2018. Minnesota represented the Big Ten at the 2024 Ice Breaker in October, advancing to the championship game in Las Vegas. 

• Big Ten Hockey heads outdoors the first week of the new year with the Frozen Confines: Big Ten Hockey Series at Wrigley Field on January 3-4. Six Big Ten teams will make the trip to Chicago: Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State and Wisconsin. In addition, the two-day doubleheader will feature a Western Collegiate Hockey Association women’s game between Ohio State and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes and Badgers have met in the last two NCAA Women’s Finals and have combined to win the last five NCAA Championships. All four games of the Frozen Confines will be carried by the Big Ten Network. Tickets, starting at $15, are on sale at Cubs.com/BigTenHockey.