Week of Oct 29th
BIG TEN HOCKEY
• This week marks the start of conference play for six Big Ten teams as the calendar turns over from October to November. No. 4/4 Penn State will meet No. 17/17 Ohio State in Columbus in a rematch of last year’s Big Ten Tournament Semifinals (won by OSU). No. 19/18 Minnesota, last season’s co-champions, travels to No. 14/14 Wisconsin for the latest installment of the Border Battle. Those four teams will be featured Thursday as part of a Big Ten Network doubleheader. Penn State-Ohio State face off at 6:30 p.m. ET, followed by Minnesota-Wisconsin at 9 p.m. ET. Riding a four-game unbeaten streak, Notre Dame will host No. 2/2 Michigan for a pair of games streamed on Peacock. The Fighting Irish hold a 16-15-1 edge in the series since joining the Big Ten as an affiliate member in 2017-18. No.1/1 Michigan State, on the hunt for its third-straight regular season title, is off this week. The Spartans, incidentally, are one of seven Big Ten sports teams ranked No. 1 in the country, joining: Minnesota (women’s hockey), Nebraska (women’s volleyball), Ohio State (football), Penn State (wrestling), Purdue (men’s basketball) and USC (men’s water polo).
• Last week’s slate of games produced some notable achievements. Michigan State’s Trey Augustine logged his eighth career shutout, moving into sole possession of seventh place on MSU’s all-time list. Teammate Daniel Russell notched his 12th career game-winning goal on Saturday, the most among active NCAA players. Speaking of GWGs, JJ Wiebusch provided the decisive goal on consecutive nights in Penn State’s sweep of Stonehill. Wiebusch scored a power play tally with 22.5 seconds left in regulation on Friday, then notched his NCAA-leading ninth goal on Saturday. Wiebusch has joined Matt DiMarsico and Charlie Cerrato on the B-T-B Boys line (shorthand for “back-to-back” goals) that leads the country with 45 combined points (20 goals, 25 assists).
• Freshmen goaltenders are excelling in the Big Ten, sporting the three-lowest goals-against averages in the conference. All three played in the Canadian Hockey League last year.
Goaltender, School (Junior Team) — GAA / SV% / REC
Josh Fleming, Penn State (Acadie-Bathurst/QMJHL) — 1.34 / .952 / 3-0-0
Jack Ivankovic, Michigan (Brampton/OHL) — 1.38 / .937 / 7-1-0
Daniel Hauser, Wisconsin (Calgary/WHL) — 1.46 / .938 / 4-2-0
• Some of the nation’s best penalty-killing units have found a home in the Big Ten. Notre Dame has allowed one goal in 24 shorthanded situations (.958), leading a group of four operating above 90 percent. Penn State is 36 for 39 on the kill (.923), Ohio State 20 for 22 (.909) and Michigan 28 for 31 (.903).
• The latest NCAA Percentage Index (NPI) finds five Big Ten teams ranked in the top 10. Wisconsin occupies the top spot with Michigan ranked third, Ohio State rated sixth, Michigan State placed seventh and Penn State listed eighth. The NPI has replaced the Pairwise as the official system for selecting and seeding teams for the NCAA postseason.
