By Roy J. Akers-www.skyviewsports.net
B1G News
BIG TEN HOCKEY
• Big Ten Hockey closes the month of January with three conference series as the top four teams square off. No. 2/2 Michigan State, which has opened a five-point lead atop the standings, travels to No. 11/11 Ohio State. Thursday’s game will be carried by the Big Ten Network. The first team in the nation to reach 20 wins, the Spartans have won six of their last seven against the Buckeyes. OSU resides in third place after being picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll. The Border Battle resumes Friday when No. 17/18 Wisconsin takes on No. 4/4 Minnesota in Minneapolis. The Badgers are back in the Top-20 polls for the first time since October 21 while the Gophers look for a series sweep after taking a pair of one-goal games from Wisconsin in mid-November. No. 13/12 Michigan returns to Yost Ice Arena to host rv/rv Penn State, which is unbeaten in its last five games (3-0-2). Michigan swept two high-scoring affairs at PSU just before Thanksgiving by a 16-11 margin. Notre Dame is idle this week.
• No lead was safe last weekend as Big Ten teams battled for valuable points in the standings. Wisconsin overcame a 3-1 first-period deficit against Michigan on Saturday, coming back to force a 4-4 tie. The night before, Wisconsin rallied from a two-goal deficit in the second period to beat Michigan, 5-4. That same night, Penn State dug itself out of a 3-0 hole against Ohio State, in a game that ended in a 6-6 tie. It matched the second-highest tied game in Big Ten history, trailing only a 7-7 contest between Ohio State and Michigan State on Jan. 4, 2019.
• Penn State drew a record crowd of 6,604 to Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday, continuing a trend of full arenas around the conference. Five Big Ten schools rank in the Top-10 nationally in attendance — Wisconsin (2nd), Minnesota (3rd), Michigan State (6th), Penn State (8th) and Michigan (9th). Michigan State is playing to 107.2 percent capacity at Munn Ice Arena, Michigan to 98.2 percent capacity and Minnesota to 96.1 percent capacity. Total home attendance this season for Big Ten teams has surpassed half a million (606,393). In addition, five of the six largest attended games involved Big Ten teams, topped by crowds of 25,709 and 24,788 that attended the Frozen Confines at Wrigley Field.
• The 2025 Hobey Baker Award fan vote is underway and continues through March 30. On-line voting can be accessed at https://hobeybaker.com/vote. The 15 Big Ten nominees are:
Ethan Edwards, Sr., D, MICH
Michael Hage, Fr., F, MICH
T.J. Hughes, Jr., F, MICH
Trey Augustine, So., G, MSU
Isaac Howard, Jr., F, MSU
Sam Rinzel, So., D, MINN
Jimmy Snuggerud, Jr., F, MINN
Cole Knuble, So., F, ND
Damien Carfagna, Jr., D, OSU
Kristoffer Eberly, So., G, OSU
Gunnarwolfe Fontaine, Gr., F, OSU
Aiden Fink, So., F, PSU
Quinn Finley, So., F, WIS
Gavin Morrissey, F, Fr., WIS
Ryland Mosley, Gr., F, WIS
Players of the Week
Michigan State, Penn State and Wisconsin Land Three Stars Awards
Fitzgerald (WIS), Gucciardi (MSU) and Laubach (PSU) are first-time recipients
ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference has announced its Three Stars of the Week for hockey games played Jan. 24-25.
First Star
Christian Fitzgerald, Wisconsin
Jr. – F – Coquitlam, B.C. — Minnesota State (NCAA)
- Netted three goals on the week as Wisconsin claimed four of six points from No. 10/10 Michigan in Madison, Wis.
- Scored twice on Friday to help the Badgers recover from a two-goal deficit in a 5-4 victory; recorded game-winning goal with 3:09 left in regulation
- Scored on Saturday in a 4-4 overtime tie that saw Wisconsin rally from two goals down; finished the weekend series with a plus-three rating and two blocked shots
- Secures the first Big Ten weekly award of his career
- Last Wisconsin First Star: Tommy Scarfone (Dec. 10, 2024)
Second Star
David Gucciardi, Michigan State (pronounced: goo-chee-ARR-dee)
Sr. – D – Toronto, Ontario – Waterloo (USHL)
- Scored twice in Michigan State’s 9-3 win over No. 4/3 Minnesota on Friday at Munn Ice Arena
- Assisted on two of MSU’s three goals Saturday as the No. 2/2 Spartans skated to a 3-3 overtime tie against the Gophers
- His four points were tied for the most among defenseman nationally last week
- The Washington Capitals draft product collects his first career Star award
- Last Michigan State Star recipient: Charlie Stramel (Second Star) on Jan. 21, 2025
Third Star
Reese Laubach, Penn State
So. – F – San Jose, Calif. — Omaha (USHL)
- Produced back-to-back, multiple-point games for Penn State, which recorded a 6-6 overtime tie and 3-2 overtime win over No. 9/8 Ohio State in University Park, Pa.
- Tallied the game-winning goal on Saturday, leading the Nittany Lions to their first win against a ranked team since December 2023
- Ranks second in team scoring, averaging nearly a point per game with 19 points in 20 games
- The San Jose Sharks draft pick earns his first Big Ten Star honor
- Last Penn State Star honoree: Arsenii Sergeev (First Star) on Jan. 7, 2025
