By John Fineran
WHO: Penn State Nittany Lions (20-9-1 overall, 12-7-1 Big Ten for 39 points and third place) vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-22-4 overall, 2-17-1 Big Ten for 9 points and seventh place).
WHEN/WHERE: Friday at 7:05 p.m. and Saturday at 6:05 p.m. at the Charles W. “Lefty” Smith Rink (4,852) in the Compton Family Ice Arena, South Bend, Ind.
RADIO: WSBT-AM (960) and UND.com (Tyler Reidy).
TV/STREAMING: Peacock (Tony Simeone and Steve Konroyd).
TICKETS/PROMOTIONS: Available both nights … Friday is Fan Appreciation Night with green beanie hats provided to fans (until they run out) by Jordan Lexus of Mishawaka. … Saturday is Senior Night and Irish Wear Green and fans will be able to receive green t-shirts and pom poms from Papa Vino’s upon entering. Ten minutes prior to the 6:05 p.m. faceoff, the senior class and graduate players will be introduced with their families.
LINE CHARTS: Available for both teams at www.fightingirish.com/HKYLineCharts approximately one hour before faceoff both nights.
COACHES: Penn State, Guy Gadowsky (Colorado College, 1989), 251-209-33 in 14th season at Penn State, 423-407-70 in 26th season overall. … Notre Dame, Brock Sheahan (Notre Dame, 2008), 6-22-4 in first season at Notre Dame and overall.
RANKINGS: Penn State is ranked No. 5 in the USCHO.com media, No. 5 in the USA Hockey Magazine/The Rink Live coaches poll and is No. 5 in the latest NCAA Percentage Index. … Notre Dame is not receiving votes in either the media or coaches polls and is No. 53 in the NCAA Percentage Index.
PREVIEW: The final home series of the season will be the last two home games for six players – senior defenseman and co-captain Michael Mastrodomenico, senior defenseman Axel Kumlin, senior left wing Niko Jovanovic, graduate center Sutter Muzzatti, graduate goaltender Luke Pearson and senior goaltender Jack Williams. Also to be saluted are senior student managers Katherine Devine, Taylor Girard and Avery White. They and their families all will be honored prior to Saturday’s game against Penn State.
The Irish hope to bounce back from last week’s 4-2 and 8-2 losses at No. 1 Michigan State and hope to have sophomore goaltender Nicholas Kempf back to meet Penn State. Kempf suffered an upper-body injury during the second period of the opening game against the Spartans and replaced by Pearson, who finished that game and then started and went the distance in game two.
The two losses in East Lansing ended an encouraging surge – two victories, three ties and two one-goal losses – for first-year coach Brock Sheahan and his team. Leading the way have been Kempf, Muzzatti and linemates Evan Werner and Cole Brown, junior center and co-captain Danny Nelson and linemates Cole Knuble and Brennan Ali and junior defenseman Paul Fischer.
Since the beginning of the new year, coach Guy Gadowsky’s Nittany Lions are 9-4-1, including a Jan. 16-17 sweep of the Irish 4-1 and 6-3 at the Pegula Ice Arena where last weekend Penn State won games 11-4 and 5-4 in overtime against Ohio State, which hosts Notre Dame next week. Penn State’s power play went 5-for-5 in Friday’s victory and then 2-for-6 on Saturday.
Leading the way last weekend was freshman left wing Gavin McKenna. The Canadian from Whitehorse, Yukon, who is expected to be a top choice in this summer’s NHL Draft, is coming off a 10-point weekend (two goals, including Saturday’s game-winner, and eight assists) against the Buckeyes.
In the 11-4 victory, McKenna had one goal and seven assists – the most by a Division I player in 39 years according to College Hockey News. The assists and points are both records for the Big Ten, which named McKenna its First Star of the Week (McKenna has two First Stars and two Third Stars this season).
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS: McKenna leads Penn State with 13 goals, 30 assists and 43 points. … Next is junior left wing Matt DiMarsico (17-22-39), sophomore right wing JJ Wiebusch (16-17-33), junior right wing Aiden Fink (6-23-29), junior center Reese Laubach (10-15-25), freshman defenseman Jackson Smith (11-13-24), sophomore center Charlie Cerrato (6-18-24), junior center Dane Dowiak (9-9-18), freshman center Luke Misa (7-10-17), senior defenseman Jarod Crespo (5-9-14), junior defenseman Mac Gadowsky (0-12-12) and graduate center Ben Schoen (2-9-11). … Three players – DiMarsico, Wiebusch and Smith – have seven power-play goals each while McKenna has four. … Dowiak leads the team with four shorthanded goals. … Crespo leads Penn State in blocked shots with 37, two more than Gadowsky, and they are followed by senior defenseman Carter Schade (32) and Smith (28). … Cerrato, who is doubtful for the series because of any injury, leads Penn State with a faceoff-win percentage of 59.7 (219-148) followed by Dowiak at 53.5 (189-164), Misa at 53.0 (177-157), Laubach at 51.1 (117-112) and sophomore center Nicholas Chin-DeGraves at 50.5 (157-154). … Sophomore Kevin Reidler (16 games) and freshman Joshua Fleming (14) share the goaltending chores. … Reidler is 11-5-0 with a 3.11 goals-against average and a saves percentage of .906, while Fleming has two shutouts and is 9-4-1 with a 2.29 goals-against average and a saves percentage of .932. … NCAA statistics (through Sunday): Scoring offense, 3.87 goals per game (3rd); scoring defense, 2.93 goals per game (31st); scoring margin, 0.93 goals per game (13th); power-play percentage, 0.275 (36 of 131) (8th); penalty-kill percentage, 0.836 (102 of 122) (12th); faceoff win percentage, 0.529 (1,032-920) (9th); penalty minutes per game, 20.00 (1st); blocked shots, 374 (38th); shots per game, 35.90 (1st); opponent shots per game, 33.67 (54th).
SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH: Junior right wing Evan Werner (15-13-28) continues to lead Notre Dame in goals and scoring, followed by his grad center Sutter Muzzatti (11-16-27), junior right wing Cole Knuble (7-18-25) and his junior center, co-captain Danny Nelson (11-13-24). … They are followed by freshman left wing Cole Brown (6-13-19), junior defenseman Paul Fischer (5-14-19), senior defenseman Axel Kumlin (2-13-15), freshman center Pano Fimis (5-9-14), junior left wing Brennan Ali (7-16-13), senior defenseman and co-captain Michael Mastrodomenico (5-7-12) and junior defenseman Henry Nelson (3-8-11). … Werner and Danny Nelson lead the Irish with six power-play goals each, while Muzzatti, Knuble and Fimis have three each. … Muzzatti and Knuble each had a shorthanded goal. … Sophomore defenseman Jimmy Jurcev leads the team in blocked shots with 42 followed by sophomore Jaedon Kerr (33), Fischer (32), Henry Nelson (31) and Kumlin (30). … Fimis leads the team in faceoff-win percentage at 60.1 (230-153) followed by junior center Jayden Davis at 52.2 (82-75), Danny Nelson at 51.3 (306-290) and Muzzatti at 50.6 (264-258). … Sophomore Nicholas Kempf is 6-18-4 in 29 games with one shutout, a 3.56 goals-against average and a saves percentage of .894. … Graduate goaltender Luke Pearson fell to 0-3-0 with his two losses last week at Michigan State and saw his goals-against average rise to 5.23 and his saves percentage fall to .869. … NCAA statistics (through Sunday): Scoring offense, 2.69 goals per game (42nd); scoring defense, 4.13 goals per game (61st); scoring margin, -1.44 goals per game (58th); power-play percentage, 0.286 (28 of 98) (4th); penalty-kill percentage, 0.765 (88 of 115) (48th); faceoff win percentage, 0.513 (1,025-974) (22nd); penalty minutes per game, 16.22 (5th); blocked shots, 348 (50th); shots per game, 30.84 (24th); opponent shots per game, 34.34 (56th).
RIVALRY: Notre Dame leads 24-14-7 in series which began with 4-4 tie on Feb. 10, 1984 at the Penn State Ice Pavilion. … Earlier this season at the Pegula Ice Arena in State College, Pa., the Nittany Lions swept the Irish 4-1 (Jan. 16) and 6-3 (Jan. 17). … The recaps:
Penn State 4, Notre Dame 1 (Jan. 16): Junior left wing Matt DiMarsico scored a pair of power-play goals in the first two periods to give the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead before junior right wing Evan Werner of Notre Dame countered with a power-play goal of his own midway through the second period. But Penn State took a 3-1 lead on Luke Misa’s power-play goal at 17:35 of the second period and DiMarsico completed his hat trick with an empty-net tally at 18:14 of the third. Misa finished with a three-point night (goal and two assists) while freshman left wing Gavin McKenna and sophomore right wing JJ Wiebusch each had a pair of assists. Joshua Fleming made 41 saves for the Nittany Lions – 14 in the first period and 20 in the third – while sophomore Nicholas Kempf made 39 Penn State saves (13-14-12 by periods).
Penn State 6, Notre Dame 3 (Jan. 17): After the Irish twice rallied from deficits to tie the game 2-2 and 3-3, the Nittany Lions scored three unanswered games to complete the series sweep. Sophomore right wing JJ Wiebusch and freshman defenseman Jackson Smith gave Penn State a 2-0 lead in the first 7:06. But junior left wing Brennan Ali (18:34) and junior right wing Cole Knuble scored 15 seconds apart to tie the game at 2-2. Freshman left wing Gavin McKenna made it 3-2 early in the second period before Notre Dame graduate center Sutter Muzzatti scored a shorthanded goal at 11:11 to tie the game at 3-3. But Matt DiMarsico scored a power-play goal late in the second period to put the Nittany Lions up 4-3, and teammates McKenna and junior Dane Dowiak capped off the scoring with third-period goals. Aiden Fink finished with four assists for Penn State, while McKenna had two goals and an assist and Smith had a three-point night with two assists. Muzzatti (goal, assist) and sophomore defenseman Jimmy Jurcev (two assists) had multi-point games for the Irish. Penn State goalie Kevin Reidler finished with 27 saves, while Nicholas Kempf had 29 for the Irish.
LAST WEEK’S RECAPS: The Irish, who tied Minnesota 2-2 and beat the Gophers 3-2 in their last home series Feb. 13-14 at Compton, were swept last week by No. 1 Michigan State in East Lansing, 4-2 (Feb. 19) and 8-2 (Feb. 20). … The Nittany Lions are coming off 11-4 (Feb. 20) and 5-4 overtime (Feb. 21) victories against visiting Ohio State. … The recaps:
Michigan State 4, Notre Dame 2 (Feb. 19): The Irish twice rallied from deficits to tie the game at 1-1 and 2-2. Freshman right wing Dashel Oliver scored his first career goal for Notre Dame on a one-timer off a pretty feed from freshman Pano Fimis to tie the game at 1-1 in the first period. After MSU had taken a 2-1 lead early in the second period, Cole Knuble scored at 4:44 of the period on a power-play goal. But then Irish goaltender Nicholas Kempf was injured in a collision in the crease after making 18 saves and was replaced by grad-transfer Luke Pearson, who surrendered the eventual winning goal to Gavin O’Connell on a power play at 18:22 of the second period. Freshman right wing Porter Martone then scored into an empty net to assure the top-ranked Spartans’ victory. The Irish outshot the Spartans 39-31. Junior All-American Trey Augustine had 37 saves for the Spartans, while Pearson finished with nine.
Michigan State 8, Notre Dame 2 (Feb. 20): Pearson got the starting nod for the series finale Friday and stopped 13 of MSU’s 14 first-period shots. The only one that eluded him was a goal by Porter Martone on an early power play at 1:16. But the Irish tied it on senior defenseman/co-captain Michael Mastrodomenico’s power-play goal at 9:44 and the period ended 1-1. The Spartans then pulled away in the second period on goals by Ryker Lee (0:45), Martone (11:13) and Tommi Mannisto (13:42). Pano Fimis gave Notre Dame some momentary hope with a power-play goal at 14:18, but Michigan State closed the second period with a power-play goal by Owen West and then added goals by Martone, Griffin Jurecki and Lee in the third period. Michigan State outshot Notre Dame 42-28 and won the faceoff battles 48-26 in the penalty-marred game (nine penalties for each team). Junior Trey Augustine finished with 24 saves, 10 fewer than Pearson.
Penn State 11, Ohio State 4 (Feb. 20): Freshman left wing Gavin McKenna had quite a night, scoring one goal and assisting on seven others, while Penn State scored six times in the second period. Aiden Fink (with an assist from McKenna) and McKenna gave Penn State a 2-0 lead in the first period before the Buckeyes cut the lead in half. Then in the second period, the Nittany Lions increased the lead to 4-1 on goals by Matt DiMarsico and JJ Wiebusch that sent starting goaltender Kristoffer Eberly to the Ohio State bench after making 15 saves. Penn State then got goals against his replacement Sam Hillebrandt from Shea Van Olm (two), Luke Misa and DiMarsico again to open up an 8-2 lead after two periods. McKenna had assists on four of the goals and on two of Penn State’s three goals (by Luke Misa, Jackson Smith and Reese Laubach) in the third period. DiMarsico and Misa finished with two goals each with DiMarsico having a four-point night. Fink added four assists for a five-point night. OSU goalie Hillebrandt finished with 12 saves. Meanwhile, Penn State freshman Joshua Fleming made 38 saves, 17 in the first period and 13 in the third.
Penn State 5, Ohio State 4 (OT) (Feb. 21): After the teams skated to a 1-1 draw in the first period, the Buckeyes got three goals in the second period from Felix Caron, Sam Deckhut and Max Montes to take a 4-1 lead. But the Nittany Lions started their comeback on a goal by JJ Wiebusch at 14:36 of the second period. Wiebusch and Jarod Crespo tied the game with goals 37 seconds apart early in the third. Then McKenna did his thing in the 3-on-3 overtime, stickhandling around Buckeye defenders before beating Kristoffer Eberly at 2:40 for the game-winner. His goal and an earlier assist completed his 10-point weekend (two goals, eight assists). Eberly finished with 25 saves, 13 in the first period, while Kevin Reidler got the win for Penn State, making 33 saves, 16 in the second period.
IRISH-NITTANY LIONS CONNECTIONS: Charlie Cerrato, a sophomore center who has not played since Jan. 9 with an undisclosed injury, is the son of former Notre Dame recruiting coordinator Vinny Cerrato. … At the time of his injury, Cerrato was Penn State’s leading scorer. … The Nittany Lions hope to perhaps have him available for the postseason. … The elder Cerrato, a former quarterback and wide receiver at Iowa State, followed Irish coach Lou Holtz from Minnesota and worked at Notre Dame from 1985 through 1991. … He was instrumental in recruiting many of the players who played on Notre Dame’s last national championship team in 1988. … Vinny Cerrato later worked for the San Francisco 49ers as the director of college scouting and director of player personnel before moving to the Washington Redskins (now Commanders) for whom he worked a director of player personnel and vice president of football operations through late 2009. … He now works in radio at 105.7 The Fan in Baltimore while supporting son Charlie’s hockey career.
BROCK SHEAHAN ON HIS DEPARTING PLAYERS
“They are so important to what we’ve been doing this year. Their ability to show up every day and try to do what we’re asking – it’s been there. If that’s not there, it makes a miserable existence and a disconnected hockey team. I think I’ve said this before – if you come and watch us practice, you wouldn’t know what our record is.
“A lot of that has to do with the approach our guys have, especially guys like (Michael) Mastrodomenico and (Axel) Kumlin.
“Bringing in Sutter Muzzatti (from RPI) was just unbelievable for us. He so grateful for his opportunity to be at Notre Dame, and it’s the same for Luke Pearson (from Yale).
“Jack Williams hasn’t played a ton, but he’s the consummate teammate and an unbelievable kid to be around. And Niko (Jovanovic) has taken the bull by the horns and earned ice time, the most he’s had in his career.
“I’m proud of all those guys, and I am hopeful that our guys can put it together for them this weekend.”
NEXT UP: Both teams have Thursday-Friday series to end the regular season as Notre Dame travels to Ohio State while Penn State entertains Wisconsin.
BIG TEN STANDINGS AND SCHEDULE
(Numbers in parentheses are school’s rankings in this week’s USCHO.com media poll / USA Hockey-The Rink Live coaches poll):
Conference Overall
GP Pts W-L-T-SW-OW-OL GF-GA W-L-T GF-GA
(2/2) Michigan 22 46 16-5-1-1-4-0 90-60 25-6-1 145-76
(1/1) Michigan State 20 45 15-5-0-0-2-2 74-42 24-6-0 115-59
(5/5) Penn State 20 38 12-7-1-0-1-2 75-63 20-9-1 116-88
(12/13) Wisconsin 22 33 12-10-0-0-3-0 83-79 19-11-2 117-96
(nr/nr) Ohio State 20 23 7-13-0-0-1-3 63-87 11-18-1 91-111
(nr/nr) Minnesota 20 22 6-13-1-1-0-2 51-63 10-19-2 85-103
(nr/nr) Notre Dame 20 9 2-17-1-0-0-2 49-91 6-22-4 86-132
THIS WEEK
Thursday, Feb. 26
Minnesota at Michigan, 6:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Friday, Feb. 27
Penn State at Notre Dame, 7:05 p.m. (WSBT-AM and UND.com) (Peacock)
Minnesota at Michigan, 6 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Ohio State at Michigan State, 8:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
Saturday, Feb. 28
Penn State at Notre Dame, 6:05 p.m. (WSBT-AM and UND.com) (Peacock)
Ohio State at Michigan State, 8 p.m. (Big Ten Network)
NEXT WEEK
Thursday, March 5
Notre Dame at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m. (B1G+)
Wisconsin at Penn State, 7 p.m. (B1G+)
Michigan State at Minnesota, 8 p.m. (B1G+) (FOX9)
Simon Fraser at Michigan, 7 p.m. (exhibition)
Friday, March 6
Notre Dame at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m. (B1G+)
Wisconsin at Penn State, 7 p.m. (B1G+)
Michigan State at Minnesota, 8 p.m. (B1G+) (FOX9)
POSTSEASON TOURNAMENT
Wednesday, March 11 quarterfinals
Regular-season champion-BYE
Notre Dame at No. 2 seed
No. 6 seed at No. 3 seed
No. 5 seed at No. 4 seed
Saturday, March 14 semifinals
Lowest remaining seed at regular-season champion
Second lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed
Saturday, March 21 championship
Semifinal winners at highest seed remaining
THIS WEEK’S USCHO.COM TOP 20 TEAMS AND OTHERS
Listed is school with its conference, overall record and latest NCAA Power Index (NPI) in parentheses and its schedule and results:
1. Michigan State (Big Ten) (24-6-0) (1 NPI) vs. Ohio State Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Ohio State; March 5 at Minnesota; March 6 at Minnesota.
2. Michigan (Big Ten) (25-6-1) (2 NPI) vs. Minnesota Thursday. Next: Friday vs. Minnesota; March 5 vs. Simon Fraser (exhibition).
3. North Dakota (NCHC) (24-7-1) (3 NPI) at Western Michigan Friday. Next: Saturday at Western Michigan.
4. Western Michigan (NCHC) (23-8-1) (4 NPI) vs. North Dakota Friday. Next: Saturday vs. North Dakota.
5. Penn State (Big Ten) (20-9-1) (5 NPI) at Notre Dame Friday. Next: Saturday at Notre Dame; March 5 vs. Wisconsin; March 6 vs. Wisconsin.
6. Providence (Hockey East) (21-8-2) (6 NPI) vs. New Hampshire Friday. Next: Saturday at New Hampshire; March 7 vs. Connecticut.
7. Quinnipiac (ECAC) (25-6-3) (7 NPI) at Dartmouth Friday. Next: Saturday at Harvard.
8. Denver (NCHC) (19-11-3) (9 NPI) vs. Arizona State Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Arizona State.
9. Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) (20-12-0) (8 NPI) vs. Colorado College Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Colorado College.
10. Boston College (Hockey East) (19-10-1) (12 NPI) at Boston University Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Boston University; March 5 at Massachusetts; March 7 vs. Northeastern.
11. Cornell (ECAC) (18-8-1) (10 NPI) vs. St. Lawrence Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Clarkson.
12. Wisconsin (Big Ten) (19-11-2) (13 NPI) is idle this weekend. Next: March 5 at Penn State; March 6 at Penn State.
13. Connecticut (Hockey East) (17-9-4) (14 NPI) vs. Massachusetts Friday. Next: Saturday at Massachusetts; March 5 vs. New Hampshire; March 7 at Providence.
14. Dartmouth (ECAC) (18-7-3) (11 NPI) vs. Quinnipiac Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Princeton.
15. Augustana (CCHA) (20-10-4) (17 NPI) is idle this weekend. Next: CCHA playoffs.
16. Michigan Tech (CCHA) (21-10-3) (18 NPI) vs. Bowling Green Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Bowling Green.
17. St. Thomas (CCHA) (18-10-4) (15 NPI) at Bemidji State Friday. Next: Saturday at Bemidji State.
18. Minnesota State (CCHA) (17-9-6) (16 NPI) vs. Northern Michigan Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Northern Michigan.
19. Massachusetts (Hockey East) (18-12-0) (19 NPI) at Connecticut Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Connecticut; March 5 vs. Boston College; March 7 at New Hampshire.
20. Maine (Hockey East) (16-12-3) (22 NPI) at Northeastern Friday. Next: Saturday at Northeastern; March 7 at Vermont.
Receiving votes
Union (ECAC) (19-10-3) (20 NPI) at Yale Friday. Next: Saturday at Brown.
Bentley (Atlantic Hockey) (18-9-5) (25 NPI) vs. Air Force Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Air Force.
Miami (NCHC) (17-13-2) (26 NPI) at Omaha Friday. Next: Saturday at Omaha.
Bowling Green (CCHA) (16-9-7) (21 NPI) at Michigan Tech Friday. Next: Saturday at Michigan Tech.
St. Cloud State (NCHC) (16-17-1) (23 NPI) is off this weekend. Next: NCHC playoffs.
Boston University (Hockey East) (14-15-2) (28 NPI) vs. Boston College Friday. Next: Saturday at Boston College; March 7 at UMass Lowell.
Northeastern (Hockey East) (15-15-1) (24 NPI) vs. Maine Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Maine; March 7 at Boston College.
Princeton (ECAC) (15-11-2) (27 NPI) at Harvard Friday. Next: Saturday at Dartmouth.
Sacred Heart (Atlantic Hockey) (17-12-3) (33 NPI) at Army Friday. Next: Saturday at Army.
Other teams
BIG TEN
Ohio State (Big Ten) (11-18-1) (29 NPI) at Michigan State Friday. Next: Saturday at Michigan State; March 5 vs. Notre Dame; March 6 vs. Notre Dame.
Minnesota (Big Ten) (10-19-2) (39 NPI) at Michigan Friday. Next: Saturday at Michigan; March 5 vs. Michigan State; March 6 vs. Michigan State.
Notre Dame (Big Ten) (6-22-4) (53 NPI) vs. Penn State Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Penn State; March 5 at Ohio State; March 6 at Ohio State.
NCHC
Colorado College (NCHC) (12-15-5) (32 NPI) at Minnesota Duluth Friday. Next: Feb. 28 at Minnesota Duluth.
Arizona State (NCHC) (14-19-1) (38 NPI) at Denver Friday. Next: Saturday at Denver.
Omaha (NCHC) (11-21-0) (41 NPI) vs. Miami Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Miami.
HOCKEY EAST
Merrimack (Hockey East) (15-15-1) (30 NPI) vs. Vermont Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Vermont; March 6 vs. UMass Lowell.
New Hampshire (Hockey East) (13-16-1) (34 NPI) at Providence Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Providence; March 5 at Connecticut; March 7 vs. Massachusetts.
UMass Lowell (Hockey East) (12-20-0) (47 NPI) is idle this week. Next: March 5 at Merrimack; March 7 vs. Boston University.
Vermont (Hockey East) (12-19-0) (51 NPI) at Merrimack Friday. Next: Saturday at Merrimack; March 7 vs. Maine.
ECAC
Harvard (ECAC) (13-13-2) (31 NPI) vs. Princeton Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Quinnipiac.
Clarkson (ECAC) (14-15-3) (42 NPI) at Colgate Friday. Next: Saturday at Cornell.
Colgate (ECAC) (11-17-4) (48 NPI) vs. Clarkson Friday. Next: Saturday vs. St. Lawrence.
RPI (ECAC) (9-22-1) (54 NPI) at Brown Friday. Next: Saturday at Yale.
Yale (ECAC) (8-19-1) (56 NPI) vs. Union Friday. Next: Saturday vs. RPI.
Brown (ECAC) (5-21-2) (59 NPI) vs. RPI Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Union.
St. Lawrence (ECAC) (7-22-3) (60 NPI) at Cornell Friday. Next: Saturday at Colgate.
CCHA
Lake Superior State (CCHA) (11-19-2) (49 NPI) vs. Ferris State Thursday. Next: Friday vs. Ferris State.
Bemidji State (CCHA) (12-17-3) (50 NPI) vs. St. Thomas Friday. Next: Saturday vs. St. Thomas.
Ferris State (CCHA) (6-25-1) (58 NPI) at Lake Superior State Thursday. Next: Friday at Lake Superior State.
Northern Michigan (CCHA) (3-28-1) (62 NPI) at Minnesota State Friday. Next: Saturday at Minnesota State.
ATLANTIC HOCKEY
RIT (Atlantic Hockey) (17-13-2) (36 NPI) at Holy Cross Friday. Next: Saturday at Holy Cross.
Air Force (Atlantic Hockey) (15-13-4) (40 NPI) at Bentley Friday. Next: Saturday at Bentley.
Army (Atlantic Hockey) (12-14-6) (43 NPI) vs. Sacred Heart Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Sacred Heart.
Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) (14-16-2) (44 NPI) vs. RIT Friday. Next: Saturday vs. RIT.
Canisius (Atlantic Hockey) (16-14-2) (46 NPI) at Niagara Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Niagara.
Robert Morris (Atlantic Hockey) (11-18-3) (52 NPI) at Mercyhurst Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Mercyhurst.
Niagara (Atlantic Hockey) (11-20-1) (55 NPI) vs. Canisius Friday. Next: Saturday at Canisius.
Mercyhurst (Atlantic Hockey) (5-24-3) (63 NPI) vs. Robert Morris Friday. Next: Saturday at Robert Morris.
INDEPENDENTS
Alaska (Independent) (12-15-2) (35 NPI) vs. Alaska Anchorage Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Alaska Anchorage; March 5-7 at United Collegiate Hockey Cup.
Lindenwood (Independent) (14-14-0) (37 NPI) is off this weekend. Next: March 5-7 at United Collegiate Hockey Cup.
Long Island (Independent) (11-17-1) (45 NPI) is idle this weekend. Next: March 5-7 at United Collegiate Hockey Cup.
Stonehill (Independent) (9-21-2) (57 NPI) vs. Simon Fraser Friday (exhibition). Next: Saturday vs. Simon Fraser (exhibition); March 5-7 at United Collegiate Hockey Cup.
Alaska Anchorage (Independent) (5-23-1) (61 NPI) at Alaska Friday. Next: Saturday at Alaska; March 5-7 at United Collegiate Hockey Cup.
SCORES
SUNDAY, FEB. 22
Non-conference
Lindenwood 9, U.S. Under-18 Team 4 (exhibition)
SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, FEB. 26
Big Ten Conference (Big Ten)
Minnesota at Michigan, 6:30 p.m.
Central College Hockey Association (CCHA)
Ferris State at Lake Superior State, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, FEB. 27
Big Ten Conference (Big Ten)
Penn State at Notre Dame, 7:05 p.m.
Minnesota at Michigan, 6 p.m.
Ohio State at Michigan State, 8:30 p.m.
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA)
Canisius at Niagara, 6 p.m.
RIT at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.
Robert Morris at Mercyhurst, 7 p.m.
Sacred Heart at Army, 7 p.m.
Air Force at Bentley, 7:05 p.m.
Central College Hockey Association (CCHA)
Ferris State at Lake Superior State, 7 p.m.
Bowling Green at Michigan Tech, 7:07 p.m.
Northern Michigan at Minnesota State, 8:07 p.m.
St. Thomas at Bemidji State, 8:07 p.m.
Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey (ECAC)
Quinnipiac at Dartmouth, 7 p.m.
St. Lawrence at Cornell, 7 p.m.
RPI at Brown, 7 p.m.
Clarkson at Colgate, 7 p.m.
Princeton at Harvard, 7 p.m.
Union at Yale, 7 p.m.
Hockey East Association (HEA)
Boston College at Boston University, 7 p.m.
Massachusetts at Connecticut, 7 p.m.
Vermont at Merrimack, 7 p.m.
Maine at Northeastern, 7 p.m.
New Hampshire at Providence, 7 p.m.
National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC)
North Dakota at Western Michigan, 8 p.m.
Miami at Omaha, 8 p.m.
Colorado College at Minnesota Duluth, 8:07 p.m.
Arizona State at Denver, 9 p.m.
Non-conference
Simon Fraser at Stonehill, 7 p.m. (exhibition)
Alaska Anchorage at Alaska, 11:07 p.m.
SATURDAY, FEB. 28
Big Ten Conference (Big Ten)
Penn State at Notre Dame, 6:05 p.m.
Ohio State at Michigan State, 8 p.m.
Atlantic Hockey America (AHA)
Sacred Heart at Army, 4 p.m.
Niagara at Canisius, 6 p.m.
Air Force at Bentley, 6:05 p.m.
RIT at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.
Mercyhurst at Robert Morris, 7 p.m.
Central College Hockey Association (CCHA)
Bowling Green at Michigan Tech, 6:07 p.m.
Northern Michigan at Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.
St. Thomas at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m.
Eastern College Athletic Conference Hockey (ECAC)
Quinnipiac at Harvard, 7 p.m.
Princeton at Dartmouth, 7 p.m.
Clarkson at Cornell, 7 p.m.
Union at Brown, 7 p.m.
St. Lawrence at Colgate, 7 p.m.
RPI at Yale, 7 p.m.
Hockey East Association (HEA)
Vermont at Merrimack, 6 p.m.
Connecticut at Massachusetts, 7 p.m.
Providence at New Hampshire, 7 p.m.
Maine at Northeastern, 7 p.m.
Boston University at Boston College, 7 p.m.
National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC)
North Dakota at Western Michigan, 7 p.m.
Colorado College at Minnesota Duluth, 7:07 p.m.
Miami at Omaha, 8 p.m.
Arizona State at Denver, 8 p.m.
Non-conference
Simon Fraser at Stonehill, 7 p.m. (exhibition)
Alaska Anchorage at Alaska, 11:07 p.m.
THURSDAY, MARCH 5
Big Ten Conference (Big Ten)
Notre Dame at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.
Wisconsin at Penn State, 7 p.m.
Michigan State at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Non-conference
Simon Fraser at Michigan, 7 p.m. (exhibition)
Hockey East Association (HEA)
New Hampshire at Connecticut, 7 p.m.
Boston College at Massachusetts, 7 p.m.
UMass Lowell at Merrimack, 7 p.m.
FRIDAY, MARCH 6
Big Ten Conference (Big Ten)
Notre Dame at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.
Wisconsin at Penn State, 7 p.m.
Michigan State at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
SATURDAY, MARCH 7
Hockey East Association (HEA)
Connecticut at Providence, 4 p.m.
Boston University at UMass Lowell, 6 p.m.
Northeastern at Boston College, 7 p.m.
Massachusetts at New Hampshire, 7 p.m.
Maine at Vermont, 7 p.m.