TOP-RANKED MICHIGAN AWAITS VISIT FROM STUGGLING IRISH HOCKEY TEAM
By John Fineran
WHO: Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-13-1 overall, 0-8-1 Big Ten for 1 point and seventh place) vs. Michigan Wolverines (16-4-0 overall, 7-3-0 Big Ten for 20 points and second place).
WHEN/WHERE: Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Gordon “Red” Berenson Rink in the Fielding Yost Ice Arena (5,800), Ann Arbor, Mich.
RANKINGS: Michigan is No. 1 in both the USCHO.com media and USA Hockey/The Rink Live coaches polls. … Notre Dame is not receiving votes in either poll.
PREVIEW: After being blanked in a home-and-home series with defending NCAA champion Western Michigan by identical scores of 4-0, the Irish return to Big Ten Conference play with a Friday-Saturday visit to No. 1 Michigan. The games will complete the regular-season meetings between the two teams with Michigan already owning a pair of victories from an Oct. 31-Nov. 1 series in South Bend by scores of 5-3 and 2-1 in overtime. The overtime setback did provide Notre Dame with its only point this season which has been a rebuild under first-year coach Brock Sheahan.
Coach Brandon Naurato’s Wolverines have been dominant all season. They started with a seven-game winning streak before losing 5-2 at Western Michigan on Oct. 24. The following weekend they opened Big Ten play at Notre Dame by winning five of the possible six points. After splits with Wisconsin and Penn State, Michigan won five in a row by sweeping Ohio State, Harvard and winning 3-0 at Michigan State Dec. 5. The Spartans avenged their loss the following evening with a 3-1 victory in Ann Arbor before the Christmas break. Michigan tuned up for this weekend’s series with a 7-5 exhibition victory against the U.S. Under-18 Team despite missing six players who played for the USA and Canada teams in the World Juniors Championship at Minnesota.
Led by a trio of players – left wing Will Horcoff and centers Michael Hage and T.J. Hughes – with 28 points each, Michigan enters the game as the nation’s top scoring team, averaging 4.80 goals per game. The Wolverines also have the third best power play, converting at 30.5 percent (25 of 82). Defensively, Michigan is allowing just 2.05 goals a game (fourth nationally) thanks to stellar playing from freshman netminder Jack Ivankovic.
Notre Dame enters the game on a five-game losing streak and has lost 11 of its last 12 games. The Irish stand 49th nationally in offense, averaging 2.50 goals a game, and are 60th in goals allowed at 4.06 a game.
RADIO: WSBT-AM (960) and UND.com (Tyler Reidy).
TV/STREAMING: B1G+.
RECAPS: Notre Dame is coming off a pair of 4-0 shutout losses in a home-and-home series last weekend against then No. 6/6 Western Michigan of the NCHC. … Michigan beat the U.S. Under-18 Team 7-5 in an exhibition last Saturday.
COACHES: Notre Dame, Brock Sheahan (Notre Dame 2008), 4-13-1 in first season at Notre Dame and overall. … Michigan, Brandon Naurato (Michigan 2009), 83-46-9 in fourth season at Michigan and overall.
RIVALRY: According to Notre Dame records, the teams are meeting for the 174th and 175th times with Michigan leading the series with a 94-73-6 record, including 49-33-4 in games played in Ann Arbor. … The rivalry began during the 1921-22 season on Jan. 17 with a 3-2 overtime victory by the Fighting Irish at Ann Arbor’s Weinberg Coliseum for head coach Paul Castner, who also was an All-America running back for legendary coach Knute Rockne. … The recaps from game’s earlier this season at Notre Dame:
Michigan 5, Notre Dame 3 (Oct. 31): Will Horcoff had a pair of goals and center T.J. Hughes had a goal and two assists for Michigan. … Danny Nelson had a goal and two assists and center Pano Fimis had two assists for Notre Dame which also got goals from Brennan Ali and Evan Werner, a transfer from Michigan. … Notre Dame outshot Michigan 33-27. … Freshman goaltender Jack Ivankovic had 30 saves for Michigan while sophomore Nicholas Kempf made 22 for the Irish.
Michigan 2, Notre Dame 1 (OT) (Nov. 1): Irish earned one point for the game going into overtime, their only point this season in eight Big Ten games. … Horcoff scored the game-winning goal at 2:29 during the 3-on-3 overtime. … Danny Nelson gave the Irish a 1-0 lead at 13:46 of the first period, and it held up until Nick Moldenhauer tied the game at 3:23 of the third period. … Michigan outshot the Irish 40-20. … Kempf made 38 saves, including 16 in the third period, while Ivankovic had 19 saves for the Wolverines.
SCOUTING FIGHTING IRISH: Notre Dame finally will be at full strength with the return of sophomore goaltender Nicholas Kempf (3.57 goals-against average, .893 saves percentage, one shutout) from the U.S. team which reached the quarterfinals of the World Juniors Championship in Minnesota. … Senior Jack Williams (5.17 gaa, .836 saves percentage) and graduate-transfer (from Yale) Luke Pearson (3.75 gaa, .915 saves percentage) each suffered a 4-0 non-conference loss to No. 6 Western Michigan in Kempf’s absence. … Graduate-transfer (RPI) center Sutter Muzzatti (7-8-15) and junior defenseman Paul Fischer (5-10-15) pace the Irish in scoring followed by junior-transfer (Michigan) Evan Werner (7-7-14), junior right wing Cole Knuble (3-10-13), junior center and co-captain Danny Nelson (7-4-11), freshman left wing Cole Brown (3-7-10) and freshman center Pano Fimis (2-8-10). … Sophomore defenseman Jimmy Jurcev leads the team in blocked shots with 26 followed by junior defenseman Henry Nelson (17), sophomore defenseman Jaedon Kerr (16) and senior defenseman Axel Kumlin (15). … Fimis is leading faceoff man with a 142-88 win-loss record for .617 percentage, with Danny Nelson next at 171-144 for .543 and Muzzatti third at 150-144 for .510. … Notre Dame’s power-play unit, which slipped from first in the nation to fourth last weekend after not scoring, is led by Danny Nelson’s five goals with Muzzatti and Fischer having two each. … NCAA statistics (through Jan. 4): Scoring offense, 2.50 goals per game (49th); scoring defense, 4.06 goals per game (60th); scoring margin, -1.56 goals per game (57th); power-play percentage, 0.294 (15 of 60) (4th); penalty-kill percentage, 0.850 (51 of 56) (9th); faceoff win percentage, 0.543 (595-501) (6th); penalty minutes per game, 15.06 (5th); blocked shots, 189 (57th); shots per game, 30.28 (40th); opponent shots per game, 33.94 (47th).
SCOUTING WOLVERINES: Six players – four for Team USA (center Cole McKinney, left wing Will Horcoff and defensemen Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen and Asher Barnett) and two from Team Canada (goaltender Jack Ivankovic and center Michael Hage) – return to the Wolverines lineup after competing in the IIHF World Juniors Championship in Minnesota. … Horcoff (19-9-28), Hage (10-18-28) and senior center T.J. Hughes (9-19-28) lead the Wolverines in scoring followed by junior-transfer (North Dakota) left wing Jayden Perron (6-12-18), freshman left wing Adam Valentini (5-12-17), senior-transfer (St. Thomas) right wing Josh Eernisse (9-6-15), junior-transfer (Cornell) defenseman Ben Robertson (0-14-14), Rheaume-Mullen (4-9-13) and right wing Nick Moldenhauer (3-10-13) and McKinney (5-6-11). … Eight of the 19 goals scored by the 6-foot-5 Horcoff have come on Michigan’s potent power play with Hage next with four and Eernisse with three. … Hughes is expected to miss Friday night’s game as the result of his five-minute major penalty for contact to the head during the exhibition game with the U.S. Under-18 Team. … Though Stephen Peck and Julian Molinaro split goaltending duties against the U.S. Under-18 Team, neither has played during the regular season in place of freshman Ivankovic, who has a 1.90 goals-against average, a .927 saves percentage, a 16-4-0 record and three shutouts. … None of the Michigan forwards or defensemen has a negative plus/minus rating. … Barnett leads the team in plus/minus at +18 ahead of senior defenseman Luca Fantilli (+17) and senior-transfer (Ohio State) defenseman Tyler Duke (+16). … Rheaume-Mullen leads team in blocked shots with 32 ahead of Robertson (29) and Duke (24). … Hughes leads the team’s faceoff men with his 210-148 win-loss record for .587 percentage followed by McKinney (139-111, .556) and senior center Kienan Draper (139-163, .460). … NCAA statistics (through Jan. 4): Scoring offense, 4.80 goals per game (1st); scoring defense, 2.05 goals per game (4th); scoring margin, 2.75 goals per game (1st); power-play percentage, 0.305 (25 of 82) (3rd); penalty-kill percentage, 0.817 (58 of 71) (30th); faceoff win percentage, 0.518 (635-592) (19th); penalty minutes per game, 17.30 (4th); blocked shots, 273 (12th); shots per game, 34.45 (8th); opponent shots per game, 26.10 (20th).
BROCK SHEAHAN ON:
(Last weekend vs. Western Michigan) “Obviously we didn’t score … another two losses … it’s frustrating. All things considered, we had a bunch of guys who hadn’t played a lot of hockey play on Friday. I thought it was a game in the right direction – our compete level was very high. We generated some high-level chances. We gave up too much in both games, but they were a lot closer games than the scores indicated. If we had scored on that empty-net situation that the kid makes a lucky save on (Friday night), it might change the game a little bit. Then we had some good looks. On Saturday, we gave up some quality shots – they definitely were going to score some goals – but could have scored a lot in the game and did not. That will come. The biggest thing is we have to clean up the defensive side of the puck. A lot of it has to do with our defensemen making reads they shouldn’t. We’re giving up breakaways and odd-man rushes, and that’s not going to bode well for us in the long run.”
(Danny Nelson and Cole Knuble post-Spengler Cup) “They played well on Saturday. They both generated some elite chances and just didn’t score. It was great having them back in the lineup. For me, growing up in Canada, I watched World Juniors and the Spengler Cup. For me it is a big-time tournament, it’s historical, it was an unbelievable life experience for the guys and a great showcase for college hockey with what we’re trying to do at the college level. I think their experience there is going to help them this year.”
(Goaltending going forward) “I thought Jack (Williams) and Luke (Pearson) did a great job in there. They gave us a chance to win those games. It was cool for them to get those opportunities, especially Jack Willliams. He’s the consummate teammate – he works his butt off every day and he’s a great kid. I thought Luke did a great job – he’s a kid who works hard every day. That being said, Nick is our best goalie and it’s nice to have him back. He worked yesterday (Tuesday) and he’s excited to be back.”
(Will Horcoff’s work on the power play for Michigan) “If we execute our P-K (penalty kill) the way we’re supposed to, it doesn’t really matter who’s playing – they’re not going to get the chances that we want them to get. … For us it’s about executing and knowing where their threats are and making sure we don’t take two majors and have seven penalty-kills against one of the best power plays in the country (as Michigan did in the teams’ last series). I’d love it if teams did that to us. It’s about being aware when those guys are on the ice and you know what they are looking for. For us, we’ve got to dictate on the P-K and dictate them better than we did the first time we played them.”
NEXT UP: Notre Dame is on the road again next Friday and Saturday evenings when it travels to State College, Pa., to play No. 9/9 Penn State. … The Wolverines also pack their stick bags for a trip to Minnesota next Friday and Saturday.
BIG TEN STANDINGS AND SCHEDULE
(Numbers in parentheses are school’s rankings in this week’s USCHO.com media/USA Hockey-The Rink Live coaches polls):
Conference Overall
GP Pts W-L-T-SW-OW-OL GF-GA W-L-T GF-GA
(3/3) Wisconsin 10 22 8-2-0-0-2-0 49-31 13-3-2 75-46
(1/1) Michigan 10 20 7-3-0-0-1-0 41-25 16-4-0 96-41
(2/2) Michigan St. 8 15 5-3-0-0-1-1 22-14 14-4-0 63-31
(9/9) Penn State 8 13 4-4-0-0-0-1 17-25 12-6-0 58-50
(nr/nr) Minnesota 8 13 4-4-0-0-0-1 24-23 8-10-1 58-63
(nr/nr) Ohio State 8 6 2-6-0-0-1-1 27-38 6-11-1 55-62
(nr/nr) Notre Dame 8 1 0-8-0-0-0-1 13-37 4-13-1 45-73
THIS WEEK
Sunday, Jan. 4
Penn State 7, RIT 3
Michigan State 4, U.S. Under-18 Team 2 (exhibition)
Friday, Jan. 9
Notre Dame at Michigan, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Penn State, 6 p.m.
Michigan State at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.
Alaska Anchorage at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 10
Notre Dame at Michigan, 7 p.m.
Michigan State at Ohio State, 5 p.m.
Minnesota at Penn State, 6 p.m.
Alaska Anchorage at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.
UPCOMING
Thursday, Jan. 15
Michigan State at Wisconsin, 9 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 16
Notre Dame at Penn State, 7 p.m.
Michigan State at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Michigan at Minnesota, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 17
Notre Dame at Penn State, 8 p.m.
Michigan at Minnesota, 7 p.m.
THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
Sunday, Jan. 4
CCHA
Lake Superior State 2, Northern Michigan 1
Non-conference
Penn State 7, RIT 3
New Hampshire 3, Colgate 2
Michigan State 4, U.S. Under-18 Team 2 (exhibition)
Friday, Jan. 9
Big Ten Conference
Notre Dame at Michigan, 7 p.m.
Minnesota at Penn State, 6 p.m.
Michigan State at Ohio State, 6:30 p.m.
Hockey East Association
Maine at Providence, 7 p.m.
UMass Lowell at Connecticut, 7 p.m.
Boston University at Massachusetts, 7 p.m.
Northeastern at Vermont, 7 p.m.
NCHC
St. Cloud State at Omaha, 8 p.m.
North Dakota at Colorado College, 9 p.m.
Western Michigan at Denver, 9 p.m.
Miami at Arizona State, 9 p.m.
ECAC
Harvard at Dartmouth, 7 p.m.
Union at Quinnipiac, 7 p.m.
RPI at Princeton, 7 p.m.
Clarkson at Brown, 7 p.m.
St. Lawrence at Yale, 7 p.m.
CCHA
Bowling Green at Ferris State, 7 p.m.
Augustana at Northern Michigan, 7:07 p.m.
Michigan Tech at Bemidji State, 8:07 p.m.
Atlantic Hockey America
Sacred Heart at Niagara, 6 p.m.
Army at Mercyhurst, 7 p.m.
Robert Morris at RIT, 7:05 p.m.
Bentley at Air Force, 9:05 p.m.
Non-conference
Alaska Fairbanks at Cornell, 7 p.m.
Stonehill at Boston College, 7 p.m. (exhibition)
Lindenwood at Minnesota Duluth, 8 p.m.
Alaska Anchorage at Wisconsin, 8 p.m.
Saturday, Jan. 10
Big Ten Conference
Notre Dame at Michigan, 7 p.m.
Michigan State at Ohio State, 5 p.m.
Minnesota at Penn State, 6 p.m.
Alaska Anchorage at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.
Hockey East Association
Massachusetts at Boston University, 6 p.m.
Maine at Providence, 6 p.m.
Connecticut at UMass Lowell, 6:05 p.m.
Northeastern at Vermont, 7 p.m.
NCHC
Miami at Arizona State, 7 p.m.
North Dakota at Colorado College, 8 p.m.
Western Michigan at Denver, 8 p.m.
St. Cloud State at Omaha, 8 p.m.
ECAC
St. Lawrence at Brown, 7 p.m.
Union at Princeton, 7 p.m.
RPI at Quinnipiac, 7 p.m.
Clarkson at Yale, 7 p.m.
CCHA
Augustana at Northern Michigan, 6:07 p.m.
Bowling Green at Ferris State, 7 p.m.
St. Thomas at Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m.
Michigan Tech at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m.
Atlantic Hockey America
Army at Mercyhurst, 5 p.m.
Sacred Heart at Niagara, 5 p.m.
Robert Morris at RIT, 5:05 p.m.
Bentley at Air Force, 7:05 p.m.
Non-conference
Lindenwood at Minnesota Duluth, 7 p.m.
Alaska Anchorage at Wisconsin, 7 p.m.
Alaska Fairbanks at Cornell, 7 p.m.
Merrimack at Holy Cross, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 11
Non-conference
Long Island at Stonehill, 3 p.m.
Monday, Jan. 12
Non-conference
Boston University at Harvard, 7 p.m.
SCHEDULES FOR THE USCHO.COM MEDIA POLL TOP 20 TEAMS AND OTHERS
1. Michigan (Big Ten) (16-4-0) vs. Notre Dame Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Notre Dame; Jan. 16 at Minnesota; Jan. 17 at Minnesota.
2. Michigan State (Big Ten) (14-4-0) at Ohio State Friday. Next: Saturday at Ohio State; Jan. 15 at No. 3 Wisconsin; Jan. 16 at No. 3 Wisconsin.
3. Wisconsin (Big Ten) (13-3-2) vs. Alaska-Anchorage Friday. Next: Jan. 10 vs. Alaska-Anchorage; Jan. 15 vs. No. 2 Michigan State; Jan. 16 vs. No. 2 Michigan State.
4. North Dakota (NCHC) (16-4-0) at Colorado College Friday. Next: Saturday at Colorado College; Jan. 16 vs. No. 7 Denver; Jan. 17 vs. No. 7 Denver.
5. Minnesota Duluth (NCHC) (14-6-0) vs. Lindenwood Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Lindenwood; Jan. 16 at St. Cloud State; Jan. 17 at St. Cloud State.
6. Western Michigan (NCHC) (14-6-0) at No. 7 Denver Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 7 Denver; Jan. 23 at Minnesota Duluth; Jan. 24 at Minnesota Duluth.
7. Denver (NCHC) (12-7-2) vs. No. 6 Western Michigan Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 6 Western Michigan; Jan. 16 at No. 4 North Dakota; Jan. 17 at No. 4 North Dakota.
8. Quinnipiac (ECAC) (14-4-2) vs. Union Friday. Next: Saturday vs. RPI; Jan. 16 at Colgate; Jan. 17 at No. 14 Cornell.
9. Penn State (Big Ten) (12-6-0) vs. Minnesota Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Minnesota; Jan. 16 vs. Notre Dame; Jan. 17 vs. Notre Dame.
10. Connecticut (Hockey East) (11-5-3) vs. UMass Lowell Friday. Next: Saturday at UMass Lowell; Jan. 16 vs. Vermont; Jan. 17 vs. Vermont.
11. Dartmouth (ECAC) (12-4-0) vs. Harvard Friday. Next:: Jan. 16 vs. Clarkson; Jan. 17 vs. St. Lawrence.
12. Maine (Hockey East) (12-7-2) at No. 18 Providence Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 18 Providence; Jan. 23 at UMass Lowell; Jan. 24 at UMass Lowell.
13. Boston College (Hockey East) (11-6-1) vs. Stonehill Friday (exhibition). Next: Jan. 16 vs. No. 18 Providence; Jan. 17 at No. 18 Providence.
14. Cornell (ECAC) (9-4-0) vs. Alaska Fairbanks Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Alaska Fairbanks; Jan. 16 vs. No. 20 Princeton; Jan. 17 vs. No. 8 Quinnipiac.
15. Minnesota State (CCHA) (12-5-5) is idle Friday. Next: Saturday vs. St. Thomas; Jan. 16 at Michigan Tech; Jan. 17 at Michigan Tech.
16. Northeastern (Hockey East) (10-7-0) at Vermont Friday. Next: Saturday at Vermont; Jan. 16 at New Hampshire; Jan. 18 vs. New Hampshire.
17. Augustana (CCHA) (12-6-3) at Northern Michigan Friday. Next: Saturday at Northern Michigan; Jan. 16 vs. Ferris State; Jan. 17 vs. Ferris State.
18. Providence (Hockey East) (9-7-2) vs. No. 12 Maine Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 12 Maine; Jan. 16 at No. 13 Boston College; Jan. 17 vs. No. 13 Boston College.
19. Boston University (Hockey East) (9-8-1) at Massachusetts Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Massachusetts; Jan. 12 at Harvard; Jan. 16 vs. UMass Lowell; Jan. 17 at UMass Lowell.
20. Princeton (ECAC) (10-4-0) vs. RPI Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Union; Jan. 16 at No. 14 Cornell; Jan. 17 at Colgate.
Others
Union (ECAC) (12-5-2) at No. 8 Quinnipiac Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 20 Princeton; Jan. 16 vs. Brown; Jan. 17 vs. Yale; Jan. 19 at Harvard.
Harvard (ECAC) (7-5-1) at No. 11 Dartmouth Friday. Next: Jan. 12 vs. No. 19 Boston University; Jan. 16 vs. St. Lawrence; Jan. 17 vs. Clarkson; Jan. 19 vs. Union.
New Hampshire (Hockey East) (11-8-0) is idle this week. Next: Jan. 16 vs. No. 16 Northeastern; Jan. 18 at No. 16 Northeastern; Jan. 23 at No. 13 Boston College; Jan. 24 vs. No. 13 Boston College.
Arizona State (NCHC) (11-10-1) vs. Miami Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Miami; Jan. 23 vs. No. 4 North Dakota; Jan. 24 vs. No. 4 North Dakota.
Michigan Tech (CCHA) (12-8-2) at Bemidji State Friday. Next: Saturday at Bemidji State; Jan. 16 vs. No. 15 Minnesota State; Jan. 17 vs. No. 15 Minnesota State.
St. Cloud State (NCHC) (10-10-0) at Omaha Friday. Next: Saturday at Omaha; Jan. 16 vs. No. 5 Minnesota Duluth; Jan. 17 vs. No. 5 Minnesota Duluth.
Bentley (Atlantic Hockey) (10-6-2) at Air Force Friday. Next: Saturday at Air Force; Jan. 16 at Sacred Heart; Jan. 17 at Sacred Heart.
St. Thomas (CCHA) (11-7-3) is idle Friday. Next: Saturday at Minnesota State; Jan. 16 vs. Bemidji State; Jan. 17 vs. Bemidji State.
Massachusetts (Hockey East) (9-9-0) vs. No. 19 Boston University Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 19 Boston University; Jan. 16 at Merrimack; Jan. 17 vs. Merrimack.
Bemidji State (CCHA) (9-8-3) vs. Michigan Tech Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Michigan Tech; Jan. 16 at St. Thomas; Jan. 17 at St. Thomas.
Bowling Green (CCHA) (9-5-4) at Ferris State Friday. Next: Saturday at Ferris State; Jan. 16 vs. Lake Superior State; Jan. 17 vs. Lake Superior State.
Holy Cross (Atlantic Hockey) (10-7-2) vs. Merrimack Saturday. Next: Jan. 16 vs. Air Force; Jan. 17 vs. Air Force.
Miami (NCHC) (11-7-2) at Arizona State Friday. Next: Saturday at Arizona State; Jan. 16 vs. Omaha; Jan. 17 vs. Omaha.
Colorado College (NCHC) (8-9-3) vs. No. 4 North Dakota Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 4 North Dakota; Jan. 17 vs. Simon Fraser (exhibition); Jan. 23 at Omaha; Jan. 24 at Omaha.
RIT (Atlantic Hockey) (11-9-0) vs. Robert Morris Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Robert Morris; Jan. 16 at Canisius; Jan. 17 vs. Canisius.
Minnesota (Big Ten) (8-10-1) at No. 9 Penn State Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 9 Penn State; Jan. 16 vs. No. 1 Michigan; Jan. 17 vs. No. 1 Michigan.
Ohio State (Big Ten) (6-11-1) vs. No. 2 Michigan State Friday. Next: Saturday vs. No. 2 Michigan State; Jan. 23 at Notre Dame; Jan. 24 at Notre Dame.
Notre Dame (Big Ten) (4-13-1) at No. 1 Michigan Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 1 Michigan; Jan. 16 at No. 9 Penn State; Jan. 17 at No. 9 Penn State.
Merrimack (Hockey East) (9-10-0) is idle Friday. Next: Saturday at Holy Cross; Jan. 16 vs. Massachusetts; Jan. 17 at Massachusetts.
Clarkson (9-11-0) (ECAC) at Brown Friday. Next: Saturday at Yale; Jan. 16 at No. 11 Dartmouth; Jan. 17 at Harvard.
Air Force (Atlantic Hockey) (10-8-2) vs. Bentley Friday. Next: Saturday vs. Bentley; Jan. 16 at Holy Cross; Jan. 17 at Holy Cross.
Sacred Heart (Atlantic Hockey) (9-7-2) at Niagara Friday. Next: Saturday at Niagara; Jan. 16 vs. Bentley; Jan. 17 vs. Bentley.
Lindenwood (Independent) (9-9-0) at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth Friday. Next: Saturday at No. 5 Minnesota Duluth; Jan. 16 vs. Stonehill; Jan. 17 vs. Stonehill.