MSU has had struggles matching the offense of fellow Big Ten opponents, including being outscored in last Friday night’s game versus Ohio State, 5-3.

This weekend’s games will be the third and fourth meetings in program history, with the two teams splitting the series last year.

Both squads enter the series as the only teams in the Big Ten without a conference win. Penn State (4-12-1, 0-4-0) has lost nine of its last 10 games.

Despite the recent bad stretch, head coach Tom Anastos spoke highly of the Nittany Lions at his weekly press conference.

“They’ll be a very hard-working team, they compete really hard,” Anastos said. “I have great respect for their coach and how he gets his teams to play.”

Anastos said despite Penn State participating in only its second season at the Division I level, the Nittany Lions are one of the older teams in the conference with plenty of veterans on the roster.

Penn State ranks as one of the worst defenses in the country, averaging 3.94 goals against per game.

One of Penn State’s strengths is its power play, which ranks in the top half of the country and third in the Big Ten.

The poor Penn State defensive play could bode well for junior forward Matt Berry, Who is starting to regain his scoring ability after missing games earlier this season.

Berry, who was the 2012-13 Spartans’ leading scorer, has scored five goals and had one assist in the past four games.

He said his recent play has boosted his confidence.

“It definitely helps that I’m getting more goals and more points, it definitely helps your confidence and makes you feel more comfortable on the ice,” Berry said.

Berry isn’t the only Spartan who recently has been contributing to the offense with flying colors.

Senior defenseman Jake Chelios had three assists last weekend, increasing his season total to 12. Chelios now leads the Spartans in points.

Sophomore forward Michael Ferrantino also had a few assists against Ohio State, and will be looking to continue his good fortune against Penn State this weekend.

Ferrantino leads the team in points against Penn State, scoring a goal and notching two assists last year against the Nittany Lions.

Ferrantino said his success against Penn State is something that helps heading into this weekend, but isn’t something he really thinks will change his mindset or play.

“You kind of go back and relive the games from last year and to know you had success always helps, but I don’t think confidence-wise it carries over too much,” Ferrantino said. “It’s a new season, a new game. They’re a new team and we’re a new team, so (it’s) kind of a whole new beginning here.”