MSU hockey will look to break through its road woes and record its first away win of the season this weekend in a two-game series at Penn State.
MSU (8-13-6 overall, 2-5-5-3 Big Ten) and Penn State (5-18-1, 1-9-0) will take the ice at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The series will be the first time in program history MSU travels to Penn State.
MSU swept Penn State in the first season series between the two teams, winning 3-0 on Jan. 17 and 3-2 on Jan. 18. The win on Jan. 17 was the Spartans’ first win in the new Big Ten Conference.
The all-senior forward line led MSU both nights, combining for 12 points. Sophomore goaltender Jake Hildebrand also had a solid series last time out against Penn State, saving 77 of 79 shots. He also set his career high in saves in the shutout win.
Penn State is entering the series off its own first Big Ten win in conference history against No. 10 Michigan last weekend.
With the Nittany Lions carrying momentum from the upset win, head coach Tom Anastos is expecting the road series to be tougher this time around.
“They’re a team that plays really hard, they’ll be very difficult to play at home,” Anastos said. “I can imagine that’s a nice confidence lift for them coming off of their first conference win … against Michigan. That’s a good win for them for sure, so they’ll be ready to go on Friday.”
Anastos added that he will be looking to see how his team responds to blowing third period leads in both games last weekend against Ohio State.
Senior defenseman Jake Chelios said he is excited for the trip to University Park, Pa., and the opportunity to play in the newly built Pegula Ice Arena.
“It looks fun, it looks like a nice rink,” Chelios said. “The crowd looks like they’re into it.”
Pegula Ice Arena opened this season, built off a $102 million dollar donation from Terry and Kim Pegula. Despite struggling this season, the arena has been packed night in and night out, ranking eighth nationally in average attendance.
Hildebrand is looking forward to the historic trip for multiple reasons outside of the game. Hildebrand is a Pennsylvania native and used to be teammates on the same United States Hockey League team as Penn State sophomore goaltender Matthew Skoff.
Hildebrand still talks to Skoff and works out with him in the summer.
He said he learned a lot from the Penn State goaltender during their time as teammates.
Hildebrand is 1-1 against his ex-teammate, citing this weekend as a big one in the friendship rivalry.
Both games will be televised, with Friday’s game on Big Ten Network and Saturday’s on ESPNews.
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