Men’s hockey set for weekend clash with Michigan State

Story posted January 15, 2015 in CommRadio, Sports by Keith Smith

Penn State vs. Michigan State Series Preview Podcast

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Fresh off a home win over Ohio State, the Penn State men’s hockey team (10-7-2) will look to keep the victories coming as they face off against Big Ten opponent Michigan State (7-10-1) at Pegula Ice Arena this weekend. Penn State is currently sitting in second place in the Big Ten Conference and a series win over Michigan State will help get them closer to the top spot.

Michigan State is currently in the middle of the Big Ten Conference, sitting fourth after starting the season 2-0-1. They last took the ice on Jan. 9 in an exhibition contest against the U18 U.S. National Development Program and came out on top with a 4-1 win.

With both teams coming off of wins last weekend, this matchup between the Nittany Lions and the Spartans is going to be a good one. This is the best start for Penn State under head coach Guy Gadowsky. The team also finally has experience, having numerous returning players this year.

“Honestly I think it gives us confidence, we believe that we are a better team than we were last year,” said junior forward Casey Bailey.

Junior forward Eric Scheid noted that the keys for himself are to keep moving his feet and move with a lot of energy. Scheid also mentioned how the Nittany Lions will need to stick to their game plan in order to beat the Green and White this weekend. 

The Nittany Lions hope to get their next two wins this weekend against Michigan State. Helping them in doing so will be the team’s top line of Bailey, Taylor Holstrom and David Goodwin. The trio has combined to score 26 goals and net 60 points.

Michigan State head coach Tom Anastos will look to neutralize the Nittany Lions star players by putting junior goaltender Jake Hildebrand between the pipes. Hildebrand’s save percentage of .909 has caused problems for opponents all season. Anastos will also look to leading scorer Michael Ferrantino and senior Ron Boyd.

Keys to the game for Penn State will be to control the offensive zone, use all four lines to keep the puck in the opponents end as long as possible, and get shots on net. Penn State will also need superb goaltending and defensive play against the Spartans.

Puck drops at Pegula Ice Arena at 7 p.m. on Friday night and 5 p.m. on Saturday night. ComRadio’s coverage will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Friday night and 4:30 p.m. on Saturday night with the Penn State Hockey Pregame Show.

Keith Smith is a junior majoring in telecommunications and minoring in history. To contact him, email kds5304@psu.edu.