Munn Ice Arena will host one of the most important college hockey series of the season to this point this weekend. No. 1 Michigan State (5-1-0) will take on No. 3 Penn State (9-1-0) on Friday and Saturday.
Puck drop on Friday is set for 7 p.m. ET and Saturday's game will begin at 4 p.m. ET, which gives the game plenty of time to end before the start of MSU's men's basketball game against Arkansas. Both hockey games can be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
The focus for pretty much any Penn State hockey game this year will be on freshman forward Gavin McKenna, but that will be especially so this weekend. He's already penciled in to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and the Spartans were the runner-ups in his recruitment.
McKenna has already got 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 10 collegiate games, but that actually is only fourth on the team.
Ahead of McKenna are: forward JJ Wiebusch (11-7–18), forward Charlie Cerrato (4-14–18), and forward Matt DiMarsico (8-7–15).
Wiebusch is the nation's leading goal-scorer, with six of his 11 goals coming on power plays. Penalties have been a big problem for the Spartans this season, as they average the third-most penalty minutes per game (PSU is second).
A notable player that the Nittany Lions will be missing is junior forward Aiden Fink, who was PSU's star player last year when the team reached the Frozen Four, leading Penn State in both goals (23) and assists (30).
Nittany Lions head coach Guy Gadowsky said this week that Fink would be out for the "foreseeable future" with an upper-body injury.
Penn State's 9-1-0 record is definitely impressive, but the schedule has been pretty weak through 10 games. The only team in the USCHO.com Top 20 that the Nittany Lions have faced is No. 19 Ohio State (4-4-0).
PSU faced OSU twice last weekend in Columbus, winning both games 3-2 and 4-3.
Besides that, it has been two-game series against 3-5-0 Arizona State, 3-5-0 Clarkson (lone loss is against them), 2-5-0 Long Island, and 1-8-0 Stonehill.
Even though Penn State has played four more games, MSU is probably the more battle-tested team, since the Spartans have a road sweep against current No. 12 Boston University on their resume.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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