Around the Big Ten (Hockey): Week 5
Big Ten conference play has just begun, and this week’s rankings see a brand new team at No. 1, so let’s take a look at how things have shaped out.
Michigan
The new No. 1 ranked team in the league had quite the weekend. Sweeping their in-state neighbor, Western Michigan in a ranked matchup.
Adam Fantilli continues his Hobey Baker campaign scoring 18 points through eight games.
The Wolverines are traveling to Happy Valley this weekend for a huge Big Ten-ranked matchup against well-known rival No. 13 Penn State.
Defenseman Luke Hughes won Big Ten First Star of the Week after a four-point weekend.
Minnesota and Ohio State
The Buckeyes had a huge series against Minnesota and ended up with a split. A strong 6-4 win in game one left the Big Ten in shock. Game two was a tad different with the Golden Gophers settling for a split.
The former No. 1 ranked Golden Gophers slipped to No. 3 in this week’s USCHO poll.
Minnesota still has the talent to take the No. 1 spot back, but getting back on track for their series against No. 12 Notre Dame.
Penn State and Wisconsin
Penn State continued its undefeated run throughout the early stretch of the season improving to 8-0-0, the best start in the program’s history.
Wisconsin was coming off a huge sweeping upset against Minnesota Duluth and was looking to carry that momentum into its series against the Nittany Lions.
Penn State dominated the whole series winning game one 2-1 and game two 4-0.
Liam Souliere won Big Ten Second Star of the Week after stopping 63 of 64 shots against the Badgers. Souliere is a perfect 6-0 and carries an impressive .945 save percentage and 1.50 goals against average.
Michigan State and Notre Dame
It was quite an interesting series between the programs. Notre Dame took care of business in game one with a 5-0 win, but game two saw a tie with the Spartans winning in a shootout.
Notre Dame goaltender Ryan Bichel won Third Star of the Week after saving 71-of-72 shots. He also had a career-high 41 saves.
The Big Ten has seen a lot of success earlier this season with five teams being ranked inside the top 13.
Michigan continues to dominate with its new core at the top of the rankings. Minnesota is also highly talented and will probably battle the Wolverines for No. 1 in the entire NCAA for the rest of the year.
Ohio State and Penn State continue to rise while Notre Dame continues to prove that it deserves attention.
It’s still early in the season, but the Big Ten Tournament will certainly be a spectacle.
Anthony Desher is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email acd5698@psu.edu.
