Michigan vs. Penn State

Drew: Both of these teams have been playing pretty good hockey so far in 2016, so this series should be an interesting one. I see Penn State having an advantage for its home game on Thursday and Saturday’s game in NYC should be more of a toss up. I predict a split, which will clump the Gophers, Wolverines and Nittany Lions closer together near the top of the conference standings.

Paula: The Wolverines bring a six-game unbeaten streak (5-0-1) into this series, which has the teams meeting in Pegula Arena Thursday night and Madison Square Garden Saturday. Last week, Michigan defeated the U.S. Under-18 team 5-2 (Jan. 21) in exhibition play. Penn State split a road series with Ohio State last weekend, a 3-2 overtime win Friday and a 5-1 loss Saturday. The Nittany Lions are 6-3-0 all-time against the Wolverines, including a 3-1-0 record at home and a 1-0-0 record at neutral sites. Michigan’s Cutler Martin will miss this entire series because of actions during a fight at the end of UM’s 8-6 win over Ohio State Jan. 17, and his teammate, Dexter Dancs, will miss Thursday’s game for the same reason. Both games begin at 7:00 p.m. Thursday’s is untelevised but the Big Ten Network is carrying Saturday’s game as part of Super Saturday, which also features a Michigan-Penn State men’s basketball game earlier in the day in MSG. Isn’t it great that hockey is the prime time event?

Drew’s picks: Penn State 5-3, Michigan 6-3.
Paula’s picks: Penn State 5-4, Michigan 5-4.

Source: USCHO.com Blogs :: Big Ten Blog :: U.S. College Hockey Online