Ohio State (11-6-1, 1-2-1 B1G) at Minnesota (15-2-3, 5-0-1 B1G): Jan. 17 at 8:07 p.m., Jan. 18 at 5:07 p.m.

The No. 2 and 3 offenses in the country will face off in the Hockey City Classic on Friday, which will be played at Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium. The Gophers average 3.95 goals per game, while the Buckeyes average 3.83 goals per game. Minnesota hasn’t lost since Nov. 24 and holds the longest unbeaten streak in the country.

Ryan Dzingel’s 27 points leads the Buckeyes and the Big Ten in scoring. Three different freshmen — Logan Davis, Christian Frey and Matt Tomkins — have started in net for the Buckeyes this season.

Sam Warning paces Minnesota’s offense with 23 points this season. Adam Wilcox, who’s started all but one game in net, has a .925 save percentage and a 2.13 goals-against average.

This is the first meeting between both teams since 2007.

Prediction: Minnesota sweeps the series

Penn State (4-12-1, 0-4-0 B1G) at Michigan State (6-10-3, 0-2-2 B1G): Jan. 17 at 6:35 p.m., Jan. 18 at 7:05 p.m. (NBCSN)

The Nittany Lions have yet to win a conference game this season and have lost nine of their past 10 games. Michigan State’s lone win over the past six contests came against Michigan at the Great Lakes Invitational.

These teams faced off last season, splitting the series. Penn State’s Casey Bailey and Max Gardiner each had four points, while Mike Ferrantino netted three for the Spartans.

Goalkeepers Jake Hildebrand and Matthew Skoff are both from the Pittsburgh are and played together for the Sioux City Musketeers in the USHL. The two netminders faced off in Penn State’s 3-2 win last season.

Eric Scheid leads Penn State’s offense with 13 points and eight goals. Michigan’s State’s Jake Chelios has 14 points, while Greg Wolfe has tallied seven goals.

Prediction: Series split

Friday, January 17th, 2014 - 10:00 am | Big Ten, Blogs