Penn State opens the second semester of play as they open the season series against Minnesota with a pair of Big Ten contests at 3M Arena at Mariucci.

The Nittany Lions won the season series against the Gophers last season for the first time in program history going 3-1-0 against Minnesota earning 9-of-12 possible points in the Big Ten standings. PSU then swept the Gophers in the Big Ten Quarterfinals earning five total wins over Minnesota which was more than they had in the previous 17 meetings when they only won four times.

This weekend marks the 24th and 25th meetings all-time with Minnesota holding the series lead with a 14-9-0 overall record, however, Penn State has won six of the last seven meetings including four-straight.

Denis Smirnov is averaging more than a point-per-game against the Gophers with 13 points on six goals and seven assists in 11 career games. Sophomore Alex Limoges also had great success last season against Minnesota scoring three goals while adding five assists for eight points while classmate Evan Barratt had his end-of-the-year coming out party with four goals and one assist over the final four games last season against Minnesota.

The Gophers enter the weekend coming off a disappointing series split with Ferris State as they currently sit at 6-7-4, but are 3-2-3 in conference games and tied for fourth in the Big Ten with 12 points. Minnesota is 4-4-2 at home so far this season.

Minnesota returns seven of its top-10 scorers from last season including leading point getter Rem Pitlick who paced the team with 31 points while his 12 goals tied for the team lead. Pitlick is currently leading the team this season in all offensive categories with eight goals and nine assists for 17 points.

In 11 career games against Penn State, Pitlick has scored eight goals while adding eight assists for 16 points, but was held to just one goal in six games against the Nittany Lions last season after scoring seven times in five games against PSU as a freshman in 2016-17.

Senior captain Tyler Sheehy ranks second on the team with 14 points on six goals and eight assists while classmate Brent Gates Jr. has chipped in six goals and six assists for 12 points and a team-high four power-play tallies. Freshman Sammy Walker rounds out the double-digit scorers for Minnesota with four goals and seven assists for 11 points. In comparison Penn State has more 20-point scorers (5) so far this season as the Gophers have double-digit scorers (4). The Nittany Lions have 13 players with at least 10 points this season.

The Gophers also return both goaltenders from a season ago including sophomore Matt Robson who took over the reigns as the No. 1 goalie from two-time Big Ten Goaltender of the Year Eric Schierhorn late last season. Robson has started 12 of 17 games this season compiling a 4-3-4 record with a .922 save percentage and a 2.69 goals against average. His save percentage ranks third in the Big Ten and 20th in the nation. Those numbers only improve during Big Ten play as the sophomore is 3-0-3 with a .941 save percentage and a 2.08 goals against average. However, in three career games against Penn State, Robson is 0-3-0 with a .905 save percentage and a 4.24 goals against average.

Minnesota ranks just 32nd in the nation averaging 2.76 goals per game while allowing 2.65 per game to rank 26th nationally.

On special teams the Gophers rank second in the Big Ten and 15th in the nation with the man-advantage scoring on 13-of-59 chances (22 percent). On the PK, Minnesota leads the Big Ten and ranks 18th in the nation killing off 84 percent (63-for-75) of opponent power-plays.

Penn State is scoring in bunches this season averaging 5.22 goals per game, which is over a goal per game more than the next closest team in St. Cloud State who averages 4.12 goals per game.

Penn State's 94 goals are 20 more than second place Minnesota State who has played two more games than the Nittany Lions. The Nittany Lions also lead the country with 167 assists and 261 points. PSU's 40.83 shots per game is also the top mark in the country.

No team has scored that many goals in the first half of the season over the last six years (as long as that data is readily available); and no team has finished the season averaging more than five goals per game since Quinnipiac in 1999-2000 (5.42).

The Nittany Lions finished the first semester 12 goals clear of their own record set last season in 20 games when they went into the holiday break with 82 goals scored.

Separating the scoring by class, Penn State's sophomore and junior class each lead the nation in scoring with 90 and 106 points, respectively, the 106 points from the junior class is also the most nationally among all classes.

Entering the weekend with 40 goals this season, Penn State's junior class has scored as many or more goals than 19 NCAA Division I teams by themselves. Minnesota as a team has just 47 goals in 17 games so far this season.

Sophomore classmates Alex Limoges and Evan Barratt are both leading the nation with 29 points following the first half of the season while Limoges' 19 helpers are tied for second in the country. The 29 points by each is also the most ever by a Nittany Lion at the holiday break in program history.

Sophomore Evan Barratt and freshman Aarne Talvitie will both be out of the lineup as they are the first ever Nittany Lions to participate in the World Junior Championship. Talvitie is serving as the captain for Finland while Barratt is donning the Red, White & Blue of Team USA.

Senior Chase Berger tied his career-high with four points on one goal and three assists against Notre Dame prior to the semester break and in the process became just the third player in program history to eclipse 100 career points.

tied his career-high with four points on one goal and three assists against Notre Dame prior to the semester break and in the process became just the third player in program history to eclipse 100 career points. Berger's 103 career points are now just one behind Andrew Sturtz for second on Penn State's all-time points list and rank ninth in the nation among active players and third in the Big Ten.

for second on Penn State's all-time points list and rank ninth in the nation among active players and third in the Big Ten. Berger's 43 career goals rank fourth all-time at Penn State and are just one shy of David Goodwin '17 in third and two behind Casey Bailey in second.

The senior's 133 career games played are also tied for the fifth most in the nation as he hasn't missed a single game since stepping foot on campus ranking fourth on the Penn State all-time games played list.

Penn State lit the lamp nine times against Notre Dame prior to the holiday break marking the most goals scored in a Big Ten game in program history. The nine goals also tie for the second most by a single-team in a conference game since the Big Ten formed prior to the 2013-14 season.

Michigan holds the record for most goals in a Big Ten game during a 10-6 victory over Ohio State on January 16, 2015.

The nine goals scored are the third most in a single-game in program history behind the 11 scored earlier this season against Robert Morris and the 10 scored against Union during the 2017 NCAA Tournament.

Penn State has now scored at least seven goals in a game five times this season and 19 times in program history.

Penn State's junior class has been one of the most dynamic in the nation after bursting onto the scene in 2016. Headlined by Nate Sucese and Denis Smirnov the junior class is slowly making its way up the Nittany Lion career rankings for most offensive categories.

and the junior class is slowly making its way up the Nittany Lion career rankings for most offensive categories. With a shorthanded tally against Princeton three weeks ago, Sucese moved into fifth all-time on the Penn State career goals list while also moving into a tie for second with four career shorthanded goals to his name. Smirnov currently ranks right behind Sucese with 38 career goals while his 84 points are two clear of Sucese for fourth in program history.

Junior classmate Brandon Biro is also slowly working his way into the mix as he moved into a tie for third on the all-time assist list with 50 after a career-high three helpers against Notre Dame Biro's 71 career points are also good for ninth on the all-time points list. Biro is currently riding a season-long, four-game point-streak.

is also slowly working his way into the mix as he moved into a tie for third on the all-time assist list with 50 after a career-high three helpers against Notre Dame Biro's 71 career points are also good for ninth on the all-time points list. Biro is currently riding a season-long, four-game point-streak. Fellow junior Liam Folkes is also working his way up the list as one of the best goal scorers to wear the Blue and White as his 28 career goals rank tenth all-time passing Olczyk.

Penn State has scored at least one goal on the man-advantage in 12-of-17 games this season including nine of its last 11 games going 13-for-36 (36.1 percent) over that stretch. The Nittany Lions lead the Big Ten and rank fourth in the nation at 29.3 percent (17-for-58) on the power-play this season and are 10-for-24 (41.7 percent) in Big Ten play.

Barratt, Pavlychev and Sam Sternschein lead the team with three power-play tallies each. Penn State has seen nine different players register a power-play goal.

The Nittany Lions return home next weekend for a pair of Big Ten contests against the Michigan State Spartans.

The ninth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions open the 2019 portion of their schedule as they travel to 3M Arena at Mariucci for a pair of Big Ten Conference games against the Golden Gophers on Friday and Saturday evening.Friday, January 4 | Saturday, January 53M Arena at MariucciFriday at 9 p.m. (ET) | Saturday at 8 p.m. (ET)Friday: ESPNU | Saturday: Fox Sports North Live Stats (Both Games)