The series is even at 22-22-8. The atmosphere will be electric. The temperatures will be frozen.

No. 5 Penn State taking on No. 2 Michigan State this weekend will be a defining moment in the program’s history.

Penn State is tied at first with Michigan for the top spot in the Big Ten, with Michigan State one point behind the two.

The Spartans are one of the most complete teams in college hockey right now, and Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky did not deny that.

“Bottom line is they’re a really well-balanced team, meaning they’re skilled, they’re big, they’re strong, they’re fast, they’re good,” he said this week. “Their goaltending is excellent. They don’t have vulnerabilities. They do everything really, really well.”

Michigan State earned that reputation. Led by veteran goaltender and back-to-back World Juniors gold medalist Trey Augustine and new talent like Porter Martone, the team is completely stacked. They swept Penn State the first time they faced the Nittany Lions this season.

Augustine has been one of the biggest reasons Michigan State owns the nation’s top defensive numbers. The junior leads all active goaltenders in career wins and sits near the top nationally in goals-against average and save percentage. He anchors a Spartans team that allows fewer goals than anyone else in the country and rarely gives up second chances.

The Nittany Lions know what Augustine and the Spartans will bring to such an anticipated, top-five matchup.

Captain Dane Dowiak said that handling the talent Spartans have will be everything.

“Yeah, obviously, he’s [Augustine] an unbelievable goalie. He has been for years now. We see him quite a bit,” he said. “But it’s just our being, you know, Penn State hockey mentality, shooting pucks, going to the net, making it hard for him to see pucks, like anything we can do to distract them.”

That mindset hasn’t just applied to taking down the Spartans. After losing Aiden Fink against Ohio State and an overly long winter break, Penn State has found that mentality and confidence. Dowiak acknowledged the confidence and headspace everyone is in.

“I really like where everybody’s head is right now. Everybody’s pulling the rope the same way. It’s really good to see,” he said. “You know, some guys in the first half that didn’t have the balances go their way, and now you’re seeing them go in and seeing the potential of this team. And, you know, gives us a lot of confidence going in, especially this weekend against a really good team, that if we play our game, we’ll find success.”

That confidence will be tested this entire weekend against the Spartans. The Nittany Lions will need every bit of it going into the matchup.

“They’re very well coached. They have a lot of great players,” Dowiak said. “It’s not really picking out X’s and O’s. It’s about us playing our game better than they do.”

That task is easier said than done. The Spartans are on a four-game win streak coming into Hockey Valley. The Nittany Lions will be tested in both Pegula Ice Arena and Beaver Stadium.

Nothing this weekend will come easy, but Penn State has a chance to make a statement in a high-stakes series.