Where does Penn State men’s hockey stand in rankings after winless weekend vs. Michigan?
Penn State entered Pegula Ice Arena this past weekend as the No. 1 team in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions stood alone at the top of the standings with 24 points and were the highest ranked team in the USCHO.com poll at No. 6.
But this weekend, the Nittany Lions got dominated and came away from a two-game series against Michigan winless, only picking up one Big Ten point from a tie on Saturday night.
And now, instead of looking like a comfortable lock to make the NCAA Tournament and host games throughout the Big Ten Tournament, Penn State could be in trouble.
Here is a look at where the Nittany Lions stand after their disappointing results last weekend against Michigan.
Big Ten standings
After picking up only one of the six possible Big Ten points this weekend, Penn State no longer sits at the top of the conference.
The Nittany Lions are now tied for second with Michigan State, as both teams are sitting at 25 points.
Ohio State took over the top spot in the Big Ten with 26 points, after earning four points at home against Notre Dame last weekend.
If the Big Ten tournament were to start today, Penn State would be the No. 2 seed and host No. 7 Wisconsin in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.
The Nittany Lions currently hold the tiebreaker over the Spartans and, therefore, Michigan State would be the No. 3 seed and host Minnesota in the first round of the tournament.
Last season, Penn State also hosted Wisconsin in the first round of the tournament.
The Nittany Lions dropped the opening game of the series, before responding in a big way in the second game to force the first-ever winner-takes-all game three on Sunday.
Penn State won that game in overtime on a Liam Folkes goal and ended up making a run to the Big Ten Championship game before falling against Notre Dame and missing out on a place in the NCAA Tournament.
The Nittany Lions, however, are not even close to out of the race to pick up the all-important No. 1 seed that gives a first-round bye and guarantees home ice throughout the tournament.
That being said, it isn’t going to be easy for Penn State to claw its way back up the standings.
Penn State’s next three Big Ten series are against the No. 1, 2 and 4 teams in the conference.
This weekend, Penn State travels to Michigan State, where it can earn back the points it lost against Michigan.
Then following that series, it returns to Pegula to take on Notre Dame, with the Saturday game being Penn State’s ‘Hockey Valley White Rush,’ where it is unveiling all white Penn State football-themed uniforms.
Penn State then travels to Columbus to conclude this tough, three-week stretch that could very well determine the outcome of Penn State’s season.
PairWise rankings
On the national side of things, this weekend was a loss and a tie for Penn State.
The various college hockey conferences have various overtime rules beyond the opening period to determine a winner and hand out extra conference points but the NCAA does not factor these results into their rankings.
Penn State still suffered the same fate though, dropping from No. 6 to No. 9 in the PairWise rankings, a crucial drop in the rankings.
Penn State would now be a No. 3 seed in the 16-team NCAA Tournament, instead of being a No. 2 seed.
The Nittany Lions are guaranteed to play their regional in Allentown, as Penn State is the host team and could now be looking at a first round match with Boston College or Massachusetts if the NCAA Tournament started today.
But more importantly, this winless weekend has pushed Penn State closer to the bubble of a tournament spot.
In college hockey, the winner of the six conferences receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and in order for Penn State to most likely safely secure a spot in the tournament it needs to be no lower than the No. 12 team in the PairWise.
Barring other results, which can heavily impact the PairWise rankings, if Penn State gets swept this weekend on the road against Michigan State it would fall to No. 11.
A sweep of Michigan State however, and the Nittany Lions could potentially rise back up to No. 6 in the PairWise.
Penn State is still in a very good spot to make the NCAA Tournament, but the margin of error is now much smaller and the Nittany Lions will need results in their upcoming series.
USCHO.com rankings
Penn State entered the weekend as the No. 6 team in the country in the USCHO poll, which was tied for its highest ranking of the season.
In the latest poll, released on Monday, the Nittany Lions dropped three places to No. 9.
The Nittany Lions are no longer the top-ranked Big Ten team with Ohio State coming in at No. 6.
The only other Big Ten team to appear in the poll is Michigan State at No. 19. Both Notre Dame and Michigan received votes.
This story was originally published January 20, 2020 at 1:19 PM.
