Where does Penn State men’s hockey stand in the polls after yet another winless weekend?
Penn State men’s hockey once again had another disappointing weekend.
The Nittany Lions had their second winless weekend in the past three weeks at home against, with a tie and a loss to Notre Dame.
Penn State opened the series Friday night against the Fighting Irish with a strong effort, imposing its style of game on Notre Dame throughout.
The Nittany Lions looked like a team that deserved its place at the top of the Big Ten.
But ultimately, the puck didn’t bounce in favor of Penn State and a late Notre Dame goal sent it to overtime.
The game ultimately finished in a tie, with Notre Dame taking the extra conference point in a seven-round shootout.
On Saturday, Penn State held its ‘White Rush’ game where the Nittany Lions unveiled all-white football-themed uniforms in front of a record-setting crowd in Pegula Ice Arena.
Penn State, however, could not replicate its performance from the night before and allowed Notre Dame to dictate the pace of play.
The Nittany Lions managed to tied the game early in the third period, but some lackluster defense allowed the Fighting Irish to head back to South Bend with a 4-2 victory.
Penn State is now 1-3-2 in its past three weekends and is dropping in the polls at a crucial part of the season.
Big Ten standings
Despite only winning one of its past seven conference games, Penn State has managed to hold onto a share of the lead in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions are currently tied with Ohio State with 29 conference points, setting up a massive series between the two teams in Columbus this weekend.
This past weekend, Penn State only earned one of a possible six Big Ten points against Notre Dame.
That being said however, Penn State and Ohio State might not be so secure at the top of the conference.
The Nittany Lions and the Buckeyes have both played 18 conference games.
Michigan State, Minnesota and Notre Dame are all tied for third in the conference with 28 points, just one point back.
However, Michigan State and Minnesota have only played 16 conference games, meaning that the two teams have two-games in hand on Penn State and Ohio State, who both have bye weeks remaining this season.
The Big Ten as a conference is ridiculously close right now, with first through fifth being separated by only one point.
If Penn State wants to hold onto the top spot in the conference and finish in the top-4 to earn home-ice in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, the Nittany Lions need to start winning games and that starts this weekend in Columbus.
So while, Penn State’s name sits on top of the Big Ten standings right now, the Nittany Lions need to turn this poor run of form around if they want to claim home ice in the Big Ten Tournament or a Big Ten regular season championship.
PairWise rankings
While Penn State might not have dropped in the Big Ten standings after a tie and loss to Notre Dame, the Nittany Lions fell in the crucial PairWise.
Penn State dropped five places to No. 11, one spot behind Ohio State.
The Pairwise, which uses a math formula to compare teams and rank them, is also extremely close this season, meaning teams can rise and fall very rapidly.
If Penn State managed to hold on and win its game on Friday night against Notre Dame, it would be at No. 8 in the rankings.
A sweep over the Fighting Irish would’ve put the Nittany Lions at No. 7 in the rankings.
Heading into the weekend, Penn State was No. 6 meaning that even if the Nittany Lions won both games they would’ve fallen in the rankings.
If the NCAA Tournament started today, Penn State would be a No. 3 in the tournament and could potentially play Boston College, Minnesota-Duluth or Arizona State in the first round.
Barring other results around the country, which play a large role in the PairWise rankings, Penn State could move to to No. 7 with a sweep this weekend or fall to No. 16, which would be outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament.
The larger point being that Penn State needs a big weekend in Columbus or it could find itself squarely on the bubble, or even outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament, with only a couple weeks in the regular season left.
USCHO.com rankings
Penn State fell one place to move up to No. 9 in the latest USCHO poll.
The Nittany Lions are still the highest ranked Big Ten team in the poll, as Ohio State dropped to No. 13.
Michigan State is the only other Big Ten team to be ranked at No. 19. However, Minnesota, Notre Dame and Michigan all received votes.
This story was originally published February 3, 2020 at 1:56 PM.
