Can Penn State men’s hockey’s hot streak, postseason hopes continue against Michigan?
It’s pretty much playoff season for the Penn State men’s hockey team, which hopes to keep digging itself out of the basement of the Big Ten Conference standings and move toward a postseason position.
It’s hopeful but possible, with the next challenge a two-game road series against Michigan this weekend.
Michigan sits 13th in the national poll and fifth in the seven-team Big Ten Conference standings. Penn State is right behind in the conference standings, and it’s in the midst of a five-game unbeaten streak.
After going winless in its first eight Big Ten games, the Nittany Lions are 3-0-2 in their past five games, including a victory and a shootout victory against then-ninth-ranked Ohio State last weekend. It was Penn State’s first W against a Top 10 opponent since beating No. 7 Minnesota on Dec. 2, 2023.
Michigan got a shootout victory and sustained a loss at Wisconsin last weekend. The Wolverines took both earlier games against Penn State, winning 6-5 and 10-6 in a series at Pegula Ice Arena before Thanksgiving.
That was in the previous calendar year and potentially a previous iteration of this same Penn State team, though.
After weeks of inconsistent play — with glimpses of excellence on one end of the ice balanced by lapses or poor decisions on the other — and series after series of sometimes good play without a result to show on the scoreboard, the team has played better in recent weeks.
More importantly, Penn State has moved up to 24th in the Pairwise rankings that largely determine the field for the 16-team NCAA Tournament. With the schedule that remains (every opponent that’s left is ranked except Notre Dame), more consistent victories could help boost Penn State’s ranking and move the team into the tournament.
Sophomore forward Aiden Fink, a nominee for the college hockey’s Hobey Baker Award, leads Penn State with 34 points (16 goals, 18 assists). No other player has more than nine goals, but three players are at that level (Reese Laubach, Danny Dzhanieyev, Charlie Cerrato) and 17 different players have scored for the team this season. In addition, goaltender Arsenii Sergeev has returned from injury and is playing well.
Again, though, it will not be easy. Michigan is 8-3 at home in Yost Ice Arena this season, and its always elite roster includes three nominees for the Hobey Baker Award — junior forward T.J. Hughes, freshman forward Michael Hage and senior defenseman Ethan Edwards. Nineteen players have scored for the Wolverines this season.
One way or another Penn State will be tested and probably tired as the season winds down, but if things work out it could be tournament bound, too.
Penn State (11-10-3, 2-9-3 Big Ten) at No. 13 Michigan (14-10-2, 8-7-1)
Series: 7 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday
Audio/Radio: GoPSUsports.com, 103.7 FM
Streaming/TV: B1G+ (Friday), Big Ten Network (Saturday)
Notable: Michigan has allowed 83 goals this season, the most among conference teams. Penn State has allowed 73 (third in the conference). … Michigan boasts the conference’s best power play in terms of conversion percentage (28.0) and goals scored (23). … Penn State has the conference’s best penalty kill, stopping opponents 81.1% of the time. … Michigan’s promotions for the series include Pajama Night and Retro Arcade Night on Friday and Saturday, respectively.