Where does Penn State men’s hockey stand after a series split against Michigan State?
Penn State traveled to East Lansing this weekend in desperate need of a victory.
The Nittany Lions were coming off their first winless weekend of the season and lost their place at the top of the Big Ten standings.
Penn State also dropped slightly in the PairWise, raising the question of whether the Nittany Lions were going to have yet another January slump.
And after a Friday night loss to the Spartans, it appeared that might be the case until Connor McMenamin scored the Nittany Lions’ biggest goal of the season, an overtime game-winner to give Penn State a much needed victory and series split against Michigan State.
Here is where Penn State stands after the split heading into a home series against Notre Dame.
Big Ten standings
Penn State picked up three of a possible six Big Ten points this weekend, but after a little help from Minnesota, the Nittany Lions are once again at the top of the conference.
Penn State has 28 Big Ten points and is tied with Michigan State for the top spot in the conference.
Ohio State, which was the No. 1 team in the conference heading into the weekend, was swept by Minnesota and has now fallen to third with 26 points.
Despite being third in the conference, the Buckeyes are only one game away reclaiming the top spot.
Notre Dame sits in fourth with 23 points, five back from the Nittany Lions, which could be made up this weekend if the Fighting Irish are able to sweep Penn State in Pegula.
At the end of the day, though, it appears as if it is going to be a three-team battle for the regular season Big Ten title and the all important home-ice in the Big Ten Tournament.
Following its series against Notre Dame, Penn State will travel to Columbus for an important series against Ohio State that could very well determine the Nittany Lions’ fate in the standings.
The Buckeyes also have a series remaining with Michigan State in East Lansing.
The only thing for certain in the Big Ten is that every game will matter down the stretch. Headed into the final weekend of the season, it’s likely the regular season title will still be up for grabs.
Pairwise rankings
On the national side of things, McMenamin’s overtime goal lifted Penn State up three places to No. 6 in the PairWise rankings.
Penn State is the highest ranked Big Ten team in the PairWise.
The Nittany Lions entered the weekend at No. 9 after dropping from No. 6 due to its winless weekend at home against Michigan, the weekend prior.
If Penn State would have lost Saturday and gotten swept by Michigan State, the Nittany Lions would have dropped to No. 10 in the Pairwise, one spot closer to being a team on the bubble for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
If the game ended in a tie, Penn State would’ve still jumped up to No. 6 in the PairWise, after results around the country helped the Nittany Lions this weekend.
The biggest of these helps was that Massachusetts lost to and tied with New Hampshire, which allowed the Nittany Lions to jump the Minutemen in the rankings.
If the 16-team NCAA Tournament were to start today, Penn State would be a No. 2 seed in the Allentown regional.
The Nittany Lions would likely play Providence, Minnesota-Duluth or Arizona State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Barring other results around the country, which play a large role in the PairWise rankings, Penn State most likely wouldn’t move up in the rankings with a sweep of the Fighting Irish at home this weekend.
If Penn State were to get swept, however, the Nittany Lions could drop to No. 12, firmly placing themselves on the bubble to make the NCAA Tournament.
The Nittany Lions are currently in a very good spot to return to the NCAA Tournament this season, but with the margins of error being so small in college hockey, it could only take one weekend for that to all change.
USCHO rankings
Penn State gained one place to move up to No. 8 in the latest USCHO poll.
The Nittany Lions are once again the highest ranked Big Ten team in the poll as Ohio State dropped to No. 11.
Michigan State is the only other Big Ten team to be ranked at No. 17. However, Notre Dame, Minnesota and Michigan all received votes.
This story was originally published January 27, 2020 at 2:43 PM.
