Following a bit of a shaky road trip to Notre Dame this past weekend, Penn State hockey has slipped one spot in this week’s updated USCHO Division 1 hockey poll. Penn State dropped from No. 5 to No. 6 this week, swapping rankings with Providence. There is also a new No. 1 in the world of college hockey.
Michigan has regained the top ranking in this week’s USCHO poll on the strength of 24 first-place votes. The Wolverines moved ahead of No. 2 Michigan State, which received 11 first-place votes after a weekend split at home against Ohio State. Michigan goes into the final weekend of the Big Ten’s regular season with a two-point edge over the Spartans for first-place, which would come with a first-round bye in the upcoming Big Ten hockey tournament.
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The Big Ten is represented by four teams in this week’s USCHO Top 20, with No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 6 Penn State, and No. 11 Wisconsin. Ohio State also received votes this week.
Penn State split a weekend series at Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions battled back to force overtime in the first game of the weekend, and Gavin McKenna scored the only shootout goal after a scoreless overtime to clinch the win for Penn State. But Penn State was unable to come up with some overtime magic in the second game, dropping the final game of the weekend in overtime when Notre Dame scored in the first minute of the extra time.
Penn State will wrap up the regular season this weekend with a home series against Wisconsin. The Nitany Lions are already locked into the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament, so the series means little for Penn State as far as the Big Ten chase is concerned. But a strong finish to the season at home will help boost Penn State’s NCAA tournament projections. Penn State swept the previous series with Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin earlier this season.
You can see the full USCHO poll for this week to see who else is ranked.
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Where Penn State hockey ranks in this week’s USCHO Division 1 poll
