Penn State Hockey: Best Case/Worst Case For Final Stretch Of Regular Season

With eight games remaining in the regular season, Penn State men’s hockey team sits two points out of first place in the Big Ten. 

And so in turn, the Nittany Lions have reached the part of the year where each game on the schedule is the biggest game of the season.

That doesn’t make a win mandatory every single night, but if Penn State wants to take home a regular season title or an all important first round bye in the Big Ten tournament, these games are as important as they get.

Penn State’s NCAA Tournament resume still has the Nittany Lions out of the mix, but not by much.

Simply put, it doesn’t get much bigger than this for a program in its third year of existence.

The reality is that it’s a tough road to get to where Penn State wants to be by the time Big Ten tournament rolls around in just under a month. So for an idea of what lies ahead, let’s consider the best and worst case scenario for the final eight games and final four series of the regular season.

Minnesota at Penn State

Best Case:

• The best case for Penn State is getting 5 of the 6 points that this weekend has to offer. In a perfect world Penn State wins on Friday night and manages to tie on Saturday. A fifth point would be up for grabs in a shootout and the Nittany Lions finally get an elusive shootout win for an extra point in the standings. Penn State will play Minnesota four of the final eight games, so points against the league leaders will obviously be important. 

Worst Case:

• Minnesota has played like one of the best teams in the nation and looks like it on Friday. A blowout win to open the series puts Penn State five points behind first place and a closer game on Saturday still goes the Gophers’ way. That doesn’t end the title hopes for the Nittany Lions, but it makes things harder. The sweep makes it four straight losses for Penn State.

Penn State at Ohio State

Best Case:

• On paper this is a series Penn State should win. The best case is a sweep and six points to either stay in the hunt or possibly take a slight lead in the race for second or even first place in the conference. The Nittany Lions split the series against the Buckeyes back at Pegula but both teams are playing different hockey right now. Penn State’s aim should be to get at least four points every weekend but six certainly seem possible here.

Worst Case:

• Ohio State picks up a series opening win and Penn State has to settle for three points on the weekend. Couple that with limited points from the weekend before and Penn State is working hard to get that first round bye. The Nittany Lions’ goaltending situation hasn’t settled at all with all three goalies each starting one of the last three games. Casey Bailey is closing in on 25 goals this season but the defense turns it over when it shouldn’t on the road and nobody can stop a 2-on-1.

Michigan at Penn State

Best Case:

• Call it a rivalry or call it just good hockey, Penn State and Michigan bring out the best in each other in the early going of this series. Michigan scores goals in bunches but Penn State gets the defense and goaltending it needs and the Nittany Lions jump out to an early 2-0 lead on a Friday night. Michigan does its best to bury Penn State on Saturday, but the Nittany Lions stage one of their increasingly popular comebacks to steal a point and win the eventual shootout. Minnesota still leads the league but Penn State holds on to second place and a bye in the Big Ten tournament. Michigan State can’t catch up this weekend.

Worst Case: 

• After getting crushed by Minnesota a few weeks earlier, Michigan is back in action and back in form as they run over the Nittany Lions on Friday night. It’s wave after wave of Wolverine attacks and penalties don’t help Penn State’s cause. The Nittany Lions pick up a point on Saturday in a tie but Michigan makes it five of six points with a shootout win. Penn State will need some help around the conference and a strong showing in the final weekend of the season to secure a bye.

Penn State at Minnesota

Best Case:

• By now Penn State will know what it needs to do to win the Big Ten or try and steal a first round bye. The same will be true for the Gophers who will either trail Michigan or Michigan State or perhaps have it locked down all on their own already. The best case is Penn State simply needing to steal a point or two over the weekend and the Nittany Lions are able to survive a weekend on the road in Minneapolis. A loss and a shootout win give Penn State two points and keep a hold of the bye.

Worst Case:

• Two games left in the season and two wins needed to keep postseason hopes alive and kicking. The Nittany Lions take risks but the Gophers capitalize. A sweep for the Gophers and it’s a long and bumpy end to Penn State’s season after playing Michigan and Minnesota six times in the final eight games. The season wasn’t bad by any stretch, but it’s a tough ask for a young program to make it though some of the nation’s best in such a short span.

Most likely:

Penn State is probably going to find a way to steal second place in the Big Ten. Only two points out of first certainly makes anything possible but the Nittany Lions have the hardest schedule of the four teams within reach of the title. That being said, Penn State finds a way to manufacture points and steals a road victory against Minnesota in the final regular season game of the year to lock up second place and first round bye.

The unofficial StateCollege.com guess is that 40 points will be the magic number to win the conference. That’s 18 more for the Nittany Lions out of the 24 points up for grabs.

After that, it’s a new season for everyone. 

Popular Stories:

Top 10 All-time Penn State Rankings For All Six NFL Combine Test

Penn State Football: Schedules And NFL Evaluations For Each Combine Participant

Bill O’Brien: Removing NCAA Sanctions ‘The Right Thing To Do’

Close, But No Cigar: No. 5 Wisconsin Defeats Penn State, 55-47

Record Low Temperature Tied as Brutal Cold Intensifies, Snow Storm Approaching

Attorney General Says Bellefonte Police, County Commissioners Overstepped Authority