Penn State hockey’s two game sweep of Canisius this past weekend and now 5-1-1 record only helped the Nittany Lions as the latest USCHO Poll has Penn State coming in at No. 14.
After entering the poll last week at No. 19 following a tie and victory over then No. 3 Notre Dame, Penn State has continued its solid play with weekend 4-1 and 4-2 victories to start off a 10-game home stand. Goaltender Peyton Jones has continued his solid play in net during his freshman campaign with a 5-0-1 record.
Perhaps more importantly the Nittany Lions are currently ranked No. 6 in the PairWise which is effectively the BCS for college hockey. The Top 16 team in the PairWise usually make the postseason although the PairWise rankings simply mimic the selection committees’ criteria and is not automatic indication of a postseason berth.
That being said Penn State seems well on its way towards that first postseason ticket being punched but with an entire Big Ten slate and non conference games left to go the road is still a very long and difficult one ahead.
The Nittany Lions are back in action this weekend Niagara for a two game series this Thursday and Friday.
