Things are pretty simple for Penn State hockey this weekend.
Win two games, potentially walk home with no worse than a share of the Big Ten regular season title.
But true to form head coach Guy Gadowsky and his players aren’t terribly focused on the results of their play. They’re focused on just playing their game. If they take care of the little things the “B1G” things will take care of themselves.
Behind closed doors though Gadowsky knows it’s a big opportunity even if the Nittany Lions need a little help and little luck to pull off the move from 4th to 1st in the conference over the span of 48 hours.
“It’s great, it’s awesome, it’s unbelievable right now,” Gadowsky said earlier this week following practice. “To be in the conversation right now is unbelievable. Our coaches are talking about it, (and) it’s amazing. It’s nice to be in the conversation, it really is. Trust me, we don’t have to mention that for the team to understand that. They know that. We just try to keep focused on what we have to do.”
And Gadowsky is right — being in the conversation is a victory in its own right. You can’t hang it on the wall and build a program around conversations, but right now, it’s massive.
If Penn State is going to pick up the regular season title, first and foremost, it will take two wins. The Nittany Lions sit three points out of first place facing Minnesota on the road. The bad news: Michigan State and Michigan face off this weekend as well, meaning that points will be going to the top two teams in the conference no matter what. It’s just a matter of how many points and to which team.
Assuming — and it’s a big assumption — that Penn State can win two against the Gophers on the road, the Nittany Lions will need to hope for a series split between Michigan and Michigan State. In an even better world, Penn State could pick up the regular season title if somehow both games between the Spartans and Wolverines end with two point shootouts rather than three point wins.
All of that can make your head spin a little. It’s simpler really to just come to terms with the fact Penn State has to win twice at a place that it has never won before.
So first things first, a Friday night meeting at 8 p.m.
A secondary goal: Jumping Minnesota in the standings would set up a first round meeting with Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament rather than a game against the Nittany Lions’ achilles heel in Ohio State.
If you want to do the math yourself, here are the standings of the top four teams in the Big Ten.
- Wins are 3 points, shootout winner gets 2 points, shootout loser gets 1 point.
1: Michigan State 34 points
2. Michigan 33 points
3. Minnesota 33 points
4. Penn State 31 points.
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