Dec. 15, 2014
USCHO.com Poll (Dec. 15, 2014) | Three Rivers Classic Tickets
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's hockey team checked off another achievement Monday afternoon: being ranked by a national poll. The Nittany Lions were tabbed 20th by USCHO.com.
Penn State (9-4-2, 3-1-0-0 Big Ten), who has been receiving votes for the majority of the season, has had a strong start to the 2014-15 season and is coming off its first Big Ten sweep at Wisconsin (Dec. 5-6).
The Nittany Lions, who were idle this past weekend, received 79 votes, up from its 56 the week before. Penn State's next opponent, Robert Morris, is 19th in the USCHO poll with 125 votes. Penn State and Robert Morris are the newest members of NCAA Division I men's ice hockey.
Penn State is currently 16th in the Pairwise Rankings, which mimics the formula the NCAA Selection Committee uses for its tournament. Sixteen teams comprise the NCAA Division I Championship with six automatic bids being awarded and 10 at-large bids granted.
In the USA Today/USA Hockey poll, Penn State hasn't been ranked yet. The Nittany Lions have only received votes once this season in that poll, which ranks the top 15 teams in the country.
Penn State and Robert Morris (11-2-3, 9-2-3 Atlantic Hockey) face off Monday, Dec. 29 at the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh's CONSOL Energy Center for a 7:35 p.m. game. The following day, Penn State will take on either Colgate or Western Michigan. Game times will be 4:35 p.m. or 7:35 p.m. Three Rivers Classic Tickets