Men's Hockey Finishes 2024-25 Season No. 5 in Both National PollsMen's Hockey Finishes 2024-25 Season No. 5 in Both National Polls
Mark Selders

Men's Hockey Finishes 2024-25 Season No. 5 in Both National Polls

Penn State finishes in the top-10 for the fourth time, third in the past six seasons, at No. 5 in both polls, its highest final ranking all-time

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Coming off its first Frozen Four appearance in program history, the Penn State men’s ice hockey team received a No. 5 final ranking in both the USCHO.com and the USA Hockey/The Rink Live national polls as announced Monday afternoon, the highest final ranking in program history.

After beginning the 2024-25 campaign unranked, the Nittany Lions finished the year earning their third top-10 finish in the past six seasons and fourth overall after finishing No. 8 following the 2022-23, 2019-20 and 2016-17 seasons.

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Penn State finished the year with a 22-14-4 record marking its sixth 20-win season over the first 13 years of the program all of which have come in the last 10 years. The 22 wins are tied for the second-most in a single-season in program history. The Nittany Lions advanced to their fourth NCAA Tournament reaching the Frozen Four for the first time in program history before falling to Boston University, 3-1, in the national semifinals.

PSU is the highest of five Big Ten teams to earn a final ranking joining Michigan State (No. 6/6), Minnesota (No. 9/8), Ohio State (No. 11/12), and Michigan (No. 17/17).

Junior goaltender Arsenii Sergeev (Yaroslavl, Russia), who recently signed a two-year, entry-level contract with the NHL’s Calgary Flames, had a career-year between the pipes for the Blue & White becoming the first Nittany Lion goaltender to earn a spot on either the All-B1G first or second team after landing second team honors back in March. The Yaroslavl, Russia native turned in one of the best goaltending seasons in Penn State history posting a 19-9-4 record with a .919 save percentage and a 2.54 goals-against average and four shutouts.

Sergeev’s 19 wins this season tied for the top spot in the Big Ten and are tied for the second-most in a single-season by a Nittany Lion net-minder with his save percentage and goals-against average each ranking third-best while his four shutouts are a new Penn State single-season record as well as tied for the career standard and also paced the Big Ten and ranked tied for fourth nationally.

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Sophomore Aiden Fink (Calgary, Alberta) also had a breakthrough season for the Nittany Lions setting single-season records with 53 points and 30 assists while tying the single season record for goals with 23. Fink also tied his own single-season record with eight powerplay tallies to ascend to the top of the all-time list with 16 man-advantage markers in two seasons.

Fink ranked in the top-10 nationally in each offensive category; points (4th), goals (T-9th), assists (T-7th), powerplay goals (T-9th), and shorthanded goals (T-8th) while his 1.33 points per game were good for third in the nation and is the second-best mark in a single-season at Penn State.

The Calgary, Alberta native was the first Nittany Lion unanimously selected to the All-Big Ten First-Team as well as becoming Penn State’s first Hobey Baker Top-10 Finalist and just the third All-American in program history.

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Freshman Charlie Cerrato (Fallston, Md.) burst onto the scene in Hockey Valley registering the second-best rookie campaign in program history finishing the year with 42 points on 15 goals and 27 assists. Cerrato topped all freshmen in the Big Ten in each offensive category while his point and assist totals ranked second nationally and his goal total was good for third among first-year skaters.

At Penn State, Cerrato became just the second Nittany Lion rookie to reach the 40-point mark and tied for the fifth highest scoring season of all-time while his 27 assists are the second-most by a freshman and tied for the third-most in a single-season all-time. His 15 goals were tied for the fifth-most by a PSU rookie.