Penn State hockey star Gavin McKenna overtime winner makes SportsCenter Top 10

No. 5 Penn State men's hockey continues its fight for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. In order to do so, the Nittany Lions must check off wins one-by-one through the end of the regular season — and ideally, the Big Ten Tournament too.

McKenna continues impressive weekend, keeps Penn State in the fight for a No. 1 seed

Forward Gavin McKenna put the blue and white back in the win column with a weekend sweep over Ohio State. Penn State had a decisive, 11-4, win on Friday night that saw McKenna put up single-game records both in program and conference history. Then on Saturday, the true freshman sent the Buckeyes packing in overtime.

The game-winning goal was impressive enough not only to cue cheers in the Pegula Ice Arena, but to make it onto ESPN SportsCenter's top 10 plays. McKenna's goal was No. 10 on the list.

After defenseman Jackson Smith passed the puck back over to McKenna, he quickly dragged around Ohio State's defender and regained control and snapped the puck into the back of the net. This gave the Nittany Lions their second win of the weekend and avoided the contest going down in a tie, benefiting them point-wise with the end of the regular season on the horizon.

The overtime win and ultimate weekend sweep over the Buckeyes also bumped Penn State up a spot in the USCHO Division I Men's Poll. It previously ranked No. 6 for a few weeks, but finally broke that ceiling. The Nittany Lions are currently 20-9-1 overall and 12-7-1 in the Big Ten.

As a result of Penn State moving up, Quinnipiac moved down. The Bobcats lost to No. 13 Cornell on Friday, 6-1, and beat an unranked Colgate team, 5-2, on Saturday. This forced them down two spots as the previous No. 5 team. Providence now slips in at No. 6 (previous No. 7). The Friars swept Vermont on Friday and Saturday, 5-2 and 5-3, respectively.

Updated USCHO Poll as of Monday, Feb. 23

1. Michigan State

Previous: No. 1

2. Michigan

Previous: No. 2

3. North Dakota

Previous: No. 3

4. Western Michigan

Previous: No. 4

5. Penn State

Previous: No. 6

6. Providence

Previous: No. 7

7. Quinnipiac

Previous: No. 5

8. Denver

Previous: No. 8

9. Minnesota Duluth

Previous: No. 9

10. Boston College

Previous: No. 12

11. Cornell

Previous: No. 11

12. Wisconsin

Previous: No. 13

13. Connecticut

Previous: No. 10

14. Dartmouth

Previous: No. 14

15. Augustana

Previous: No. 18

16. Michigan Tech

Previous: No. 16

17. St. Thomas

Previous: No. 15

18. Minnesota State

Previous: No. 17

19. Massachusetts

Previous: No. 19

20. Maine

Previous: Not Ranked