No. 10/10 Penn State men's hockey fell to No. 1/1 Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal matchup on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions lost 5-2 and faced a brutally honest reality of what the end of their season is turning out to be.
Penn State hockey's semifinal loss reveals brutal truth about the Nittany Lions
Making matters even worse, the top seeded Big Ten team, No. 3/3 Michigan State, was battle tested by No. 20 Ohio State. The Buckeyes aren't even featured in the USCHO poll.
They showed the Spartans that a Big Ten battle is always going to bring the competition, no matter where you're ranked or even if you are. Penn State couldn't prove the same to the Wolverines.
The Nittany Lions are playing like they're a definite lock for the NCAA Tournament. Something's that clicked for a lot of teams in the country in the second half of the season didn't for Penn State. It had highs and lows, and right now it can't get itself out of a lull.
After Michigan's win, one of its players said in his postgame Big Ten Network interview that the Wolverines' coaching staff reminded the team that every win is another opportunity to play with one another again. It's win or go home from this point on. For some reason, that's not clicking with this Penn State team.
Aside from the glaringly obvious lack of fight the Nittany Lions have considering the time of year, it's all or nothing for Ohio State and the Buckeyes know that. They must upset Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game to earn their spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines are in regardless and will also be a No. 1 seed regardless as well.
Penn State is in a less black and white scenario. It's best case scenario is Michigan beating Ohio State. That at least confirms that another at-large bid is available, putting the Nittany Lions in a more comfortable position.
As the 10th-ranked team in NPI, they're right at the cutoff line for the 10 at-large bids. The six conference champions get an automatic bid, meaning if the Wolverines take up the Big Ten champion spot, another at-large bid remains available. If Ohio State wins, though Penn State will be scoreboard watching a lot more closely than in the former situation.