Penn State Climb to No. 12 After Stunning the Top Team in the Country

Beating the No. 1 team in the country tends to move you up a poll. Penn State found out by how much on Tuesday, climbing two spots to No. 12 in the latest NFHCA rankings.

It’s a fair reward for a wild finish to the regular season. The Nittany Lions closed it out by shutting out Northwestern 2-0, and the result snapped the Wildcats’ 35-game Big Ten winning streak. Cooper Cutchins broke the deadlock in the 41st minute, Lily Holmes sealed it from a penalty corner with under three minutes left, and goalkeeper Aby Deverka kept a clean sheet that earned her Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

First-year head coach Hannah Prince has now got this team to 12-5 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten, good for third in the conference. That’s a serious first season, and the poll voters have noticed.

The timing couldn’t be better, or tougher. Penn State are the No. 3 seed in the Big Ten tournament in Columbus and they open against No. 6 Iowa on Wednesday at 5pm ET, streamed on Big Ten Plus. Iowa beat them 1-0 late in the regular season, a game Penn State will feel they let slip after defending so well for most of it. This is the rematch, and it’s a straight knockout.

For our money, Penn State go in as slight favourites on form, but only slight. Iowa already know they can beat this team, and tournament hockey has a habit of punishing anyone who thinks a ranking does the job for them. Win on Wednesday and the Nittany Lions keep rolling toward a final on Sunday. Lose, and that Northwestern upset becomes a footnote instead of a launchpad.