Penn State secured its place in the NCAA hockey tournament with its sweep of Michigan last weekend, and with just over two weeks until the field is officially unveiled, the picture has become clearer. The No. 11 Nittany Lions will have a chance to improve their position in the pecking order when they take on No. 10 Ohio State in the Big Ten semifinals on Saturday night.
Playoff Picture
Based on the Pairwise and probability matrix, the picture looks like this, with predicted conference tournament champions in italics:
Locks (8): Boston College, Michigan State, Minnesota, Maine, Western Michigan, Boston University, Providence, UConn
Safe (4): Denver, Ohio State, UMass, Penn State
Bubble In (2): Quinnipiac, Michigan
Automatic Bids (2): Minnesota State, Sacred Heart
Some things to note here:
- Boston College has clinched the No.