No. 18 Penn State men’s hockey (14-10-2, 6-9-1 Big Ten) will return from its bye week with a two-game series against Minnesota at Pegula Ice Arena this weekend.

The Nittany Lions split a series against the Golden Gophers in the Land of 10,000 Lakes at the start of the second semester, and both teams have had up-and-down stretches since then.

Minnesota is currently on the outside looking in of the NCAA tournament equation, occupying the No. 24 spot in the PairWise rankings.

The Team

Minnesota (11-12-4, 8-7-3 Big Ten) is in serious danger of missing out on the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season.

Led by head coach Bob Motzko, the Gophers rattled off a three-game winning streak after beating Penn State 4-1 on January 5. However, inconsistency has been the story of the season in Minneapolis — the team has lost five of its past seven games since the three-game win streak.

With 3.11 goals scored per game, the Gophers can clearly put the puck in the net consistently, and their defense ranks No. 32 in the nation, allowing 2.85 goals per contest.

Forwards

The dynamic duo of veteran forwards Rem Pitlick and Tyler Sheehy has paced the Gophers’ offense this season.

Pitlick’s 33-point output in 27 games leads the team, and Sheehy isn’t far behind with 32 points of his own. Sheehy’s taken on more of a playmaking role on the line with 24 assists, while Pitlick’s 17 goals lead all Minnesota skaters.

Brent Gates Jr. is the third piece of Minnesota’s top line, which isn’t the team’s only productive trio. Tommy Novak centers a solid second line, flanked by Ryan Norman and Brannon McManus. Norman only has five points in 20 appearances, but McManus’ 11 goals ranks second among Gopher forwards. Novak is the playmaker of the unit with 13 assists.

Defense & Goaltending

Mat Robson is still Bob Motzko’s preferred choice between the pipes this season. The junior goaltender has a 9-8-4 record with a 2.85 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in 22 appearances. Backup Eric Schierhorn has a 2-4 record, but his 2.16 goals-against average is impressive nonetheless.

On the blue line, Minnesota’s previous top pair of Ben Brinkman and Jack Sadek has been split up since Penn State’s last meeting with the Gophers. Brinkman’s still on top of the team’s plus-minus charts with a +9 rating in 27 games, and Sadek still leads Minnesota’s blueliners with 12 points.

Brinkman now plays on a pairing with Tyler Nanne, who’s second on the team with a +4 rating. Meanwhile, Sadek’s new defensive partner is junior Ryan Zuhlsdorf, who hasn’t scored a goal in 24 appearances.

Prediction

We’re in the home stretch of college hockey season, so every game means that much more. Minnesota failed to win any of four of its games at Pegula Ice Arena last season, including a best-of-three sweep in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

I think the Gophers will be able to salvage at least a point this weekend, but Penn State will take the other five with a 3-3 tie and shootout win Friday before a more commanding 5-2 win Saturday.