It has been a dire stretch for Penn State men’s hockey recently.

The Nittany Lions were swept by Michigan State over the weekend, which prompted the team to drop out of the USCHO poll for the first time since 2022. They’re 10-9-3 overall and 2-7-3 in the Big Ten, ahead of only Ohio State.

Penn State hasn’t won a Big Ten game since it defeated Minnesota 6-3 on December 2. It was then swept by Wisconsin in Madison a week later and suffered the same fate against the Spartans. While goaltending woes or conceding too many odd-man rushes are among the issues one could blame for the lack of recent success, the team’s power play is perhaps the biggest concern.

Penn State’s power play is 1-for-18 across its last four Big Ten games. The Nittany Lions didn’t capitalize on any of their nine opportunities in Madison, going 0-for-4 in game one and 0-for-5 in game two. Although Aiden Fink scored on one of five opportunities in game two against the Spartans, the Nittany Lions went just 1-for-9 this past weekend.

The blue and white entered the weekend with a .219% power play conversion rate, which was No. 19 in the country. That number since dropped to .205%, which is No. 27.

Penn State was frequently outplayed by a Michigan State team that appeared faster and more aggressive throughout both games, which bode true on power plays. The Nittany Lions had a hard time keeping the puck out of their own zone and were caught off guard numerous times.

“When you’re playing defense, that often doesn’t go for a good power play,” Guy Gadowsky said. “We turned the puck over way too much, and I think we gave up four odd-man rushes on the power play, so for this specific past weekend, we turned the puck over, and we ended up playing defense.”

It wasn’t just that Penn State was forced to play defense more often than not. Reed Lebster scored a short-handed goal in the first period of game one to give Michigan State a 2-0 lead, and Penn State didn’t score on a five-on-three power play, which both put the seriousness into perspective.

Additionally, center Xander Lamppa said a “combination of things” went into Penn State’s lack of success.

“We definitely ran into a good goalie, but we knew that going into it,” Lamppa said. “I think face-offs in the offensive zone at the start of the power play had something to do with it. Zone entries have something to do with it. And then, I mean, they had a really good structured penalty kill this weekend, and with the goalie as a combination with that, it was just hard to score.”

Trey Augustine, who recently won gold with the United States at the 2024 World Junior Ice Hockey Championship, was in goal for the Spartans. His .919 save percentage is among the best in the country, but it won’t get easier for Penn State. Up next is a matchup against Notre Dame and netminder Ryan Bischel, whose .926 save percentage ranks fourth.

To be fair, Wisconsin and Michigan State are two of the best teams in the country, and their penalty-killing rates are .917 and .826, respectively, which is good for No. 1 and No. 22 overall. Notre Dame’s is .817, which ranks four spots behind the Spartans, but it’ll be just as difficult, if not more so, playing against Bischel on the road.

A sense of urgency has set in, and rightfully so. With Penn State’s current skid having serious ramifications if it continues much longer, Lamppa and the team understand the implications of the upcoming series.

“I think this is a big weekend for us, and we need to get at least one if not two.”