Penn State men’s hockey swept No. 19 Ohio State over the weekend to open up Big Ten play strongly.

In the newest USCHO poll released on Monday afternoon, Penn State surpassed Western Michigan (No. 4) after its loss to St. Cloud State University. The Nittany Lions are now ranked No. 3 and received three first-place votes with a 9-1-0 record.

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The Nittany Lions head to East Lansing this upcoming weekend to face the No. 1-ranked Michigan State Spartans. The matchup will come down to the wire in the battle of top-five teams. Penn State is 59 points behind No. 2 Michigan and 30 points ahead of Western Michigan.

Penn State started strong in the Big Ten and is ranked at the top of the Big Ten standings along with Wisconsin, both sitting with six points.

Across the Big Ten, Wisconsin is ranked 10, while Ohio State sits at the bottom of the USCHO poll at 19. Minnesota has fallen out of the rankings while Notre Dame remains unranked.