The Gophers continue to improve their standing in the college hockey polls, jumping two spots to No. 15 in the USCHO rankings on Monday.
Their seven-game unbeaten streak was snapped Saturday night with a 4-3 overtime loss to Penn State, but the Gophers won the series opener 2-1 and settled for the split. The Gophers were alone at the top of the Big Ten standings after Friday night's victory, however Penn State's overtime rally and wins by Michigan and Michigan State on Saturday kept the standings stuck where they were a week ago.
The Gophers and Michigan share first place, and Penn State and Michigan State are just two points behind with three weekends remaining in the regular season.
Michigan fell to No. 17 after splitting with Ohio State, and Penn State continues to receive top 20 votes.
North Dakota remains at No. 1 with Minnesota State, Michigan Tech, Boston University and Miami rounding out the top five. Minnesota Duluth is No. 6.
The Gophers also continue to improve in the PairWise rankings and are now tied for 10th. If they can settle inside the top 10 entering the Big Ten tournament, they should be able to secure an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament.
They return to Mariucci Arena this week for a Thursday-Friday series against Michigan State.
Complete USCHO men's poll, the top 20 results, the PairWise rankings, and Big Ten results and standings.
