Next weekend’s men’s hockey series between the Minnesota Gophers and Penn State Nittany Lions has been canceled due to “health and safety concerns in the Penn State program,” Minnesota Athletics announced Thursday.
That means Penn State’s hockey program is dealing with positive COVID-19 tests.
“The contests will likely not be rescheduled,” Penn State announced.
The Gophers will get a week to rest up after hosting Michigan State this weekend. They play Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m. inside 3M Arena at Mariucci.
Minnesota (17-5 overall, 13-5 Big Ten) has 39 points to lead the Big Ten standings, with Wisconsin (37 points) sitting right behind the Gophers. It’s a two-team race since third-place Notre Dame is well behind with 27 points. Wisconsin is hosting Notre Dame this weekend.
After facing Michigan State, the Gophers will close the regular season schedule Mar. 5-6 at home against Michigan, then head off to the Big Ten tournament before the NCAA tournament.
The Gophers are ranked No. 4 in the nation in this week’s USCHO poll. Boston College is No. 1, followed by North Dakota and Minnesota State. Wisconsin is No. 5; St. Cloud State is No. 6; and Minnesota-Duluth is No. 8.
