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T H E M A I N E V E N T MEN'S ICE HOCKEY PENN STATE @ MINNESOTA T I M E T B A | O C T . 1 2 - 1 3 | 3 M A R E N A A T M A R I U C C I | B T N Fans will have to wait a little while to see the Nittany Lions in regular-season action at Pegula Ice Arena this fall. Coming o3 last season's Big Ten tournament champi- onship and 2rst-ever appearance in the NCAA tourney, Penn State won't play its home opener until Oct. 19, when it welcomes American International for a two-game nonconference series. Before that, however, comes a four-game road swing, includ- ing two games against perennial Big Ten power Minnesota. The Big Ten season is starting earlier than usual this year due to the addition of Notre Dame as a hockey- playing member. Penn State won't face the Irish until February, but the Gophers should provide a signi2cant challenge in the meantime. They are led by junior forward Tyler Sheehy, who last season was named Big Ten Player of the Year and a 2rst-team All-American a4er scoring 53 points on 20 goals and 33 assists. The Nittany Lions have some 2repower of their own, as they return eight of the top 10 point-scorers on a team that 2nished with a program-record 25 victories and the No. 8 ranking in the 2nal uscho.com poll. For those who don't want to wait till the regular season to see that team in action, there will be one opportunity. The Nittany Lions will play host to the Univer- sity of Ottawa in an exhibition game on Oct. 1 – M.H. SCORECARD FOOTBALL 3-0 SEPTEMBER 2 W AKRON........................................................ 52-0 9 W PITT........................................................... 33-14 16 W GEORGIA STATE............................................56-0 23 at Iowa................................................ 7:30 p.m. (ABC) 30 INDIANA................................................................ TBA OCTOBER 7 at Northwestern.................................................. Noon 21 MICHIGAN............................................................. TBA 28 at Ohio State........................................3:30 p.m. (FOX) NOVEMBER 4 at Michigan State...................................................TBA 11 RUTGERS............................................................ Noon 18 NEBRASKA............................................................ TBA 25 at Mar yland........................................................... TBA WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL 10-0 AUGUST 25-26 at West Virginia Tournament 25 W Tennessee-Martin................................... 3-0 26 W Delaware................................................3-0 W West Virginia.......................................... 3-0 SEPTEMBER 1-2 at Texas A&M Tournament 1 W Stanford................................................. 3-1 2 W at Texas A&M..........................................3-2 8-9 Big Ten/Pac-12 Challenge at Illinois 8 W Colorado................................................ 3-0 9 W Stanford................................................. 3-2 15-16 Penn State Classic 15 W YALE...................................................... 3-0 16 W WAKE FOREST.........................................3-0 W OHIO...................................................... 3-0 22 NEBRASKA 23 IOWA.................................................................7 p.m. 29 ILLINOIS....................................................... 7:30 p.m. 30 NORTHWESTERN................................................7 p.m. OCTOBER 6 at Ohio State......................................................... TBA 7 at Mar yland....................................................... 7 p.m. 13 MICHIGAN STATE...........................................7:30 p.m. 14 MICHIGAN......................................................... 7 p.m. 20 at Purdue........................................................... 7 p.m 21 at Indiana.......................................................... 7 p.m. 25 WISCONSIN.................................................. 7:30 p.m. 28 at Illinois........................................................... 7 p.m. NOVEMBER 1 at Michigan State...............................................7 p.m. 4 RUTGERS.......................................................... 7 p.m. 8 at Iowa..............................................................7 p.m. 11 MARYLAND........................................................ 7 p.m. 15 INDIANA....................................................... 7:30 p.m. ALL SPORTS PSU eighth in survey of nation's top athletic programs Penn State has been ranked among the nation's top 10 athletic depart- ments, according to a survey com- piled by Yahoo! Sports. The Nittany Lions ranked No. 8 among the nation's 65 Autonomy Five institutions, according to Yahoo! Sports. The survey incorporated the 2nal results of the past 2ve Lear2eld Directors' Cup rankings. Penn State has 2nished in the Directors' Cup top 10 four times in the past 2ve years, starting with a No. 6 2nish in 2012- 13, followed by rankings of 5, 8, 20 and 8. This past year marked the 12th time in the past 24 years that Penn State has posted a top-10 Directors' Cup 2nish. The only other span when the Nittany Lions had four top-10 plac- ings in 2ve years came from 1998-99 through 2002-03. Penn State is one of only nine programs nationwide to have 2nished in the top 25 in all 24 Directors' Cup 2nal standings. Penn State was second among Big Ten institutions in the Yahoo! Sports listing, one spot behind Michigan. Ohio State was No. 9, giving the Big Ten three schools in the top 10. Since the 2012-13 academic year, Penn State leads all Big Ten schools with eight NCAA championships, a total that ranks sixth nationally and is the highest of any school in the mid- Atlantic, Northeast or Midwest. The Nittany Lions have won NCAA titles in men's and women's fencing, women's soccer, women's volleyball and wrestling since the 2012 fall se- mester. Also over the past 2ve years, Penn State has won 31 Big Ten champi- onships to rank third in the confer- ence behind Michigan (34) and Ohio State (32). ■

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