By Jacob Messing

The Penn State Nittany Lions thrust themselves back into the top 25 with a win and tie on the road versus No. 11 Ohio State last weekend, extending their unbeaten streak to six games.

The freshly ranked No. 18 Nittany Lions are 9-7-2 and currently sit in second place in the Big Ten. They’ve gone 4-0-2 during the NCAA’s third-longest unbeaten streak and take on Keystone State rival Robert Morris.

The Colonials have lost four of their last six games to drop to 5-9-1 on the season.

Friday’s game is set for 7:30 PM EST, Saturday’s for 7 PM, when the Nittany Lions hold their annual teddy bear toss. Both games will be streamed live right here on FloHockey.

Coach Guy Gadowsky has a special guest at media today! Don’t forget Saturday against RMU is our annual Teddy Bear Toss game!! Puck drops at 7 PM!  #FTK pic.twitter.com/LEi6FDirp8

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) December 4, 2017

The home-and-home kicks off at the Pittsburgh Penguins’ PPG Paints Arena on Friday. The Colonials hold a 4-2-1 home record, as opposed to a 1-7-0 away record. Penn State’s overall record hasn’t depended on their home rink, going 4-3-1 at Pegula Ice Arena and 5-4-1 on the road.

Nittany Lions coach Guy Gadowsky’s team won and tied in a series with No. 11 Ohio State last weekend, but lost defenseman Kevin Kerr indefinitely.

“Kevin Kerr actually broke his wrist in the second period and basically played half the game with a broken wrist,” Gadowsky said during Monday’s press conference. “I give him a lot of credit; that was a tough game and that’s not an easy thing to do. He did it and he deserves a lot of credit for it.”

The junior has played in just six games this season, but the defenseman will be missed offensively as he recorded a goal and seven points in those games.

Gadowsky didn’t offer an update on senior defenseman Erik Autio, who has missed the past two series. Without the alternate captain, Gadowsky will need to seek a new balance for his defensive pairs.

You never want to see a player get injured, but with the depth of Penn State the Colonials’ hope for an upset may lean on exposing the reshuffled defense.

The Colonials were swept by a 5-7-3 Bentley team on November 24 and 25 and will be looking to get into the win column after being swept in two of its last three series.

“We haven't found a way to steal a game, haven't found a way to finish games when we have a lead,” coach Derek Schooley told Mike Prisuta of RMUColonials.com. “I think our killer instinct is missing a little bit right now. I hate to characterize it as a complete lack of killer instinct because we have found a way to get the job done at home.”

Schooley said he addressed the issue during their bye week and that their approach to the schedule has changed due to the lack of mental toughness.

“If we can realize the key points of the game and mentally break through the barrier we're putting up for ourselves, we can be very good,” Schooley added.

Schooley and his team will be looking to implement the bye week changes this week against the well-balanced Nittany Lions.

Don’t miss the action right here on FloHockey, where both games will stream live over the weekend.

Have a question or a comment for Jacob Messing? You can find him on Twitter @JMessing23.