Penn State men’s hockey will host NCAA Tournament regionals in Allentown during the 2022, 2023 and 2025 postseasons the NCAA announced on Wednesday during a wide ranging release of postseason location bids through 2025-26 for various sports.
The news comes in conjunction with the announcement that Penn State and Pegula Ice Area will serve as the host of the women’s hockey Frozen Four in 2026. The event will mark the first NCAA postseason event in the building’s history.
From the men’s side of things, Wednesday’s assignment marks an expansion of a previous regional bid. Penn State previously hosted a regional during th 2018 and 2019 postseason in Allentown. The Nittany Lions were set to host the 2020 postseason in Allentown at the PPL Center as well, but the cancelation of the NCAA Tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic put those plans on hold.
Generally speaking regionals are hosted at sites away from the host team’s home location or venue. If a host program makes the postseason, it is automatically placed in its host site. In turn, Penn State finds itself with a distinct advantage if it can continue to make the postseason, likely playing in front of a friendly crowd over the next several years.
The 2020-21 Frozen Four is located in Pittsburgh this season. The NCAA announced that the next round of Frozen Four locations include Tampa,, Saint Paul, St Louis and Las Vegas rounding things out in 2026.
