Penn State Men’s Hockey Earns NCAA Tournament Berth, Will Face Maine in 1st Round

Penn State men’s hockey is headed to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in program history.

The Nittany Lions earned the No. 3 seed in the Allentown Regional, where Penn State is serving as the host institution, and will take on Maine at 8:30 p.m. on Friday in the PPL Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Maine is the region’s No. 1 seed and the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament. The Black Bears enter the postseason with a 24-7-6 record and won the Hockey East Tournament title on Friday night.

It will be the first meeting between Penn State and Maine.

In the other first round matchup, No. 2 seed UConn and No. 3 seed Quinnipiac will face off at 5 p.m. Friday. The regional championship at 4:30 or 7:30 p.m. on Sunday in the PPL Center, with the winner moving on to the Frozen Four.

Penn State is in the national tournament for the second time in three years. The Nittany Lions lost 2-1 in overtime of the 2023 regional final against Michigan. The team’s other tournament appearances were in 2017 and 2018

The Nittany Lions head into the tournament with a 20-13-4 record, having overcome a rough start. Penn State went 11-3-4 over the last two months of the season, including wins over top-ranked Michigan State and Minnesota, then swept Michigan in the first round of the conference tournament.

Tickets for the Allentown regional are on sale through Ticketmaster.