No. 10/9 Penn State men's hockey is slated for a Friday night matchup versus No. 6/8 Minnesota Duluth to open its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
Penn State hockey's fate is sealed before NCAA Tournament even starts
Just one year ago, the Nittany Lions made history, punching their ticket to the Frozen Four for the first time in program history with an overtime win over Connecticut in the regional final. They had a massive second half to their 2024-25 season, bouncing back from a winless Big Ten record and emerged as a serious threat in the college hockey landscape.
Heading into the 2026 NCAA Tournament, Penn State is no longer and underdog. Whether that's a good or bad thing will be determined by how its first game of the playoffs go.
"That's a huge game. Duluth is not to be messed with, [it] has taken the big boys in the NCHC to the brink," Andrew Raycroft of ESPN said Thursday night before the North Dakota vs. Merrimack game. "I can't wait to see [it]. It's a big boy matchup [Friday] night."
The Bulldogs heads into the battle with a 23-14-1 overall record. The Nittany Lions are just behind with a 21-13-2 record.
While seemingly neck-and-neck, Minnesota Duluth gave the NCHC a run for its money, especially in the conference tournament. Both the Bulldogs' conference and Penn State's Big Ten were dominant conferences in college hockey, which is nothing unusual. Minnesota Duluth, however, proved it can hang with the top teams in the country while the blue and white proved they could not.
In the NCHC Tournament, the Bulldogs beat St. Cloud State and moved onto the NCHC Frozen Faceoff. They beat the No. 2/2 team in the country, North Dakota, skating their way to the conference championship matchup versus Denver. The Pioneers ultimately beat Minnesota Duluth, 4-3, but the conference tournament run proved the Bulldogs cannot be underestimated.
Friday night is a true battle for the Nittany Lions, who failed to regroup at the end of the 2025-26 regular season and lost in their conference tournament semifinal game against No. 1/1 Michigan.
Minnesota Duluth is simply a more complete team and less driven by independent talent. Penn State, on the other hand, misses that team factor that drove its run to the Frozen Four in 2025. If the Nittany Lions pull it together for the tournament and knock off the Bulldogs, their reward is facing the best team in the country: the Wolverines. Another Frozen Four appearance is barely within arm's reach, if that.
Puck drop at MVP Arena in Albany, N.Y. is slated for 9 p.m. EDT on Friday, March 27. The game can be watched on ESPN2.