ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The stage is set for a Big Ten showdown at the Allentown Regionals as Penn State’s men’s ice hockey team (22-15-1, 10-13-1 Big Ten) will be going head-to-head with the University of Michigan (25-11-3, 12-10-2 Big Ten) on March 26 at 6:30 p.m. The game will be broadcasted on ESPN2 and ESPN+.
The winner of the regional championship will head to Tampa, Florida for the Frozen Four set for April 6-8, 2023. If the Lions beat the Wolverines, this would be their first Frozen Four bid in program history.
This will mark the fifth meeting between the Nittany Lions and Wolverines this season. Going into the final, Michigan holds a 3-1 record against Penn State. However, two of the three wins were hard fought as Michigan only won by a one-point difference.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS:
Nov. 4 – Penn State 3 – Michigan 0
Nov. 5 – Michigan 4 – Penn State 3 (OT)
Jan. 27 – Michigan 7 – Penn State 3
Jan. 28 – Michigan 5 – Penn State 4
Michigan made a point during their game against Colgate that having strong defensive play is a key factor in beating the buzzing Wolverines. If the Nittany Lions are capable of maintaining a strong defensive core, and Liam Souliere continues to excel in net, there’s no reason why the game should get out of hand.
Penn State currently sits on a 18-7-1 record when scoring first, but in the Michigan series, they are more notably sitting on a 1-1 record. If the Lions score the first goal of this game, they’ll need to focus on keeping the momentum against the hard-fought Wolverines, who are the Big Ten’s highest scoring team at 167 goals on the season.
The winner of tonight’s game will be set to face the winner of the 4 p.m. puck drop at the Bridgeport, Connecticut Regional – Ohio State or Quinnipiac. The Buckeyes defeated the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.
