Penn State is one win away form its first Frozen Four appearance in program history. Here is when the regional finals will be played.
Penn State is one win away from playing in the first Frozen Four in program history, but its next hurdle is a UConn program looking to make its first appearance in the NCAA’s signature ice hockey event. Penn State and UConn may be considered the underdogs left standing in this year’s NCAA men’s hockey tournament after an eventful first round. Two of the top four seeds have already been eliminated, including No. 3 overall Maine by Penn State on Friday evening in Allentown, so Penn State and UConn are looking to crash a Frozen Four of blueblood hockey programs in St. Louis.
Penn State stormed past Hockey East champion Maine with a 5-1 victory on Friday, advancing the Nittany Lions into Sunday’s regional final. UConn took out Quinnipiac with a 4-1 win earlier in the day in the PPL Center in Allentown, where Penn State is serving as a host. Penn State and UConn will drop the puck for a spot in the Frozen Four on Sunday, March 30 at 4:30 p.m. ET. By then, we will know who the winner will face first in St. Louis.
The winner of the Allentown regional will pair up with the champion coming out of the Toledo region. That will be determined Saturday afternoon when Cornell faces Boston University. Cornell and Boston each took out their Big Ten opponents in the first round. Cornell edged Big Ten champion and No. 2 seed Micigan State with a 4-3 victory on Thursday evening. Boston obliterated Ohio State with an 8-3 victory that same day. Cornell and Boston will face each other on Saturday, Mar. 29, at 4:00 p.m. ET in the Toledo regional final.
In the other half of the bracket, No. 1 seed Boston College got by Bentley with a 3-1 victory in its first round matchup on Friday and Denver dominated Providence with a 5-1 win in Manchester, New Hampshire. Boston College and Denver square off on Sunday evening for a spot in the Frozen Four.
In the Fargo region, No. 4 seed Western Michigan needed double overtime to get past Minnesota State in the first round. The Broncos will face UMass after the Minutemen upset Minnesota in a 5-4 overtime victory. Western Michigan and UMass will face each other on Saturday evening.
Here is the weekend schedule for the regional finals in the NCAA D1 hockey tournament:
- Toledo Region: Cornell vs. Boston UniversitySaturday, March 29, 4:00 p.m. ETESPNU
- Fargo Region: Western Michigan vs. UMassSaturday, March 29, 6:30 p.m. ETESPNU
- Allentown Region: Penn State vs. UConnSunday, March 30, 4:30 p.m. ETESPN2
- Manchester Region: Boston College vs. DenverSunday, March 30, 7 p.m. ETESPN2
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