Previewing the Penn State 2023-24 hockey schedule

With the 2023-24 Penn State men’s hockey season just over a month away, the Big Ten Conference has released the conference schedule for the upcoming season. 

The Nittany Lions released their non-conference slate via social media in early August. Here is what they have lined up. 

Penn State non-conference slate

The Nittany Lions open the season in East Meadow, N.Y., as they take on the Long Island University Sharks on October 7th at 7:30 PM.  The Sharks are coming off a less-than-ideal season, going 13-22-1, with two ranked wins (No. 20 Alaska and No. 12 Ohio State) and tied No. 7 (and eventual National Champs) Quinnipiac. 

Penn State then travels to Potsdam, N.Y., to face the Clarkson Golden Knights on October 13th at 7:00 PM. Clarkson would have been a tougher contest than LIU last season. But, as always with out-of-conference teams, you never know what to expect. The Golden Knights went 16-17-4 last season. 

The Nittany Lions play their final, and third-straight, non-conference game on the road in Canton, N.Y., when they take on the St. Lawrence Saints on October 14th at 7:00 PM. The Saints went 17-19-0 last season, including a 1-6 record against ranked opponents, with the lone win coming against Cornell at Cornell. 

The Nittany Lions host the American International University Yellow Jackets on October 20th and 21st for the first series at Pegula Ice Arena in the 2023/24 season. Coming off an 18-14-7 season, the Yellow Jackets played better in away games, going 11-6-3. 

The last series before conference play comes for Penn State when the Alaska Anchorage Seawolves come to town on October 26th and 27th. The Seawolves went 8-19-1 last season with no marquee wins.

The Nittany will then open up conference play the following weekend, but have a series against non-conference opponent Lindenwood on November 24th and 25th, and will later host Army on January 6th. 

While the Nittany Lions went undefeated in non-conference play, including their 8-0 win over the Michigan Tech Huskies in the NCAA Tournament, the team has since gotten significantly younger. The Nittany Lions may take a few games to get settled and figure out their strengths, which could mean some early season struggles for the team. 

Penn State hockey Big Ten schedule

The Nittany Lions open the Big Ten slate at home on November 4th and 5th when they host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. They don’t see Notre Dame again until January 19th and 20th when they take on the Irish in South Bend, Indiana. Penn State split the series with Notre Dame last season but outscored the Irish, 12-11. 

Penn State will then travel to East Lansing, Mich., to face the Michigan State Spartans on November 10th and 11th. The return trip comes when the Spartans travel to Happy Valley on January 12th and 13th to open conference play back up after the winter break. 

The Spartans had Penn State’s number in the season series, winning two games and tying the last. The Nittany Lions were outscored 17-13 in the season series.

The Nittany Lions will be back in the Great Lakes State the following weekend (November 17th and 18th) when they take on the Michigan Wolverines. It is the first meeting since being eliminated by them in the Allentown Regional final during the 2023 NCAA Tournament. They will host the Wolverines on February 16th and 17th. The Wolverines took the series, 4-1, over the Nittany Lions including the NCAA tournament game. They outscored Penn State, 19-14. 

Next steps

The Nittany Lions host the NCAA Tournament runner-up Minnesota Golden Gophers on December 1st and 2nd. They take on the perennial powerhouse again on February 9th and 10th in Minnesota. Minnesota won the season series 3-1 and outscored Penn State 15-9. 

Penn State will see the new-look Wisconsin Badgers for the first time when they travel to Madison, Wis., on December 8th and 9th. The Badgers then travel to Hockey Valley on February 23rd and 24th for the last home series. The Nittany Lions dominated the Badgers last season, outscoring them 13-4. In the series, they won three of four games during the regular season. 

The Badgers will be an interesting team in the Big Ten this season. Former Minnesota State head coach Mike Hastings left his former team to take the same job at Wisconsin. Hastings had back-to-back Frozen Four appearances with Minnesota State in 2021 and 2022. 

The Nittany Lions host the Ohio State Buckeyes on January 26th and 27th. They will take them on again on March 1st and 2nd to close out the regular season. The two teams split the season series last year. But, Ohio State outscored the Nittany Lions 12-11 during the season. And, they eliminated the Nittany Lions in three games during the Big Ten Tournament. 

All dates and game times for Big Ten play are subject to change. The TV schedule will be released in the coming weeks.