How to Watch Penn State vs. Wisconsin Hockey: Preview, Odds, Streaming

The Nittany Lions host the Badgers in their final regular-season series before the playoffs.

Penn State Nittany Lions forward Gavin McKenna (72) during the game against the Michigan State Spartans at Beaver Stadium. | James Lang-Imagn Images

The No. 6 Penn State men’s hockey team closes the 2025-26 regular season with a two-game series against No. 11 Wisconsin. It’s a rare Thursday-Friday series, with Friday’s regular-season finale being the annual “Wear White” game. Penn State swept the Badgers in Madison in January, outscoring Wisconsin 10-3 over two games. 

Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said this week that the series should be a “great dress rehearsal for what playoff hockey is going to be like.”

“This weekend does not matter for a movement,” Gadowsky said. “That’s not the case for both of our teams. Wisconsin needs to win to get in. We need to win to mathematically lock it up. So I think this is going to be a great opportunity as a dress rehearsal for the playoffs. So that's how the team's approaching [this week].”

Here’s what to know ahead of an important Penn State-Wisconsin series.  

How to watch, stream Penn State vs. Wisconsin

Penn State Nittany Lions defenseman Jackson Smith skates during a Big Ten ice hockey game against Michigan State in Beaver Stadium . | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Game 1 of the Penn State-Wisconsin series is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET Thursday at Pegula Ice Arena and will be available to stream on BIG+, the Big Ten Network’s subscription service. Game 2 is set for a 7 p.m. ET Friday, also on BIG+. 

What is the Penn State vs. Wisconsin betting line?

Penn State is a 1.5-goal favorite for Game 1, according to DraftKings. The over/under is set at 6.5 goals. Odds for Game 2 on Friday are currently unavailable.

Gauging the Nittany Lions’ postseason outlook

Penn State Nittany Lions hockey players enter Beaver Stadium for a Big Ten ice hockey game against Michigan State. | Dan Rainville / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

This will be the most anticipated postseason in Penn State men’s hockey history. The Big Ten Tournament begins March 11 with the quarterfinals, and Penn State is guaranteed to host at least one playoff game, with its first-round matchup set at Pegula Ice Arena against either Minnesota or Ohio State.  The tournament consists of all single games at campus sites.

Penn State sits third in the conference with +500 odds to win the tournament, according to DraftKings. Top seed Michigan State is the favorite at +130.

The Nittany Lions look to win their first conference tournament since the 2016-17 campaign, when they beat Wisconsin in double overtime in the championship game. Penn State also aims to go further than last year’s team, which fell in the semifinals to Ohio State. 

Penn State has sustained a series of impactful injuries this season, though Gadowsky delivered good news Tuesday. The coach said that star center Charlie Cerrato is doing “good” in his recovery from a long-term injury. Gadowsky listed Cerrato as “day-to-day,” and there is a chance Cerrato returns after a two-month absence this week against Wisconsin. 

Looking ahead, Penn State has the fifth-best odds to win the NCAA Tournament at +1000, with Michigan State and Michigan sitting as +370 co-favorites. The Nittany Lions are likely to be a No. 2 seed in the NCAA bracket. However, it is uncertain where they will play. 

The NCAA Tournament regional rounds are scheduled for March 27-29 at four sites: Albany, New York; Loveland, Colorado; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; and Worcester, Massachusetts. The Frozen Four begins April 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.  

About the Penn State Nittany Lions

Penn State Nittany Lions forward Aiden Fink (18) shoots against the Clarkson Golden Knights during the third period at Pegula Ice Arena. | Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

Penn State (20-10-2) has cooled after a dominant seven-game winning streak to start the second half of the season. The Nittany Lions are 2-4-2 over their last eight games and are coming off an 0-1-1 weekend against Notre Dame, the worst team in the Big Ten. 

Penn State remains paced by superstar freshman Gavin McKenna, whose 1.53 points per game and 33 assists rank second in the country. McKenna’s 46 points are second in the Big Ten. He scored his only hat trick of the season against Wisconsin in January.

Junior forward Matt DiMarsico leads the team in goals (17), and his 39 points rank sixth in the conference. The Nittany Lions are the only team to have four skaters in the top 11 in the Big Ten in points (McKenna, DiMarsico, JJ Wiebusch, Aiden Fink). That’s with Fink missing two months of the regular season due to an injury. 

Much like it did during last season's Frozen Four run, Penn State relies on its offense and speed to win games. The Nittany Lions are second in the Big Ten and fourth in the nation in scoring, averaging 3.81 goals per game. 

Of note for this week’s series: Fink, who flipped his commitment from Wisconsin to Penn State years ago, leads all Nittany Lions with 10 points in 10 career games against the Badgers. 

About the Wisconsin Badgers

Wisconsin Badgers center Gavin Morrissey shoots the puck against Lake Superior State. | Dave Kallmann / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wisconsin (19-11-2) entered this week 12th in the NPI rankings, sitting on the bubble of an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers do not have a top-10 scorer in the conference, as they are paced by sophomore forward Gavin Morrissey, who leads the team with 29 points (14th in the Big Ten). 

Despite that, Wisconsin ranks ninth in the country in scoring offense at 3.66 goals per game. The Badgers present a well-balanced offensive attack, rostering 15 players with double-digit point totals. 

Wisconsin attributes much of its offensive success to its dominant man-advantage. The Badgers’ power play ranks fourth in the nation, converting at a rate of 28.4 percent.

Defensively, Wisconsin ranks 38th in the country in scoring defense (3.00 goals-against average). Part of that could be blamed on the Badgers’ penalty kill, the sixth-worst in the country at 73.6 percent.  

Wisconsin’s starting goaltender Daniel Hauser (16-6-2) was injured a few weeks ago against Ohio State. Goaltender Eli Pulver, who has started the past three games, will likely be in net. Pulver is 3-5-0 on the year with an .874 save percentage and 3.65 goals-against average.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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