NCAA Hockey: How to Watch, Stream Penn State vs. Maine in the NCAA Allentown Regional

The Nittany Lions meet fourth-ranked Maine in a first-round game of the NCAA Men's Hockey Tournament.

Penn State forward Aiden Fink handles the puck during a Big Ten Tournament game vs. Michigan Wolverines at Yost Ice Arena. | Brian Bradshaw Sevald-Imagn Images

The Penn State men’s hockey team will face Maine on Friday for the first time in program history, and the stakes could not be higher. Nittany Lions coach Guy Gadowsky’s squad officially secured an at-large bid to the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament thanks to a late-season surge and first-round Big Ten Tournament victory, reaching the national tournament for the second time in three seasons. 

As the No. 4 seed in the Allentown region, Penn State gets a tough first-round draw against the Maine Black Bears, the region’s top seed and the nation’s fourth-ranked team. Here’s a look at Penn State’s first-round NCAA Tournament game vs. Maine.

No. 12 Penn State (20-13-4) Vs. No. 4 Maine (24-7-6)

• When: 8:30 p.m. ET March 28

• Where: PPL Center, Allentown, Pa.

• Tickets: Available through the PPL Center website

• Series History: First meeting

• At Stake: The winner advances to Sunday’s regional final vs. UConn/Quinnipiac

How to watch, stream Penn State vs. Maine hockey

Penn State’s first-round NCAA Tournament game will air live on ESPN2, with puck drop scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET Friday. It is the second game of an Allentown regional doubleheader. Connecticut faces Quinnipiac in the 5 p.m. opener. Jason Ross and Kevin Weekes are on the call for ESPN. The game also will be streamed on the ESPN app.

Can’t watch? Listen to Brian Tripp and Eric Ohlson on the Penn State Sports Network

About the Penn State Nittany Lions

Of the 16 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, Penn State is one of just three with fewer than 21 wins. That’s a product of the Nittany Lions’ slow start before they hit another gear in the new calendar year. Since Jan. 17, Penn State has a 12-3-2 record and has gone toe-to-toe with some of the top-ranked teams in the country. Penn State carried that second-half momentum into the Big Ten Tournament, winning consecutive contests over Michigan to claim a best-of-three series in the first round. 

Penn State’s conference tournament run came to a halt against Ohio State on March 15, when the Buckeyes’ Gunnarwolfe Fontaine sent the Nittany Lions home with an overtime goal. But Gadowksy’s unit locked in its at-large NCAA Tournament selection as a result of that Big Ten Tournament success. This will be Penn State’s fourth NCAA Tournament appearance.

As they have all season, the Nittany Lions will lean on their sophomore star, Aiden Fink. Recently named Penn State’s first-ever top-10 finalist for the Hobey Baker award, Fink has set the program’s single-season points record (52). He ranks second in the country in points and first with 1.41 points per game.

Two more key contributors for Penn State this season have been senior defenseman Simon Mack (64 blocks) and junior goaltender Arsenii Sergeev (17-8-4 record, four shutouts, .915 save percentage), both recently named second-team All-Big Ten. 

About the Maine Black Bears

Penn State was scheduled to host the Black Bears in Pegula Ice Arena during the 2021-22 season. Instead, Maine canceled the series because of COVID protocols, so this is the first meeting between the teams. 

Maine most recently defeated UConn to claim the Hockey East Tournament title and earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Black Bears are making their 20th appearance in the national tournament. They have won twice (1993, 1999), reached the Frozen Four 11 times and are 30-21 all-time in tournament games.

However, Maine also hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since 2007, going 0-3 since then. Fourth-year head coach Ben Barr’s squad owns the No. 3 overall seed in this year’s bracket, and the Black Bears are the only team in the 2025 NCAA Tournament that has lost only to other tournament teams, Maine is 3-0 against common opponents with Penn State. 

Offensively, Maine has been led by seniors Harrison Scott (35 points) and Taylor Makar (30 points). But a significant part of the Black Bears’ success has been depth. They have five players with double-digit goal totals and eight players with at least 20 points. Sweden native Albin Boija is 23-7-6 as Maine’s goaltender with four shutouts and a .930 save percentage.

Maine also begins and ends periods strongly. The Black Bears have scored 32 percent of their goals within the first or last two minutes of a period.  

Up Next

The winner of the Penn State-Maine game will take on either UConn or Quinnipiac in Sunday’s Allentown regional final. The winner of that game advances to St. Louis for the Frozen Four.