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UNIVERSITY PARK - The Penn State Nittany Lions are looking for their first victory of the season as they open their 2026-27 home slate with a single contest against No. 8 Quinnipiac on Friday evening at Pegula Ice Arena.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Dates: Friday, October 16
Place: Pegula Ice Arena - University Park, Pa.
Time: 7 p.m.
Tickets: Friday
Streaming Video: Friday
Listen: LionVision
Live Statistics: Friday
Game Notes: Penn State | Quinnipiac
THIS WEEK'S MATCHUP
This week marks just the second-ever meeting between Penn State and Quinnipiac with the Bobcats winning the only other meeting 3-2 in Hamden two years ago.
This weekend pits two of college hockey's winningest coaches against one another as Rand Pecknold and Guy Gadowsky square off. Pecknold has the most wins for active head coaches with 621 while Gadowsky ranks sixth with 425 career wins.
Penn State is 0-2 to open the season for just the second time in program history and first time since the 2020-21 season.
The Nittany Lions are 9-4-1 all-time in home openers coming off a 6-4 loss to Clarkson last season which snapped a streak of four-straight home opening victories.
The Nittany Lions are outscoring their opponents 54-41 in home openers averaging 3.86 goals per game while only allowing 2.93.
Last weekend 66.7 percent of Penn State's offense and 75 percent of goals scored came from newcomers with Kale Dach (2G, 1A) and Justin Poirier (3 assists) leading the way while Justin Larose added one goal and one assist.
The Nittany Lions are one of 14 teams in the nation over the first two weeks of the season with a perfect penalty kill as Penn State went 6-for-6 in Connecticut last weekend.
Penn State is 15-13-2 all-time against the ECAC after going 1-1-0 against Clarkson last season.
SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Quinnipiac finished the 2025-26 campaign with a 27-10-3 record losing to North Dakota 5-0 in the Sioux Falls Regional Final. The Bobcats enter the year having reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the past seven seasons, the longest active streak in the nation and are 3-1-0 to begin the 2026-27 campaign.
The Bobcats are led by Rand Pecknold in his 33rd season behind the bench. Pecknold is the active leader in career wins with 621, a mark good for ninth all-time, while his .643 winning percentage ranks sixth among active coaches and tied for 22nd all-time.
Quinnipiac returns the most goals (139) and points (358) in the nation from its roster a season ago and are reaping the benefits early on averaging 5.25 goals per game, a mark good for fifth in the nation.
The Bobcats have come out of the gates swinging this season outscoring opponents 10-4 in the first period and are a perfect 3-0-0 on the year when leading after the opening 20 minutes.
Ethan Wyttenbach a Hobey Baker Finalist and First-Team All-American returns as the team's leading scorer and he is already off to a blistering pace with points in all four games this season as he leads the Bobcats with eight points on three goals and five assists. His eight points are good for third in the nation.
Mason Marcellus leads the team and is tied for second in the nation with four goals through the first four games of the season as he has scored one goal in each game so far this season. Marcellus is the active leader in the NCAA for points (112) and assists (76) as well as plus/minus at plus-63 in 119 career games played, the seventh-most in the nation.
The Bobcats are converting at 20 percent (2-for-10) on the powerplay through four games, however, they have allowed five man-advantage goals in 14 opportunities registering a PK percentage of just 64.3 percent the fourth-worst PK among the 56 teams who have begun play.
15 AND 10
Penn State is beginning its 15th season as an NCAA program after elevating to Division I prior to the 2012-13 campaign.
This weekend Penn State will welcome back members of the 2017 Big Ten Tournament Championship Team to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the program's first Big Ten title. The Nittany Lions defeated Wisconsin 2-1 in double-overtime on March 18, 2017, to secure their first championship and the automatic bid to their first-ever NCAA Tournament.
2026-27 AUDIO BROADCASTS
Audio broadcasts for all Penn State hockey games for the 2026-27 season are available on the Penn State Sports Network via radio affiliates and streaming on GoPSUsports.com.
Former Nittany Lion goaltender Chris Funkey and 2017-18 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Trevor Hamilton return to join play-by-play broadcaster Brian Tripp for most games throughout the season.
PARKING ADVISORY
Parking for all athletics events requires a valid university permit or payment of an applicable parking fee. Parking can be purchased in advance (by 11:59 p.m. the day prior to each event) at a discounted rate on ParkWhiz. Parking can also be purchased at full price on game day on ParkWhiz.
Parking for men's ice hockey games at Pegula Ice Arena can be found in the Stadium West, Jordan East, and Porter North lots.
Parking for all non-football athletics events is managed by Penn State Transportation services.
With the annual Homecoming Parade and an event in the Bryce Jordan Center on Friday, October 10, heavy traffic and parking congestion is expected around Pegula Ice Arena. Hockey fans are encouraged to park in the Stadium West parking lot and purchase their parking by 11:59 p.m. Thursday in order to receive the discounted parking rate as parking on Friday will be $20 night-of due to the Bryce Jordan Center event.
NEXT UP
Penn State remains in Hockey Valley as its four-game homestand rolls on with a single contest against Robert Morris on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. before the Nittany Lions welcome Canisius for a Friday-Saturday series.
For more information on the 2026-27 season, visit the men’s hockey ticket page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.