UMD Bulldogs Take On Penn State in NCAA Hockey Regional Semifinal Friday

The University of Minnesota Duluth men's hockey team will return to the NCAA Tournament for the 16th time in program history, traveling to Albany, N.Y. to face Penn State University Friday night at MVP Arena in the 8 p.m. CT regional semifinal. No. 8 UMD (23-14-1) takes on No. 9 Penn State (21-13-2), with the winner advancing to the regional championship Sunday against either No. 1 Michigan or Bentley. The game airs on ESPN2.

Since the NCAA went to a regional format in 1987-88, UMD has been a perfect 12-0 in first-round games. This will be the first meeting in program history between the Bulldogs and the Nittany Lions. UMD is the 2nd seed on their side of the bracket, headlined by top overall seeded Michigan.

"It's a good bracket," said UMD head coach Scott Sandelin, who currently sits on the NCAA Selection Committee. "Obviously, no matter where you play this time of the year, it's good, so I think our guys will be looking forward to playing Penn State. It's a tough bracket but a good bracket."

The Bulldogs arrive in Albany carrying lessons from a turbulent NCHC Frozen Faceoff run. UMD lost the NCHC championship game 4-3 in double overtime at Denver, giving the Pioneers the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Thankfully for the Bulldogs, they had already secured an at-large bid as insurance. In that championship at Denver, the Bulldogs had to respond to an early 3-0 deficit that Sandelin and senior captain Joey Pierce admitted might have been the result of a young UMD team experiencing nerves and/or anxiety in its first title shot since the 2022 NCHC championship.

The postseason stretch tested UMD's resilience repeatedly. Pierce noted that his team fell behind 2-0 and 1-0 at home against St. Cloud State, and when North Dakota scored early in the third period of the semifinal to inch within two. In every instance, UMD's bench responded well. "Obviously we didn't like our first 10-15 minutes, but we were able to find some urgency," Pierce said Saturday after the championship loss.

Penn State brings its own star power to Albany. The Nittany Lions are led by 18-year-old freshman forward Gavin McKenna, a top-10 Hobey Baker finalist who is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. He is tied for third in the NCAA in scoring with 51 points and second in the nation in assists with 36. UMD's special teams have been even better than Penn State's, with the Bulldogs converting over 29 percent on the power play and posting an 89 percent penalty kill.

The Bulldogs last qualified for NCAA postseason in the 2021-22 season, advancing to the Regional Final after defeating Michigan Tech University before losing to the University of Denver 2-1 in Loveland, Colo. In 2020-21, UMD clinched a spot in its sixth NCAA Frozen Four, falling to the University of Massachusetts 3-2 in overtime. The program's peak came back-to-back: in 2018-19, UMD claimed the school's third national title, and in 2017-18 the Bulldogs snatched the school's second. UMD has compiled a 30-14-0 lifetime record in the NCAA Tournament and a 24-8-0 mark since Sandelin's arrival in 2000-01.

The Albany regional championship is scheduled for Sunday, with the winner advancing to the 2026 NCAA Men's Frozen Four on April 9-11 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.