Allentown Regional, March 28-30 | PPL Arena, Allentown, Pa.
No. 2 Connecticut (22-11-4) vs. No. 3 Quinnipiac (24-11-2) |March 28, 5 p.m. ET (ESPNU)
No. 1 Maine (24-7-6) vs. No. 4 Penn State (20-13-3) | March 28, 8:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
Allentown Regional Championship | March 30, 4:30 p.m. or 7 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
MAINE
How they got here: Won Hockey East tournament, 3rd in final PairWise
Overall season record: 24-7-6
Top players: F Taylor Makar (10-19-29), D Luke Antonacci (2-2-4), F Josh Nadeau (10-19-29), F Lynden Breen (7-6-13), D David Breazeale (3-10-13), F Harrison Scott (18-17-35), G Albin Boija (23-7-6, 1.76, .930 SV%)
Why they will advance to the Frozen Four: Last year, Maine was the relative newcomer, entering the tournament after a 12-year absence. Cornell sent Maine packing in the first round. This year, the Black Bears enter on a tear, with a conference tournament championship under their belt and a bevy of players who can score. Throw in goalie Albin Boija — Mike Richter Award finalist — and Maine could very well be headed back to St. Louis, the host city the last time it went to the Frozen Four in 2007.
Why they won’t advance to the Frozen Four: Hey, welcome to Allentown, Black Bears! Hope you had a fun trip. Congratulations on a great season. Your reward? A date with Penn State (20-13-4), which, as hosts, is playing just 166 miles from its home rink. Have fun!
CONNECTICUT
How they got here: At-large bid, 6th in final PairWise
Overall season record: 22-11-4
Top players: F Hudson Schandor (10-30-40), F Joey Muldowney (27-18-45), D Viking Gustafsson Nyberg (1-9-10), F Jake Richard (15-27-42), G Callum Tung (9-3-1, 2.05, .933 SV%), F Ryan Tattle (18-14-32)
Why they will advance to the Frozen Four: UConn has been pounding everybody lately (save for a hiccup vs. Maine in the Hockey East championship game). The Huskies have won eight of their last 10 with three of those wins coming against teams in the tournament field and are 10-3 against non-conference opponents this year.
Why they won’t advance to the Frozen Four: UConn drew intra-state rival (and 2023 NCAA champ) Quinnipiac in the first round, and one thing Rand Pecknold’s Quinnipiac teams don’t do very often is lose in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The Bobcats have lost just once in their last six tourney openers dating back to 2016 (a 4-3 OT loss to Minnesota State in 2021).
QUINNIPIAC
How they got here: At-large bid, 12th in final Pairwise
Overall season record: 24-11-2
Top players: F Jeremy Wilmer (14-25-39), F Mason Marcellus (10-27-37), F Travis Treloar (16-20-36), F Andon Cerbone (15-20-35), F Jack Ricketts (20-7-27), G Matej Marinov (12-3-0, 1.75 GAA, .928 sv%)
Why they will advance to the Frozen Four: Quinnipiac finished within two wins of last year’s overall record but dropped to the Pairwise bubble because of ECAC’s overall lack of strength compared to the rest of the country. Despite all of that, the Bobcats paired one of the nation’s most potent offenses with a top-10 defense and arguably the best combined special teams in all of college hockey. They weren’t heavily penalized and remained steady after starting the season with a host of growing pains, so there’s reason to believe that the team’s “best hockey” started in November and hasn’t totally stopped.
Why they won’t advance to the Frozen Four: Every yin has a yang, and Quinnipiac’s inability to win the ECAC tournament resulted in an elevated hot seat until the right results landed properly. This team is incredibly deep and well-skilled, but ECAC still posted one of its weakest all-time seasons. The Bobcats likewise held the top spot and won a regular season championship, but that doesn’t erase the CT Ice loss to UConn – their first-round opponent – or the 5-1 loss to Northeastern. Struggling to erase American International and losses to New Hampshire and Maine compound exactly how Quinnipiac sits in the tournament compared to other, more heavily-touted at-large squads trending upwards at the end of the year – one of which is Penn State, the host school and No. 4 seed, or UConn, which lost to Maine, the region’s No. 1 seed, in the Hockey East championship.
PENN STATE
How they got here: At-large bid, 13th in the final PairWise
Overall season record: 20-13-4
Top players: F Aiden Fink (23-29-52), F Charlie Cerrato (15-22-37), F Reese Laubach (15-15-30), D Simon Mack (3-24-27), G Arsenii Sergeev (17-8-4, 2.66 GAA, .916 SV%)
Why they will advance to the Frozen Four: The Nittany Lions were the hottest team in NCAA hockey in the second half of the season, missing their chance to vie for a Big Title only because they lost their semifinal game in overtime on the road – a game that Matt DiMarsico tied for Penn State late in the third after the Buckeyes had taken a 3-2 lead minutes before. They advanced to that game against Ohio State after sweeping a quarterfinal series against Michigan in Yost Ice Arena. They have 20 wins on the season but 13 of those have come since Jan. 3, when Arsenii Sergeev resumed play following an injury. They have the seventh-best offense in the nation, averaging 3.51 goals per game, and they’re loaded with young talent that hasn’t received the memo yet that they shouldn’t be this good. They’ll be playing in front of a very friendly crowd, too.
Why they won’t advance to the Frozen Four: As good as they’ve been in the second half of the season and as good as Penn State’s offense is, the Nittany Lions allow a lot of goals – 3.08 per game on average. While it’s true that in a one-and-done situation, that may not be an issue, but Penn State has also not been good in low-scoring games this season. The only game the Nittany Lions won when limited to two or fewer goals was a 2-0 win over Wisconsin Feb. 7. Penn State does take a lot of shots on goal (32.6 per game) and the Nittany Lions are fearless offensively, but that sometimes bites them in their own zone. They allow nearly 32 opponent shots as well, and they’ve been outshot 48-39 in third-period play this season. As good as their offense is, their PP is average and their PK (78.8%), like their defense, can be a liability.
