The first puck of a new college hockey seaosn will drop on Friday evening in Storrs, Connecticut as No. 17 Penn State faces off with No. 16 UConn in The Ice Breaker Tournament. Penn State will continue weekend play in the season-kickoff event with a game against Sacred Heart on Saturday night (Sacred Heart will face Bowling Green and UConn will play Bowling Green.
Penn State brings a new-look roster into the season and has some lowered expectations after last season, but starting the year off with a good measuring-stick game will help Guy Gadowsky get his team focused from the jump. The Nittany Lions star one of the nation's top netminders with Josh Fleming between the pipes, and the offense will welcome Maine transfer Justin Poirier to the mix
with returning stars Dane Dowiak and Reese Laubach. But Penn State does face some questions on defense, but will have Jackson Smith to help keep things locked down as the team figures things out.
Penn State and UConn have a brief history playing each other and Penn State's record against the Huskies is 2-2-1. The most recent meeting between the two clubs came last season with Penn State scoring a 3-2 overtime victory in the 2025 Allentown Regional final to advance to the Frozen Four for the first time in program history. UConn won the first two meetings between the teams in 2013 during Penn State's first season as a Division 1 program.
Here is how to watch Penn State hockey in action on Friday evening.
What channel is Penn State vs. UConn hockey on today?
- Date: Friday, October 9, 2026
- Start time: 7:00 p.m. ET
- TV Channel: N/A
- Livestream: ESPN Unlimited
Penn State's season opener will be played on the road so it will not have coverage available from Big Ten Network. The game will not air on TV but will be available for streaming on ESPN's streaming platform, ESPN Unlimited.
Watch Penn State vs. UConn on ESPN Unlimited
Updated NCAA ice hockey national championship odds
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, October 6, 2026.
- Michigan +550
- Michigan State +700
- Denver +850
- Western Michigan +1100
- North Dakota +1200
- Minnesota-Duluth +1500
- Providence +1700
- Wisconsin +1700
- Boston University +1800
- Quinnipiac +1800
- UConn +2000
- Penn State +3000
Upcoming Penn State hockey schedule
All times are Eastern.
- Oct. 10 at Sacred Heart, 7:00 p.m.
- Oct. 16 vs. Quinnipiac, 7:00 p.m.
- Oct. 20 vs. Robert Morris, 6:00 p.m.
- Oct. 23 vs. Canisius, 7:00 p.m.
- Oct. 24 vs. Canisius, 5:00 p.m.
Full Penn State hockey schedule
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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: How to watch Penn State vs. UConn hockey on TV or stream
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