Penn State Men’s Hockey is back in action as they travel to Alaska to face the Nanooks at 11 p.m. EST.

This weekend will be the sixth and seventh time the two teams have faced off, with Penn State having a 3-2-0 edge. The last time they faced off was in 2022 in Happy Valley, when Penn State won both games by one goal.

In the 13 seasons as a Division I program, the Nittany Lions have only opened the season on the road four other times, including last year in New York when they beat LIU 3-2. Penn State is 2-2-0 in season openers on the road and 8-3-1 all-time, coming out on top in five of the last six and three consecutive contests.

The Nittany Lions were 15-18-3 overall last season and 8-2-0 in non-conference games. The team is 45-6-1 in regular-season non-conference games since the 2018-2019 season and 18-2-0 in the last two seasons.

Last season, Alaska had a 17-14-3 overall record, ending the season by winning six of its last seven games and a three-game win streak.

Both teams have huge roster turnovers, with Penn State gaining 11 new players, nine freshmen, and two junior goaltenders, including one transfer from UCONN and the other pulled up from the club team. The Nittany Lions are without four of their top-10 point-getters, including Ryan Kirwan and Jacques Bouquot, who notched 26 and 25 points each for third and fourth on the team.

The Nittany Lions retain the top two scorers: Aiden Fink, who led the team with 33 points between 15 goals and 18 assists, and senior Danny Dzhaniyev, who had 27 points between nine goals and 18 assists. Senior Ben Schoen is expected to make a comeback after suffering from a lower-body injury against Michigan 617 days ago. In his last full season, his freshman year, he was fifth on the team in scoring with six goals and 16 assists for 22 points.

This year's freshman class made a name for themselves by combining for 412 points (averaging 45 per player) in 525 games across the USHL, BCHL, and AJHL, 150 goals, and 262 assists.

The Nanooks are without eight of their top-10 scorers from last season, including Brady Risk, who had 33 points (13g, 20a), and 20-goal scorer Harrison Israels, though those two were the only players with double-digit goals on the team. However, Anton Rubstov will be back for his senior season; he had 27 points last year with eight goals and 18 assists, good for third on the team, as he joins Braden Birnie, who had 16 points on three goals and 13 assists, as the only two top-10 scorers on the team last year still on the roster.

Penn State lost two of its three goalies, including Liam Souliere, who transferred to conference rival Minnesota. In his 26 games played last year, he averaged a .875 save percentage and 3.4 goals against.

“Goals against is a team stat, the save percentages, not just a goaltender stat,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said. “And that has to be addressed as a team, not just one individual, but that is a very high priority for us.”

After having one of the worst goaltending tandems in the nation, with both Souliere and Noah Grannan finishing in the bottom five, the team transferred in Arsenii Serveev. Serveev put up good numbers from behind a not-so-great UCONN team, averaging 2.74 goals against last season and a .918 save percentage. Sergeev is expected to be the starter in tonight's game.

Alaska is also without its starting net-minder from last season, Pierce Charleson, who recorded a 2.46 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage. But it retains junior Lassi Lehti, who started in five games last year, played in a total of nine, and recorded a 1.77 goals-against average and a .931 save percentage. The Nanooks also transferred in Nicholas Grabko from Bentley.

This season, the Nittany Lions will be led by an entirely new leadership core. Simon Mack, who will wear the C, Carson Dyck, and fifth-year Jimmy Dowd Jr., who will wear the A’s, have each never had a letter in their time as Nittany Lions.

After speaking with many of the players last week, one common theme for them this offseason was “getting bigger, faster, and stronger,” so we should expect the Nittany Lions to come out strong tonight in Alaska at 11 p.m. ET.