Penn State returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018
Penn State is ranked No.2 in the Allentown regional as the host school, whereas Michigan Tech is No. 3. Tonight's matchup marks the first-ever meeting between the two teams; however, they were both in the Cincinnati regional back in 2017.
Penn State is 21-15-1 on the season, making its third appearance in the NCAA tournament in its 11-year history, although if COVID did not cancel the 2020 tournament, it would be the Nittany Lions’ fourth appearance. The Nittany Lions earned an at-large bid ranking No. 11 in the USCHO polls and No. 8 in the PairWise.
In the Nittany Lions' last regional, they won their first-ever NCAA tournament game against Union 10-3; they then faced Denver, who they dropped both games to with a combined score of 11-4.
Michigan Tech earned an at-large bid ranking No. 10 in the PairWise and No. 13 in the USCHO polls. This is the Huskies' second straight appearance in the NCAA tournament; last season, they were in the Loveland Regional, where they lost to Minnesota Duluth 3-0.
Despite making the tournament five times in the last nine years, the Huskies have not won a game in the tournament since 1981. This is Michigan Techs' first visit to Allentown in its 15 appearances in the NCAA tournament.
With both teams having at-large bids, neither team competed last weekend, allowing for more rest than the other two Allentown teams, the Michigan Wolverines and the Colgate Raiders, who both won their conference championships.
Since January, the Huskies have won all but four of their games, whereas the Nittany Lions have lost all but four of theirs. However, 11 of Penn States' 15 games have been against top-10 opponents, and Michigan Tech has only faced one ranked opponent in their last 17 games.
With the Huskies making back-to-back tournament appearances, the majority of their roster has played in an NCAA tournament, but that is not the case for the Nittany Lions. Senior transfer Ashton Calder is the only player to have played in the tournament; he has made the tournament with both of his previous teams.
In 2020-2021 he led his hometown team, the Lake Superior Lakers, to the dance and scored the lone goal in a 5-1 loss against the eventual tournament champions, the University of Massachusetts. He also played in the tournament with North Dakota last season.
“I think it's definitely nice to have someone like that who's gone through this whole process. He's talked with us as a team about some stuff to expect, but he also mentioned that at the end of the day, it's just another hockey game.” senior Kevin Wall said.
Offensively on the season, the senior class is leading the way for the Nittany Lions as Wall leads the team with 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points on the season, earning him an All-B1G honorable mention. Wall is tied with linemate and fellow senior Connor MacEachern with three game-winning goals on the season. MacEachern is third on the team with 24 points between 11 goals and 13 assists. Transfer senior Ture Linden is second in points with 28 between 11 goals and 17 assists. Wall and MacEacherns’ third linemate Connor McMenamin is fourth in points with 23 between eight goals and 15 assists.
Michigan Tech is led by Ryland Mosley, who has 31 points with 12 goals and 19 assists. Kyle Kukkonen has 18 goals and nine assists for 27 points on the season and was named the CCHA freshman of the year. Kukkonen is ranked fifth nationally with five game-winning goals and sixth in shorthanded goals with three. Husky seniors Logan Petila and Tristan Ashbrook have 11 and 10 goals on the season.
“The success we’ve had is entirely in that locker room. Our goaltender gives us confidence and keeps us in hockey games, and they find a way to win. That’s our recipe, and it is all inside that locker room.” coach Joe Shawhan said.
While many consider the CCHA an easier conference, Michigan Techs’ goaltender Blake Pietila was named the CCHA player of the year, a Hobey Baker Top-10 finalist, as well as a Mike Richter finalist. Pietila leads the nation in shutouts with 10 while ranking second in wins with 23 and third in save percentage with .929, as well as fifth in goals against average with 1.99. Pietila is going to be quite the challenge to beat for the Nittany Lions.
Penn States junior goaltender Liam Souliere has quite the resume himself, earning a Hobey Baker and Mike Richter nomination this season. His 18 wins on the season are tied with Peyton Jones ‘20 for the second most wins in a season in program history.
Soulieres’ 2.52 goals-against average and .913 save percentage are second and third all-time for a single season in program history. The junior's 2.79 goals against and .905 save percentage on his career rank second and third for in the programs. He holds the programs single game save record with 55 saves in the 2-1 OT victory against the Buckeyes in the Big Ten Tournament.