Penn State men’s hockey’s full 2026-27 schedule is here, and it’s time to make some room on your calendar.

A lot can change between October and March. Games that don’t stand out now could mean a lot more later, but a few are already worth circling before the season gets underway.

With the Nittany Lions opening the season ranked No. 17, here are seven games and series to watch this year.

October 9 At No. 15 UConn

Penn State’s season opener is always worth circling, but there’s even more to watch with how much the roster has changed this offseason.

Opening night will be fans’ first chance to see Justin Poirier, Kale Dach, and Marco Mignosa in a Penn State sweater, while Dane Dowiak and Keaton Peters return to the lineup after injuries cut Dowiak’s season short and kept Peters out all of last year.

Andrew Kuzma is also back after spending last season in the OHL. There’s a lot to be excited about around the team, but the preseason No. 17 Nittany Lions won’t have an easy start.

No. 15 UConn gets Penn State on home ice in the Ice Breaker Tournament after the Nittany Lions upset the Huskies in overtime in the 2025 regional final to reach their first Frozen Four.

October 16 vs. No. 7 Quinnipiac

Penn State’s home opener brings No. 7 Quinnipiac to Pegula Ice Arena for the first time, along with one of college hockey’s best players.

Calgary Flames prospect Ethan Wyttenbach returns after leading the country with 59 points as a freshman and winning National Rookie of the Year.

He’s joined by Bruins prospects Chris Pelosi and Elliot Greenwood, who was named the ECAC’s best defenseman last season. The Bobcats have made seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments and enter this season as the favorites to win their conference again.

They also beat Penn State 3-2 in Hamden in October 2024, so it’s only right for the Nittany Lions to return the favor at home.

October 30-31 At No. 14 Minnesota

Penn State opens Big Ten play with a Halloween weekend trip to No. 14 Minnesota, where Brett Larson takes over as the Golden Gophers’ head coach.

The Nittany Lions held the upper hand last season, winning four of the teams’ five meetings and ending Minnesota’s season with a 6-2 win in the Big Ten quarterfinals. But the teams split their two games at 3M Arena at Mariucci, and Penn State will have to start conference play in that same building.

With four Big Ten teams ranked ahead of the Nittany Lions in the preseason poll, picking up wins against Minnesota would be a strong start before November trips to Michigan and Wisconsin.

December 10 vs. Army at Prudential Center

Penn State heads to the home of the New Jersey Devils for the inaugural Hockey Knight in Jersey, bringing Division I men’s hockey back to Prudential Center for the first time since 2014.

Playing in an NHL arena is enough to make this one stand out, but Mac Gadowsky also gets a chance to face his former team. The senior defenseman spent two seasons at Army before transferring to Penn State to play for his father.

The teams will play again at Pegula two days later, but the Thursday night matchup gives Penn State fans from the tri-state area a chance to see the Nittany Lions closer to home.

January 21-22 vs. No. 6 Wisconsin

JJ Wiebusch returns to Pegula for the first time since transferring to Wisconsin, and he’ll be coming back with one of the best teams in the country.

The Badgers enter the season ranked No. 6 after reaching last year’s national championship game. Wiebusch spent two seasons at Penn State and recorded 69 points, including 36 last year.

His time in Hockey Valley included a four-goal game against Clarkson in last season’s home opener and goals in five straight postseason games during the Nittany Lions’ first Frozen Four run.

Penn State will already have faced him in Madison, Wisconsin, in November, but seeing him back at Pegula in a Wisconsin sweater will be… different, to say the least.

The Badgers swept the Nittany Lions in Hockey Valley to spoil Penn State’s White Out and close the regular season, so there’s plenty of motivation beyond the reunion.

February 19-20 vs. No. 3 Michigan State

The team that spoiled Penn State’s afternoon at Beaver Stadium returns to Happy Valley in February.

Michigan State won all four meetings last season, including the 5-4 overtime loss in front of 75,575 fans at Beaver Stadium.

The Spartans enter this season ranked No. 3 and have plenty of talent to back it up. Nashville first-round pick Ryker Lee returns after scoring 15 goals and 30 points as a freshman, while defenseman Chase Reid arrives after Seattle selected him seventh overall in this year’s NHL draft.

In net, San Jose first-round pick Joshua Ravensbergen joins the Spartans after winning WHL Goaltender of the Year.

Penn State gets its first chance to respond in East Lansing, Michigan, in January before hosting Michigan State for its second-to-last home series.

March 4-5 vs. No. 2 Michigan

Penn State closes the regular season at Pegula against No. 2 Michigan, and on paper this could be the toughest series of the year.

The Wolverines are loaded with NHL draft picks and future draft talent. Michael Hage returns after recording 52 points last season, while fellow first-round pick Will Horcoff is back after scoring 25 goals.

Michigan also added defenseman Landon DuPont, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2027 NHL Draft, and those are just a few of the names Penn State will have to worry about.

These teams also have plenty of history. The Wolverines ended Penn State’s Big Ten Tournament run with a 5-2 semifinal win last March and denied the Nittany Lions a Frozen Four appearance with an overtime win in the 2023 regional final.

Penn State will have already visited Ann Arbor, Michigan, in November, but facing that much talent at the end of a long season could make all the difference in conference seeding and NCAA Tournament hopes.