Penn State’s annual hockey game at the Wells Fargo Center was announced officially on Wednesday. The last several seasons have seen PSU take on the University of Vermont at the WFC, but this year it’ll be a different opponent: the Princeton Tigers.
The game will be played on Saturday, January 28. You can bet on the Flyers having a home game that day too. The 2016-17 NHL schedule will be released later this month.
Princeton (@PUTIGERS) to battle Penn State (@GoPSUSports) for 1st time during #CollegeHockeyFaceoff on 1/28. pic.twitter.com/TyeFG8AtYk
— Wells Fargo Center (@WellsFargoCtr) June 8, 2016
Princeton, ironically, plays their home games closer to Philadelphia than Penn State, although there obviously isn’t really any connection between the city and the New Jersey Ivy League institution.
I will say this though: Hobey Baker Rink at Princeton is perhaps the best kept secret in hockey, and as a member of the ECAC, Princeton plays some awesome competition there on a regular basis. You should go to a game this coming season. It’s less than an hour’s drive from South Philadelphia and it’s wonderful.
As for this game, there is a bit of intrigue despite the fact that these programs have no real rivalry whatsoever: Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky coached Princeton for seven seasons between 2004 and 2011, taking them to the NCAA tournament twice.
In 2011 he left to take the job at Penn State, coaching them one season at the ACHA club hockey level before their 2012-13 jump to NCAA Division 1.
Penn State will probably blow the doors off of Princeton in this game. The Nittany Lions went 21-13-4 in 2015-16 to finish 22nd in the Pairwise Rankings, while the Tigers went 5-23-3 to finish 57th. There are 60 teams in college hockey … so uh, that’s bad.
Tickets aren’t available yet but we’ll let you know when they are.
