No. 17 Men's Hockey Drops Season Opener at No. 16 UConn, 3-1No. 17 Men's Hockey Drops Season Opener at No. 16 UConn, 3-1
Rob Rasmussen / P8Photos.com

No. 17 Men's Hockey Drops Season Opener at No. 16 UConn, 3-1

Box Score

STORRS, Conn. – Freshman Kale Dach scored the lone goal for No. 17 Penn State as the Nittany Lions dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 16 UConn in non-conference action to open the 2026 Ice Breaker Tournament at Toscano Family Ice Forum on Friday night.

HOW IT HAPPENED

  • UConn (1-0-0) opened the scoring with a goal in transition as Will McIsaac skated down from the point and ripped a wrister past the blocker of sophomore net-minder Josh Fleming from the right dot for the 1-0 edge at 9:11 of the first period.
  • Penn State (0-1-0) evened the contest as Dach roofed a backhanded shot from above the crease following a great individual effort from sophomore Justin Poirier for the 1-1 score at 6:39 of the second frame.
  • The Huskies regained the lead as Joey Muldowney finished off a cross-ice pass with a one-timer past the glove of Fleming from the left dot for the 2-1 advantage at 15:35 of the middle period.
  • The Nittany Lions appeared to tie the game just past the midway point of the third period as Poirier slipped in a rebound at the far post, however, UConn challenged the play for goaltender interference and the goal was overturned.
  • UConn would then put the game on ice as Kaden Shahan hit the empty net with 94 ticks remaining in the final frame.

GOALTENDING

Fleming made 22 saves on the night to fall to 0-1-0 on the year while his counterpart, Kam Hendrickson stopped 42-of-43 shots improving to 1-0-0 in the victory.

NOTES

  • Friday evening marked the start of the 15th season in the history of Penn State’s NCAA Division I varsity era.
  • Penn State held the commanding 43-25 edge in shots on goal while going 0-for-3 with the man-advantage and 2-for-2 on the penalty kill.
  • The loss snaps a streak of five-straight opening night victories for the Nittany Lions as they drop to 10-4-1 all-time in season openers while falling to 4-3-0 in season openers on the road.

NEXT UP

Penn State travels Southwest to Fairfield to conclude the 2026 Ice Breaker Tournament against Sacred Heart at Martire Family Arena tomorrow evening with puck drop slated for 7 p.m.

For more information on the 2026-27 season, visit the men's hockey page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.