Penn State men’s hockey is on a run for the ages.
The Nittany Lions, who sat at the bottom of the Big Ten standings in December, clinched a Frozen Four appearance for the first time in program history with a 3-2 overtime win against UConn in the NCAA Tournament regional finals on Sunday at the PPL Center in Allentown.
With two minutes remaining in overtime, Charlie Cerrato dished out a behind-the-back pass to Matt DiMarsico, who scored off the bar to put the game to rest. It had been an intense battle for three periods and 18 minutes of overtime before what became the prettiest play of the night.
Guy Gadowsky’s program will face five-time national champion Boston University in the national semifinals on April 10 in St. Louis.
Dane Dowiak and JJ Wiebusch each also scored while goalkeeper Arsenii Sergeev made 32 saves against the Huskies, who he played for the previous two seasons before transferring to Penn State last April. For the second time in three years, the Nittany Lions went to overtime in a regional final, this time coming on top with DiMarsico’s game-winner.
The NCAA Tournament hardly appeared to be an option for Guy Gadowsky’s program early in the year. The Nittany Lions lost each of their first eight Big Ten games before going on a 14-4-4 run that helped the program earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, its fourth in program history.
Penn State opened the tournament with a 5-1 upset victory over Hockey East champion Maine on Friday night in the team’s first regional semifinal appearance since 2023. Sunday marked Penn State’s third regional final appearance and first-ever win in the round.
The Nittany Lions semifinal opponent, the Terriers, claimed an 8-3 win over Ohio State in the first round of the tournament and beat Cornell, 3-2, in the Toledo regional final on Saturday. Penn State has never faced Boston.
