Four Ranked Games Tonight: US College Hockey’s Friday Night Slate
Friday night in American college hockey is stacked. Four games, all four involving ranked teams, all with something real on the line. Times below are Eastern; add nine hours for PKT.
Temple at No. 12 Liberty, 2:00 pm ET (11:00 pm PKT), ESPN+. Temple are 6-9 but dangerous, coming off a 3-2 Senior Day shoot-out win over New Hampshire with Alex Lepore unbeatable in the shoot-out. Liberty are 10-4 and also host No. 7 Duke tomorrow. Big postseason implications in the Big East.
Indiana v No. 19 Penn State, 3:00 pm ET (12:00 am PKT Saturday), Big Ten Plus. Both are 4-1 in the Big Ten, tied for third. Penn State have won seven straight since September 20, powered by Ella Gaitan (11 goals, Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week). Indiana’s Molly Stutte and Celia Arroyo Cabezudo have eight each. Indiana won 3-1 at State College last year to end a 12-game losing streak in the series. This one has spice.
Old Dominion v No. 3 UConn, 3:00 pm ET (12:00 am PKT Saturday). UConn, the defending Big East champions, close the regular season in Norfolk. ODU are playing their last home games of the year and would love nothing more than to spoil the party.
No. 15 Virginia v No. 18 Louisville, 3:00 pm ET (12:00 am PKT Saturday), ACCNX. Senior Day in Charlottesville, and it’s a good one: UVA have beaten No. 6 Wake Forest and No. 20 Monmouth in the last week, while Louisville have dropped their last two ACC games. The Cards are 2-5 against ranked opposition this year. Something has to give.
Our take
The pick of the night is Indiana–Penn State. Two teams level in the conference, a genuine rivalry edge, and the winner takes control of third place with Maryland coming to Bloomington on Sunday. Set an alarm. Midnight PKT is worth it for this one.
The week behind it: the Big East seeding race, Thursday’s No.1 v No.2 showdown, and Thursday’s Northwestern 4-2 result.
