Penn State hockey drops season opener at UConn

Penn State’s hockey season opened up Friday nigth with a tough loss against UConn in the Ice Breaker Tournament. The Huskies scored once in each period while Penn State could manage just one goal scored by freshman Kale Dach in a 3-1 season-opening loss.

Dach’s goal came in the second period to tie the game at 1-1 nearly midway through the period. But the Huskies would regain their advantage later in the second period with a goal by Joey Muldowney

It appeared that Penn State had tied the game up in the third period with a goal by Maine transfer Justin Poirier, but UConn won a challenge on the call for goaltender interference. The won challenge wiped the game-tying goal off the board and Penn State was unable to come through with another equalizer. The Huskies added an empty-net goal in the final minutes to put the game away.

UConn wins the challenge for goaltender interference, no goal, Huskies maintain the 2-1 lead, 7:03 to play in the third period. https://t.co/bALXvGvw80

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— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 10, 2026

Penn State goaltender Josh Flemming blocked 22 shots by the UConn Huskies, but his counterpart was just better all night long. Kam Hendrickson faced plenty of pressure from the Nittany Lions but stopped 42 of 43 shots by the Nittany Lions. Penn State’s shortcomings on the power play (0-for-3) did not help the cause either.

Penn State will be back on the ice again tonight with a road game at Sacred Heart to wrap up the weekend Ice Breaker Tournament. Sacred Heart dropped its home game against Bowling Green on Friday night in its Icebreaker Tournament game. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. from Martire Family Arena in Fairfield, Connecticut.

Penn State’s home opener will be next Friday (Oct. 16) when it faces Quinnipiac at the Pegula Ice Arena.

Kevin McGuire is the lead writer for Nittany Lions Wire, part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on BlueSky, Threads or any of these other platforms.

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This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: Penn State hockey drops season opener at UConn