PSU on National TV Ten Times in 2013-14

Penn State will attempt to keep its spotless BTN record intact in 2013-2014

The Big Ten's long-awaited BTN television schedule was released Monday afternoon, and Penn State received a nice bounty of exposure: six regular-season games at at least one from the league tournament will air nationally on Big Ten Network (of the 27 total on BTN's schedule), beginning with the Pegula Ice Arena lidlifter October 11th against Army.

The network looks to deliver what it calls "unprecedented coverage" for hockey...

...including eight straight weeks of “Frozen Friday” doubleheaders in January and February and the 2014 Hockey City Classic at TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. BTN also will televise the entire Big Ten Hockey Tournament, set for March 20-22, 2014, at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minn.

At 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 11, prior to the season opener between Penn State and Army, BTN will air a 30-minute Big Ten Hockey Preview Show to highlight the season’s key storylines, players and matchups. Beginning Jan. 10, “Frozen Fridays” also will include pregame, intermission and postgame reports.

Rick Pizzo will host the BTN hockey studio, with game announcers including Dan Kelly (play-by-play), Rob Andringa (analyst), Ben Clymer (analyst), Matt Shepard (play-by-play), Fred Pletsch (reporter), along with others to be announced.

Penn State, of course, made its Big Ten Network debut last season with a 2-0 record in a pair of appearances. January 26th was the first, with PSU taking a 3-2 decision at Michigan State. The second was even more memorable: the season-closing 3-2 overtime win at Wisconsin on February 25th.

Great, right? Hold on, there's more.

Beyond the BTN schedule, the Big Ten has also reached agreements with ESPN (seven total games) and regional Fox Sports outlets (36 total games) that will produce another four television games for the Nittany Lions, with contests against Michigan State and Ohio State airing on ESPNU, another matchup with the Buckeyes on ESPNews, and the February 22nd trip to Michigan broadcast regionally on Fox Sports Detroit Plus.

As a result of the television arrangement, nearly all of PSU's conference games were also assigned start times, after being listed as "TBD" while TV was being worked out.

Additional television games may be announced at a later date. Last year's Three Rivers Classic was broadcast on a tape-delayed basis by Root Sports Pittsburgh while the inaugural Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff in January was live on The Comcast Network in southeastern Pennsylvania. This year's versions of those events would seem to be likely television candidates as the games approach.

Perhaps most intriguing of all: the idea that the Nittany Lions may appear on NBC Sports Network, a channel best known in hockey circles for its national NHL contract, although it entered the college hockey landscape last season through 20 games, most due to a deal with Hockey East. Prior to the Big Ten's announcement, the schedule on Minnesota's official website leaked NBCSN airing the March 1, 2014 Penn State trip to Minneapolis.

Minnesota quickly deleted that note after the Big Ten TV schedule was revealed, but a couple things are worth mentioning. First of all, the announcement was delayed by a couple hours, from 3:00 p.m. to roughly 5:00 p.m. Second of all, the time of that March 1st game is still listed as "TBA" by Penn State, one of just three remaining games without set times. Put it all together, and it's not completely off the map to conclude that NBCSN will be part of the Big Ten broadcast package, with things hitting a (probably minor) snag on Monday, resulting in those games being announced at a later date. Credible sites like Gopher Puck Live continue to insist that the Penn State at Minnesota game will be carried by NBCSN at 7:00 eastern.

In any case here's PSU's full schedule as we know it, with television noted and puck drop times updated:

Date	Time (ET)	Opponent	Television
Fri. Oct. 11	8:00 p.m.	Army	Big Ten Network
Fri. Oct. 18	9:05 p.m.	at Air Force
Sat. Oct. 19	9:05 p.m.	at Air Force
Fri. Oct. 25	7:00 p.m.	RIT
Sat. Oct. 26	5:00 p.m.	vs. Vermont (at Philadelphia, PA)
Fri. Nov. 1	7:05 p.m.	at Robert Morris
Fri. Nov. 8	7:00 p.m.	Sacred Heart
Thu. Nov. 14	7:00 p.m.	UMass-Lowell
Fri. Nov. 15	7:00 p.m.	UMass-Lowell
Sat. Nov. 30	7:00 p.m.	Union
Sun. Dec. 1	7:00 p.m.	Union
Fri. Dec. 6	8:00 p.m.	at Wisconsin*
Sat. Dec. 7	9:00 p.m.	at Wisconsin*
Fri. Dec. 27	7:35 p.m.	vs. Robert Morris (at Pittsburgh, PA)
Sat. Dec. 28	4:35 or 7:35 p.m.	vs. BC/BG (at Pittsburgh, PA)
Sun. Jan. 12	7:00 p.m.	Minnesota*
Mon. Jan. 13	TBD	Minnesota*	Big Ten Network
Fri. Jan. 17	6:30 p.m.	at Michigan State*	Big Ten Network
Sat. Jan. 18	TBD	at Michigan State*
Sat. Jan. 25	7:00 p.m.	Boston College
Fri. Jan. 31	7:05 p.m.	at Ohio State*
Sat. Feb. 1	2:00 p.m.	at Ohio State*	ESPNews
Fri. Feb. 7	7:00 p.m.	Michigan*
Sat. Feb. 8	5:00 p.m.	Michigan*	ESPNU
Fri. Feb. 14	6:30 p.m.	Michigan State*	Big Ten Network
Sat. Feb. 15	3:30 p.m.	Michigan State*	ESPNews
Fri. Feb. 21	6:30 p.m.	at Michigan*	Big Ten Network
Sat. Feb. 22	7:00 p.m.	at Michigan*	FSN Detroit +
Fri. Feb. 28	9:00 p.m.	at Minnesota*	Big Ten Network
Sat. Mar. 1	TBD	at Minnesota*
Fri. Mar. 7	7:00 p.m.	Wisconsin*
Sat. Mar. 8	7:00 p.m.	Wisconsin*
Fri. Mar. 14	7:00 p.m.	Ohio State*
Sat. Mar. 15	3:00 p.m.	Ohio State*
Thu. Mar. 20	3:00 or 8:00 p.m.	Big Ten Quarterfinals (St. Paul, MN)	Big Ten Network
Fri. Mar. 21	3:00 or 8:00 p.m.	Big Ten Semifinals (St. Paul, MN)	Big Ten Network
Sat. Mar. 22	8:00 p.m.	Big Ten Championship (St. Paul, MN)	Big Ten Network