2013-14 Big Ten Schedule Released

PSU's Luke Juha and OSU's Ryan Dzingel will continue their feud with conference points on the line

The Big Ten has unveiled the conference schedule for its inaugural hockey season in 2013-2014. The entire list of 60 games is available through the league website, but let's dive right into the 20 that include Penn State, ten of which represent the first Big Ten season in Pegula Ice Arena history.

Date	Opponent	Location
Fri., Dec. 6	at Wisconsin	Kohl Center // Madison, WI
Sat., Dec. 7	at Wisconsin	Kohl Center // Madison, WI
Sun., Jan. 12	Minnesota	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Mon., Jan. 13	Minnesota	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri., Jan. 17	at Michigan State	Munn Ice Arena // East Lansing, MI
Sat., Jan. 18	at Michigan State	Munn Ice Arena // East Lansing, MI
Fri., Jan. 31	at Ohio State	Value City Arena // Columbus, OH
Sat., Feb. 1	at Ohio State	Value City Arena // Columbus, OH
Fri., Feb. 7	Michigan	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat., Feb. 8	Michigan	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri., Feb. 14	Michigan State	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat., Feb. 15	Michigan State	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri., Feb. 21	at Michigan	Yost Ice Arena // Ann Arbor, MI
Sat., Feb. 22	at Michigan	Yost Ice Arena // Ann Arbor, MI
Fri., Feb. 28	at Minnesota	Mariucci Arena // Minneapolis, MN
Sat., Mar. 1	at Minnesota	Mariucci Arena // Minneapolis, MN
Fri., Mar. 7	Wisconsin	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat., Mar. 8	Wisconsin	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Fri., Mar. 14	Ohio State	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA
Sat., Mar. 15	Ohio State	Pegula Ice Arena // University Park, PA

As was already known, the conference tournament will take place March 20th through 22nd at St. Paul, MN's Xcel Energy Center. All six teams will qualify for the single-elimination event, with the third through sixth seeds playing each other on the first day for the right to meet the top two seeds in the semifinals.

Game times and television information will follow at a later date (suffice it to say that those two things are pretty intertwined with one another) and it's certainly possible that dates could be adjusted to accommodate BTN as well. It is, however, worth pointing out that the Minnesota home series, the first conference games at Pegula Ice Arena, is on a Sunday and Monday, making it a likely candidate for the primetime treatment.

The Big Ten schedule joins press-release-official non-conference games on October 11th against Army to open Pegula Ice Arena, October 26th in the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff versus Vermont and the second Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh on December 27th and 28th with Boston College, Robert Morris and Bowling Green. Others, including games with Union, RIT, Air Force, RMU and UMass-Lowell, range from "rumor" to "confirmed, just without a date." As usual, refer to the schedule page for the full scope of what is known so far.

Admittedly, it's a little difficult to project highlights for the simple reason that we don't yet know which of the five Big Ten opponents are of the most interest to Penn Staters from a hockey standpoint. But right away and contingent on the rivalry carrying over from other sports, it's probably fair to circle that home series against Ohio State on March 14th and 15th. If only because of football, geography and the tidy ability to pair off the Big Ten as Minnesota-Wisconsin, Michigan-Michigan State and Penn State-Ohio State, the Buckeyes will probably have first dibs as PSU's biggest rival, unless the games force things in a different direction. And who knows, given that it's the last weekend of the regular season, conference tournament seeding could be in play.

Minnesota, which has been the most successful of the super six over the last couple of years with a pair of WCHA regular season championships, a pair of NCAA Tournament bids and a Frozen Four appearance in 2012, probably is known enough as a hockey school to the mainstream crowd to generate a great atmosphere to initiate Big Ten hockey at the PIA on January 12th and 13th, in spite of the non-traditional Sunday-Monday setup. While the Gophers lost several stars to the pros, mammoth Nick Bjugstad, Erik Haula and Zach Budish among them, the always-stacked program still has their pipeline flowing with marquee recruits including centers Taylor Cammarata and Justin Kloos, who played alongside PSU newcomer Eamon McAdam with the USHL's Waterloo Black Hawks. Electric National Team Development Program product Hudson Fasching - remember, we saw the NTDP at the Ice Pavilion back in January - will also join the team.

Storied Yost Ice Arena - the team that plays there is okay too, I hear

Without a doubt, the games at Michigan's Yost Ice Arena - arguably the most noted of college hockey's classic barns - on February 21st and 22nd are ones to circle as well. Contrary to what some may tell you, it won't be Penn State hockey's first time there, but the nine-time national champion Wolverines are obviously a slightly different animal than Eastern Michigan's Eagles. Michigan will be well positioned to bounce back from missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1990, as incoming NTDP forwards J.T. Compher, Tyler Motte and Evan Allen complement a roster that hopes to successfully replace departures Jacob Trouba and Jon Merrill on the back end.

The games against Minnesota and Michigan will open those respective series for the Nittany Lions. PSU played, and beat, of course, each of Ohio State, Wisconsin and Michigan State this past season, going 3-2-0 in all against the now-conference foes.