Harrison Scott and the Maine men’s hockey team faces Penn State in the first-round of the NCAA Division I tournament on Friday. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

When: 8:30 p.m. Friday

Where: PPL Center, Allentown, Penn.

Television: ESPN 2

Players to watch: Penn State — F Aiden Fink (So., 23-29-52), F Charlie Cerrato (Fr., 15-22-37), F Reese Laubach (So., 15-15-30), F Danny Dzhaniyev (12-18-30), F JJ Wiebusch (12-18-30), D Simon Mack (Sr., 3-24-27), G Arsenii Sergeev (2.70 GAA, .915 save %). Maine — F Harrison Scott (Sr., 18-17-35), F Taylor Makar (Sr., 18-12-30), F Josh Nadeau (So., 10-19-29), F Lynden Breen (Sr., 7-6-13), D Brandon Holt (Jr., 4-16-20), D David Breazeale (Sr., 3-10-13), G Albin Boija (So., 1.76 GAA, .930 save %).

Outlook: This is the first ever meeting between Maine and Penn State. Maine is making back-to-back appearances in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006-07, and the Black Bears are in the field for the 20th time. The Nittany Lions are in the tournament for the first time since 2023 and fourth NCAA tournament appearance. … Maine is ranked No. 4 in the latest USCHO.com poll, while Penn State is ranked No. 12. … Maine enters the tournament after winning its first Hockey East title in 21 years. Penn State is an at large selection from the Big Ten. … Maine and Penn State have one common opponent this season, Quinnipiac. Maine swept a pair of games early in the season from the Bobcats, while Quinnipiac took a 3-2 win over the Nittany Lions the week before coming to Orono. … Both the Black Bears and Nittany Lions faced one of the toughest schedules in the country this season. Eighteen of Maine’s 37 games came against opponents who reached the NCAA tournament. Penn State played 14 games against opponents in the tournament… Led by all-conference selections Boija and Holt, Maine’s defense has been among the best in the nation all season. The Black Bears allow an average of just 1.89 goals per game, third in the nation behind Minnesota State and Boston College. Maine will have its hands full against a strong Penn State offense ranked seventh in the country at 3.51 goals per game. Fink is one of the 10 semifinalists for the Hobey Baker Award… Penn State’s defense took a hit earlier this week when Carter Schade was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a lower body injury. Schade had 48 blocked shots on the season. … Maine’s offense got a late-season boost with the return of Breen from a leg injury. Breen scored a pair of goals in the Hockey East tournament, including the Black Bears’ first goal in the 5-2 win over UConn in the Hockey East final. Breen adds depth to a Maine offense that already had a lot of it, with eight players recording at least 20 points. … The winner of this game will face either UConn or Quinnipiac on Sunday for a spot in the Frozen Four in St. Louis.