Penn State Hockey and Maine will cap off the regional semifinals of the 2025 NCAA Hockey Tournament with a spot in the regional final for Allentown.
Maine has been a top team all season, especially in rankings. They also won the Hockey East conference to receive an automatic bid to the tournament for the 21st time in the program’s history. Taylor Makar led the team with 18 goals and 12 assists on the season.
Penn State is coming into the tournament as the hottest team after putting together an impressive second half of the season and making it to the Big Ten semifinals. Aiden Fink was a big reason for the Nittany Lions’ success, with 52 points, which is best for third in the country.
The winner will face UConn in the Allentown Regional Finals on March 30.
Follow along for live updates, scores, and highlights from Maine vs. Penn State, and remember to refresh for new updates.
Penn State 3, Maine 1
THE DANE TRAIN!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/XcBP0ZVyIK
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) March 29, 2025
Penn State 3, Maine 1
Another goal was scored in the first period for Penn State, and even after Maine’s challenge, the Nittany Lions went up 3-1.
Penn State 2, Maine 1
Transition, transition, transition!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/VEF1furuXu
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) March 29, 2025
Penn State 2, Maine 1
JJ Wiebusch goes from scoring to setting up his team with an assist to Matt DiMarsico, as Penn State is now in the lead.
Maine 1, Penn State 1
Beautiful execution!!#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/btHu0B83g8
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) March 29, 2025
Maine 1, Penn State 1
Taylor Makar opens the scoring for the Black Bears! #NCAAHockey x 🎥 ESPN2 / @MaineIceHockey pic.twitter.com/ODOEBCRGm7
— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 29, 2025
Maine 1, Penn State 1
Well, that didn’t take long. JJ Wiebusch quickly gets the Nittany Lions on the board and ties it up on the power play.
Maine 1, Penn State 0
Taylor Makar scores to open things up with an early score, and the Black Bears are on top.
Maine 0, Penn State 0
Both teams are ready to get things started as the puck drops.
It’s a Penn State takeover at Sports & Social in Allentown!! 🎺⚪️#WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/hYL4tRmSpC
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) March 28, 2025
All Business#BlackBearNation // #JourneyNorth pic.twitter.com/lrs0q0BWeV
— Maine Men’s Ice Hockey (@MaineIceHockey) March 28, 2025
Penn State vs. Maine hockey will be live on ESPN2 at 8:30 p.m. ET on Friday, March 28.
Here’s the NCAA Hockey Tournament regional schedule.
Thursday, March 27
Friday, March 28
Saturday, March 29
Sunday, March 30
Thursday, April 10
Saturday, April 12
Penn State hockey takes on UMaine today, March 28, in the NCAA Men’s Hockey Tournament. Follow along for live updates from the game.
St. Louis will host the 2025 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four at Enterprise Center, the home of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues.
FloHockey is the streaming home to some of the best hockey leagues in North America, including the AHL, ECHL and more. Check out the broadcast schedule to watch more hockey.
The best, and most complete coverage of the NHL minor league hockey and NHL Draft is found on FloHockey. Don’t miss the latest new prospect guides, rankings and more from Chris Peters and the FloHockey staff.
Defensemen Max Wanner was re-assigned to the Maine Mariners from the Providence Bruins on Thursday. Defenseman Michael Underwood was also re-assigned to Maine.
Wanner, 22, was acquired by the Boston Bruins when they traded Trent Federic to Edmonton last March. He played in 15 games for the AHL Providence Bruins at the end of last season, and seven this season.
Underwood returns for his second stint with the Mariners. He appeared in 67 games with Maine last season.
Some hot new titles have been arriving late at Maine libraries in recent months, after the closing of one the country’s major library book distributors.
Baker & Taylor, based in North Carolina, began winding down its operations in the fall and expects to close entirely this month. The company’s demise has left many Maine libraries scrambling to buy books through other sources, including local book stores, and to endure deliveries taking twice as long.
That means patrons expecting to get new books on or near publication dates are waiting longer to start turning pages.
At the Portland Public Library, “Heart The Lover” by Maine author Lily King wasn’t available to patrons until nearly a month after its Sept. 30 publication date, even though it was ordered in July. At the Libby Memorial Library in Old Orchard Beach, John Grisham’s Oct. 21 release “The Widow” took six weeks to arrive. Staff at the Kennbunk Free Library weren’t sure how long they’d have to wait for “The Correspondent” by Virginia Evans, so they bought two copies at a local store, Octopus Bookshop. As of this week, there were 28 holds on the book.
“Baker & Taylor closing has totally rocked the library world nationwide. It has long been the preferred vendor among many Maine libraries, and their closure is certainly having an impact on us,” said Sarah Skawinski, associate director of the Portland Public Library and president of the Maine Library Association. “I think we’re over the hump now, though.”
Skawinski and other librarians say Baker & Taylor had been having problems getting books from publishers and had been slow with some deliveries, a problem that began during the COVID pandemic. Last year when it became apparent Baker & Taylor was likely going out of business, many libraries switched to the nation’s other major distributor, Ingram Content Group, as well as another company called Brodart Library Supplies. But with increased demand, both those companies have been slow in filling some orders in the last couple months, too.
Industry publications reported that Baker & Taylor’s problems were mostly financial, beginning in the pandemic and included the failed acquisition of another company. An email to Baker & Taylor asking for more information on its closure was not answered Wednesday.
Not every Maine library bought the majority of its books from Baker & Taylor; some used other distibutors instead. Staff at the Waterville Public Library, for instance, say they rarely used the company and weren’t impacted. The Lithgow Public Library in Augusta was only getting about four books a month from Baker & Taylor, said Director Sarah Curra Schultz-Nielsen. Those included children’s books, reference books and travel guides. Finding other distributors for those books, including Brodart and Bookshop, a company that sells mainly to independent bookstores, has been “mildly inconvenient” for staff and has not impacted patrons, Schultz-Nielsen said.
But other libraries used Baker & Taylor for most of its new releases, including fiction and non-fiction, as well to replacements for worn-out books. Stephen King’s books, for instance, have to be replaced pretty regularly, some librarians said.
The Portland Public Library had been ordering about 1,000 items a month from Baker & Taylor, mostly printed books. The library has about 359,000 physical items in its collection. Now, new books are coming to the library from Ingram, but will take maybe four weeks to arrive, compared to one to two weeks when Baker & Taylor was running smoothly.
And there is added work for librarians: While Baker & Taylor sent books that had already been catalogued and ready to be shelved, with bar codes and spine labels, Ingram is not yet offering that service, said Nicole Harkins, cataloging librarian at the Portland library.
“Patrons are aware it’s taking longer and they’re being patient,” Harkins said.
” data-image-caption=”<p>Rosanne Barnes, an adult services reader’s advisor, shelves new fiction books at Portland Public Library on Wednesday. (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)
” data-medium-file=”https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?w=780″ height=”683″ width=”1024″ fifu-data-src=”https://i3.wp.com/www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?w=1024&ssl=1″ alt=”” class=”wp-image-7559441″ srcset=”https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg 3000w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?resize=1536,1025 1536w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?resize=1200,800 1200w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?resize=2000,1334 2000w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?resize=780,520 780w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_Libraries_03.jpg?resize=400,267 400w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”/><figcaption class=)
Rosanne Barnes, an adult services reader’s advisor, shelves new fiction books at Portland Public Library on Wednesday, (Brianna Soukup/Staff Photographer)Kennebunk Free Library also switched to Ingram, and staff are spending more time prepping books, including putting protective plastic covers on them, said Allison Atkins, assistant director and head of adult services. Atkins said library staff wrote about their “book ordering troubles” in a library newsletter and on social media, so patrons would understand why new books were slow to arrive. The library used to get about 100 books a month from Baker & Taylor and despite still being “way behind” on new books, patrons have been patient, Atkins said.
For smaller libraries with smaller staffs, finding a new supplier is not always easy. Baker & Taylor was the major books supplier for Davis Memorial Library in Limington. The staff there is so small that they didn’t have time to research or compare new suppliers, so they waited until early this month, said Heidi Libby, the library’s director. As a result, the library has very few new arrivals on its shelves right now and has been filling the “new book” shelves with donated books as well as ordering from Amazon.
” data-image-caption=”<p>Volunteer Jim Perry covers books with protective covering at the Kennebunk Free Library on Wednesday. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)
” data-medium-file=”https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?w=300″ data-large-file=”https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?w=780″ height=”710″ width=”1024″ fifu-data-src=”https://i2.wp.com/www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?w=1024&ssl=1″ alt=”” class=”wp-image-7559442″ srcset=”https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg 3000w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?resize=300,208 300w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?resize=768,533 768w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?resize=1024,710 1024w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?resize=1536,1065 1536w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?resize=2048,1421 2048w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?resize=1200,832 1200w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?resize=2000,1387 2000w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?resize=780,541 780w, https://www.pressherald.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2026/01/43353876_20260107_kennebunk-library_1.jpg?resize=400,277 400w” sizes=”(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px”/><figcaption class=)
Volunteer Jim Perry covers books with protective covering at the Kennebunk Free Library on Wednesday. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer)
Several librarians said this week that local book stores have been a big help during this period, getting books quickly and pricing them affordably. Sherman’s Maine Coast Bookshops, which has 10 stores across the state, saw its sales to local libraries increase from $50,000 in 2024 to nearly $100,000 in 2025, said Jeff Curtis, owner and CEO of Sherman’s.
The Auburn Public Library would sometimes get more than 300 books a month from Baker & Taylor, including books for adults, teens, and children, as well as fiction and nonfiction as well as some large print books and CDs, said Nancy O’Toole, collections manager at the library.
When Baker & Taylor started having problems, the library bought books from Amazon and the local Bull Moose music and book store chain. Now, with Baker & Taylor closing, the library has switched to Ingram, but has seen delivery delays as that company has been inundated with new customers. This week the library got an order of books that were released in November, including “Exit Strategy” by Lee Child and Andrew Child, “The Seven Rings” by Nora Roberts and “Return of the Spider” by James Patterson.
“The hope is that now that the holidays are over, shipping from Ingram will expedite. But just to be safe, we are choosing to buy certain books elsewhere, including titles by big-name authors, popular series, or anything tied to a fast-approaching holiday,” said O’Toole. “Patrons want to see those titles on the shelf in a timely manner, and we want to make sure we fulfill those expectations.”
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Equipment at Woodland Pulp in Maine roared back to life in mid-December after a 60 day pause in operations, and now one of the state’s largest mills is again accepting wood from New Brunswick producers.
“On Monday, we restarted purchasing fibre for the mill,” company spokesperson Scott Beal said.
“We’re back in the market. We are bringing in some fibre from suppliers in Canada, hardwood and chips.”
The general manager of the Carleton Victoria Forest Products Marketing Board says the news is welcome but not nearly enough to help embattled private woodlot owners in the province.
“Everything is good news at this point, but it is not as good as it could be,” Kim Jensen said. “We’re not back where we were.”
With sales down by about two-thirds from last year, Jensen said some woodlot owners are deciding to pack it up, while others struggle on.
“We have had some older ones who’ve left, they’ve just, they’ve had enough and they’ve left,” she said.
“The people who have invested in the business, have bought processors and forwarders, they have to stay in business. And if you have $1,000,000 worth of equipment there, your payments are $40,000 to $60,000 a month and you have to work. You can’t just go somewhere else and get a job.”
Duty rates on New Brunswick wood were set at 35 per cent in September, when U.S. President Donald Trump announced an additional 10 per cent tariff on lumber imports.
The sudden increase was too much for Woodland Pulp to bear. The mill relied on New Brunswick wood for about a third of its supply prior to October.
“It certainly adds cost to the business and, you know, like other wood users, I mean we’re always looking and hoping and trying to source fibre at the least cost,” Beal told CBC News in October.
The Baileyville-based mill has rehired all of the 144 people laid off during its two month shut-down, and Beal said it will likely take some time to ramp up to accept the amount of wood it previously did.
And with the difficult and uncertain tariff environment, Beal said, it’s hard to say how long the mill would be able to continue purchasing Canadian wood.
“It’s a very challenging pulp market,” he said.
“The tariffs remain in place. That hasn’t changed. So it’s not reasonable to think that that won’t be a headwind for the business.”
The federal government did create a $1.25 billion fund to help the industry survive, but Jensen says that hasn’t meant support for individual private woodlot owners.
In October, Jensen told CBC News that sales of timber by the marketing board’s members totalled about $1 million for all of 2024. They have fallen to about $200,000 over the past 12 months.
And the cost of cross-border business has continued to rise.
Before Woodland Pulp stopped taking Canadian timber, the company had a lumberyard in Florenceville ,where producers could drop off wood. Woodland would then take responsibility for shipping it the rest of the way to the mill.
Now it’s up to individual producers to source transportation and to arrange a broker to help meet cross-border requirements. That’s adding between $60 and $100 per load of timber heading to the U.S.
“The markets are tightening up, and the prices are going down, and you can only go down so far before it’s just done,” Jensen said.
“A mill can stop and start up, maybe. But a private guy who loses his equipment, he’s lost everything. He’s not coming back.”
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