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The Penn Quakers are the 29th team in our 2018 schedule preview series and the fifth team from the Ivy League. The Quakers finished with a 7-6 record and were bounced from the Ivy League Tournament after losing to Yale in a 4OT thriller in the semifinals.
Here’s the entire 2018 schedule:
Penn’s 2018 Schedule
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes | Last Year's Meeting(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Road Team | Home Team | Special Notes | Last Year's Meeting(s) |
| 2/17 | Michigan | Penn | 13-12 L | |
| 2/21 | Penn | Maryland | First meeting since 2016 (13-8 L) | |
| 2/24 | Duke | Penn | First meeting since 2014 (9-6 L) | |
| 3/3 | Penn State | Penn | 14-13 L | |
| 3/6 | Penn | Navy | In Sparks, Maryland | 11-9 W |
| 3/10 | Villanova | Penn | First meeting since 2016 (16-8 L) | |
| 3/17 | Penn | Princeton | Ivy League | 17-8 L |
| 3/20 | Penn | Bucknell | In Newtown Square, PA (Episcopal Academy); First meeting since 2012 (8-3 L) | |
| 3/24 | Cornell | Penn | Ivy League | 10-9 W |
| 3/31 | Penn | Yale | Ivy League | 14-12 L, 13-12 L/4OT |
| 4/7 | Brown | Penn | Ivy League | 11-8 L |
| 4/14 | Harvard | Penn | Ivy League | 14-10 W |
| 4/17 | St. Joe's | Penn | 10-5 W | |
| 4/21 | Penn | Dartmouth | Ivy League | 9-4 W |
Gone is Virginia and the fifth place team from the ACC, which was also Virginia! Coming back to the schedule are Maryland, Duke, Villanova, and Bucknell. Penn’s schedule goes from 12 games to 14, and their SOS should go up because of the addition of quality teams.
Let’s check out some notable games on this schedule:
Best Nonconference Game: vs. Penn State
The Quakers were the first team to stymie Penn State early in the season. They led by three goals before letting the Nittany Lions score seven in the third quarter to take the lead and eventually the game. Mac O’Keefe was held to just one goal, but Nick Spillane scored five times on Reed Junkin. Penn didn’t have a good day at the face-off X, winning only seven draws.
Best Conference Game: @ Yale
The Quakers always seem to play the Bulldogs really well in the regular season. Since 2007, nine of their 14 meetings have been decided by a goal. Three other meetings were decided by two goals, and one was decided by three goals. So this will be a very competitive game, if history is right. They last defeated the Bulldogs back in 2014.
Under The Radar Game: vs. Michigan
The first game of the season should not go unnoticed for the Quakers. It’s against Michigan, who upset Penn at the Big House last year. A five-goal first quarter was not something the Quakers wanted to give up against the Wolverines, who used that win to help put themselves in top 20 polls. Penn hopes to redeem themselves in the revenge game.
Possible Upset: vs. Duke
Remember the first time Penn beat Virginia before we found out what Virginia actually was? I think Duke is more stable than the Cavaliers were a year ago, but it’s an early season game for the Blue Devils, which could mean we see some sort of slow start for John Danowski’s squad.