3WZ to Broadcast Icers Games

The Icers made an announcement today that will result in unprecedented access to Penn State hockey games.

All 31 Penn State Icers regular-season games during the 2011-12 season will air live throughout the State College region on 3WZ 95.3 FM, it was announced today.

Longtime Icers' play-by-play announcer Steve Penstone will bring fans all the action, beginning with Friday's (Oct. 7) season-opening matchup against Lebanon Valley College at 7 p.m.

"Needless to say, the interest in Penn State Hockey has soared in recent months, and we're pleased that 3WZ wants to serve that heightened interest by making this year's Icers' action available to fans throughout the region," said Greg Myford, Penn State's associate athletic director for business relations and communications. "3WZ has been a longtime supporter of Penn State and now that they're delivering sports programming on a much more consistent basis, this makes sense for both of us. 

In addition to the radio broadcasts, you can view the games for free on our UStream page.

If it wasn't obvious from the above, the radio broadcasts will simply be the audio from the UStream broadcast.

I suppose you're wondering about that "unprecedented" that I threw in at the top, especially if you're aware that the Icers have been on radio before.

Well, check this out.

Listen to every minute of 3WZ programming at work, at home, or on the road with 3WZ Streaming and 3WZ Mobile. Keep up with the latest news, sports, weather and contests wherever you are. (Just click the icon to the left for use on your iPhone or Blackberry!

Instructions for Droid Users
1. Go to the Android Market.
2. Install "Tune In Radio" app (it's free).
3. Find 95.3 by searching "3WZ," or view the Local Radio tab and click "95.3 / 3WZ (Adult Contemporary)."

Yep, that's right. If you don't have a phone in common with your grandmother, you can listen to Icers games wherever you are. I just tried it out on my BlackBerry (save your chirps, it's gone when I'm eligible for an upgrade December 1st) and it works fantastically. We've certainly come a long way from the Fight On State broadcasts that never seemed to play for me.

In addition, getting on 3WZ now seems to indicate (hopefully) that they'll continue carrying games into the varsity era, an ideal situation when most assume that Big Ten Network will retain rights to the video of most (if not all) games from that point, either on television or through their digital platform. A free and readily accessible radio partner would be great for fans unable to stream games not on television.