Three Stars: September 9-15

The women's team was all smiles after moving into Pegula Ice Arena

3. Hockey Welcomes Five to 2013-14 Roster
(gogriffs.com)

As first reported here (yes, I closed my eyes and smelled myself as I was typing that), former Icers and Ice Lions defenseman Brandon Russo has transferred to Canisius, where he'll play for the Golden Griffins' NCAA team. He's now officially added to their roster.

ACHA to the show? Yeah, it's been done.

2. 2013-14 Men's Hockey Yearbook
(issuu.com)

The men's team's 2013-2014 yearbook is now online, complete with the usual trappings and the continued neglect of Icers history.

Alabama-Huntsville treats their club titles with the appropriate level of respect. The yearbook for the Lindenwood women contains all-time results for the ACHA years, ACHA records and even a full page highlighting their four national championship teams. Yearbooks for NCAA DI programs that have spent time in DII or DIII manage to highlight history from those eras.

Penn State had the most successful program in ACHA history, one that is directly responsible for Joe Battista, Terry Pegula and everything happening right now. There's no excuse.

1. The Move Into a New Home Signals New Era
(gopsusports.com)

It's old news by now, but easily the most enjoyable thing from last week - sorry student ticket line - was observing the excitement of the Penn State's hockey players as they moved into Pegula Ice Arena for the first time.

Best of the Rest

Former UConn Huskies Taylor Gross, Nicole Paniccia and Jenna Welch

@D1WomensHockey
(Twitter)

The ex-CONNS! Hahahaha get it?

Steve Hass, the guy behind that Twitter account, had a good week on PhotoShop, also dropping in TPeg Claus in recognition of the "Christmas" celebrated by the women's team last Monday and addressed in the first star (the men's team too I suppose, although they weren't knocking out Christmas carols ahead of their move-in).

@PennStateMHKY
(Twitter)

Big Ten media day is Thursday morning in St. Paul, MN, and most conference schools have named those in their respective delegations.

Penn State: Head coach Guy Gadowsky, Tommy Olczyk, David Glen
Michigan: Head coach Red Berenson, Mac Bennett
Michigan State: Head coach Tom Anastos, Greg Wolfe, Jake Hildebrand
Ohio State: Head coach Steve Rohlik, Curtis Gedig

I haven't seen announcements from Minnesota or Wisconsin yet. Of course, the Gophers can pretty much bring the whole damn team, should they choose.

A Very Special Move-In Day at Pegula Ice Arena
(statecollege.com)

Think Joe Battista had a good perspective on the move to PIA? Yeah, probably.

@AndyJohnsonB5Q
(Twitter)

It sounds like we're (finally) about to get the long-awaited Big Ten television schedule.

Since media day is coming up on Thursday, the guess here is that it will be revealed then to give pop to Big Ten hockey's first installment of what, generally, are pretty bland events stacked with "we're excited for the season" quotes and those preseason coaches polls that everyone talks about for two days before forgetting them.

Worth a quick mention: the CHA is entering the final year of a streaming deal signed in 2011 with America One, so the arrangement for the women will be identical to last season.

Penn State Hockey Roundup – One Month to Go
(Victory Bell Rings)

I've said this before, but I'm really glad people like Mary Clarke and IcersGuy (at Black Shoe Diaries) exist, because they both excel where I fall short: at taking a step back, a deep breath and a look around. Here's a solid ICYMI from Clarke to reset things.

A Manning Texts Mauti, Bacon Talks Origins of Book
(statecollege.com)

John Bacon's new book Fourth And Long, which looks at several college football programs during the 2012 season including obviously-newsworthy Penn State, has been a discussion machine of late with the pigskin crowd.

On Thursday, Bacon spoke at PSU and revealed that Josh Brandwene actually played a small, but vital, role in delivering full access to Bill O'Brien's program:

---

"The scene was Friday, April 20," Bacon said. "I was at a lunch for the ground of the new ice rink being broken. Bill was there and I let him know that I was coming. This wasn't an ambush at all. He was there and he knew I was coming.

"There was an empty seat at his table and Josh Brandwene, the current coach for Penn State women's hockey is sitting at the table. I had known Josh from over twenty years ago when we were both coaching at a Penn State hockey camp at the old rink. And he sees me and goes "Bakes!" and I think "Thank God." Before I know it I'm spending 15-20 minutes with Bill O'Brien just kind of introducing myself.

"Later on that day I walk across the street and he asks if I want to hop on the bus to take a ride to the stadium for the walk through before the night before the spring game. And I said 'Yes.' and I was there and then went to the spring game on Saturday and that's how the whole thing started. Rather informal actually."

---

Official Online Auctions
(gopsusports.com)

Piece of history alert: With the varsity teams both receiving new jerseys this season, the old ones have started to make their way to auction, with a blue 2 (Rich O'Brien) and a white 13 (Kenny Brooks) posted right now.

Can Casey Bailey snipe his way to Hobey Baker contention?

The Big Ten's Top 5 Preseason Hobey Baker Candidates
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Sophomore forward Casey Bailey wasn't in Nate Wells' top five Big Ten candidates for the Hobey Baker Award, but he did score an honorable mention along with seven others. Top 13 in the league? That's not terrible - have you looked at the talent in the league lately?

Women's Hockey Names 2013-14 Captains
(lindenwoodlions.com)

Alyssa West will be Lindenwood's captain this year, while Kendra Broad and Chelsea Witwicke will serve as alternates. Witwicke is a native of Roseville, MN and was a high school teammate of PSU's Paige Jahnke, while West came up in the Little Caesars and Victory Honda programs and is therefore pretty familiar to most of the PSU Michigan Mafia (Shannon Yoxheimer, Birdie Shaw, Katie Murphy, Madison Smiddy and Jordin Pardoski).

Michigan Loses Recruit Bryson Cianfrone to OHL
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Oooooh sorry about your luck Michigan!

In all seriousness though, losing Bryson Cianfrone to major junior isn't a crippling loss for the Wolverines. Cianfrone's Ann Arbor entry had already been postponed from this year until next year and he didn't exactly set the USHL on fire in 2012-2013 (as a teammate of Nittany Lions freshman David Goodwin and commit Alec Marsh in Cedar Rapids).

"Outside the Crease" with LVC forward Klayton Garman
(Stack The Pads)

Lebanon Valley College has always been an interesting program to me, for reasons including the fact that they keep the fires burning at old Hersheypark Arena and their status as sort of an anti-Penn State that fell off a cliff in NCAA Division III before resetting as a successful ACHA team.

Anyway... here's PennLive blogger Derek Meluzio's Q-and-A with LVC forward and York, PA product Klayton Garman.

Women's Ice Hockey Club seniors Carly Szyszko, Katie Vaughan and Allie Rothman

@raVAUGHANous
(Twitter)

This is how I want to remember the Ice Pavilion: some of my favorite hockey players under yellow-orange lighting... and a pretty legit photobomb from the Zam driver.

Men's Jersey Countdown: #25 Casey Bailey

Sophomore - Forward - 6'3" - 194 pounds - Anchorage, AK

Casey Bailey is one of those rare players with freakish shooting ability who also isn't afraid to get dirty, and he scored plenty of goals both ways in 2012-13. One was the first snipe in Penn State's NCAA history, which fell into that latter category after the Alaskan parked at the top of the crease to bang it home in the opener against AIC. The former Omaha Lancer was at his finest in the huge win over Ohio State at the Three Rivers Classic in Pittsburgh on December 29, 2012. Playing with Max Gardiner and Taylor Holstrom on what would become PSU's best scoring line by the end of the season, Bailey tallied twice and added a pair of assists among nine points total by the trio to outduel the Buckeyes. He went on to lead the Nittany Lions in points and power plays goals while ranking second in goals and assists. Bailey has swapped numbers this season after wearing 18 last year, presumably to get his countdown post done sooner.

Career Statistics:
Season	GP	G	A	Pts.	PIM	PP	SH	GW	GT
2012-13	27	14	13	27	34	4	0	0	0
NCAA Career	27	14	13	27	34	4	0	0	0

One Year Later: Penn Staters Wearing NHL Logos

Last July, inspired by the NHL development camp invites received by Nittany Lions David Thompson and Tommy Olczyk, I wrote a post called "Breakout Past: Penn Staters Wearing NHL Logos." Thompson and Olczyk were included, of course, with the rest of the list filled out by grainy, low-quality black-and-whites of players like Don Coyne and Alon Eizenman scanned from ten-year-old media guides. That's not a knock on those players or the Icers, of course - Mark Scally playing in a pair of NHL exhibition games for the Penguins in 2000 is still the gold standard for "Penn State to the show" as far as I'm concerned - but it did indicate a clear dichotomy of players from PSU's most successful period of ACHA hockey around the turn of the century and the very beginnings of NCAA-level talent at the school, with remarkably little in between. It admittedly felt a bit forced.

It's staggering how far things have progressed in a year. No, it's not all the way there yet. The list doesn't include any active NHLers, and scouring the internet for a couple days just to find not-that-great photos of a couple players (thanks for nothing, Flyers) or none at all of another (thanks for literally nothing, Canucks) seems a little south of the big time. Still, things are moving forward at a fantastic rate.

Just to be thorough, let's start with Olczyk and Thompson.

The most obvious progress has been in the form of Penn State's NHL Entry Draft picks.

[Note: Max Gardiner committed to Penn State in January 2012 and had been drafted by that point, but he wasn't included in last year's post because he hadn't been photographed playing hockey in his Blues jersey.]

Mike, if you want to pop on a Canucks jersey, selfie up, and send it over, I'd be more than happy to update this post.

This month, Koudys, McAdam and Williamson all attended development camps held by the teams owning their NHL rights (Gardiner's team, the St. Louis Blues, does not hold an on-ice camp, although they do bring prospects in for off-ice instruction). They were joined by a pair of teammates invited as free agents, similar to Olczyk and Thompson last year: Matt Skoff with the Flyers and Casey Bailey with the Bruins.

Where will the Penn State-NHL connection sit one year from today? Can't wait to find out.

Nittany Lions Close NHL Development Camps

With the last-to-start, last-to-finish Boston Bruins concluding on-ice activities at their development camp on Sunday, here's a look at how things proceeded for each of the five Penn Staters - draft picks Eamon McAdam (Islanders), Mike Williamson (Canucks) and Patrick Koudys (Capitals), along with free agent invites Casey Bailey (Bruins) and Matt Skoff (Flyers) - who received a crash course in life as an NHLer over the past week.

I'd like to think that part of my value lies in my ability (well, willingness, it doesn't really require talent) to sift through things, pull out the essentials, eliminate the duplication of information, and save you guys from the trouble. With that in mind and under the assumption that you know how to find out who the Capitals' second-line center will be this season or how guys like 2013 top-15 picks Ryan Pulock and Sam Morin looked at their respective camps if you care, the plan here is to limit things to direct coverage and discussion of the PSU guys.

However, I also included links to daily summary articles for each team (even when not discussing our specific interest), just to give an idea of the activities of everyone at the camps, Nittany Lions included. Unfortunately, not all teams updated every single day - or at all - beyond one-on-one interview videos and player-based features well past this post's scope, and there was a ton of variance in how much of the off-ice agenda was shared. Other than what is listed, most camps participated in team-building exercises in the evening, with excursions to see the local baseball team probably the most popular of those.

One more thing before getting started: the first rule of being an obsessive "I need to know everything" blogger is that there's always more out there than is possible for one human to locate. If you know of something I missed (quality photos of Skoff and/or Williamson playing hockey in NHL jerseys would be particularly helpful), let me know in the comments and I'll be more than happy to share, with full credit, of course.

Anyway, here we go...

Vancouver Canucks

Mike Williamson

• On the first full day of camp, July 8th, the Canucks posted a video of drills with Williamson making a cameo (number 71). He's not doing much other than standing there and listening to a coach, but hey, it's something.
• Following the Grouse Grind - a climb up Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver - on July 10th, a brief interview with Williamson was posted on Canucks.com. He said that camp so far was "really good... it's been great so far, and it's good to meet the guys." Williamson then described himself as a defenseman who tries to be physical while moving the puck as quickly and efficiently as possible and also said that his goals for the week involved gauging the team's expectations and the work that needs to be put in to succeed on the highest levels.
• Later that day, the prospects visited the BC Children's Hospital, where Williamson was photographed with Nicole, a six-year-old fighting kidney disease (he's the one leaning on the top of the bed). A few other shots of Williamson on the trip were captured by the Vancouver Sun, including the one above (he's the furthest right) with four-year-old heart patient Mady Keefe.
• At the conclusion of camp, Williamson expressed his gratitude on Twitter:

Sunday, July 7th: Fitness testing, on-ice drills and measurements
Monday, July 8th: Skills testing, MMA training, yoga, scrimmage
Tuesday, July 9th: Skill development, weight training, dragon boat races, cooking class
Wednesday, July 10th: Grouse Grind, visit to BC Children's Hospital
Thursday, July 11th: Open scrimmage
Friday, July 12th: Four-on-four scrimmage, exit meetings

In addition to the regular recaps, Canucks.com also produced live blogs on several days that did a good job integrating their social media presence: July 8 // July 9 // July 10.

---

Washington Capitals

Patrick Koudys

• According to Caps blog The Peerless Prognosticator, Koudys spent July 9th's session partnered with Madison Bowey, Washington's 53rd overall pick on June 30th. The Manitoba native has spent the last two full seasons with the WHL's Kelowna Rockets and in 2012-2013 put up 30 points in 69 games. Bowey spoke with the media that day, but shockingly nobody asked him about his development camp d-partner.
• On July 10th, Koudys again was paired up with Bowey for the camp's first scrimmage. However, their Team Red was waxed by Team White 7-3, with video of most of the game's goals available here. On the 3-1 goal beginning 19 seconds in, Koudys allows his man into a good scoring position, although it's unclear if he got a stick on the shot as it came through.
• Team White dominated Team Red for the second time in a row on July 11th, winning that day's scrimmage 4-0. Koudys was again paired with Bowey, and the two were caught napping on White's second goal, scored by Riley Barber (Bowey more so than Koudys). All four goals were captured on video this time around.
• The third scrimmage went to Red, 7-3 (video of all goals here). Koudys appeared - it's not always easy to read numbers on the video, but I believe it's him - to make a careless giveaway on a pass up the middle to lead to White's first goal (seemingly verified by this tweet), and he was in the box for Chandler Stephenson's shorthanded effort to make the score 5-2.
• I would like to make it clear that videos showing only a game's goals tend to not be very flattering to defensive defensemen, and that Koudys likely played much better than what the previous three points indicate.
• Red completed the turnaround with a 6-4 win in the camp-closing scrimmage on July 13th (first period, second period, third period, highlights). Koudys played a steady game from the back end partnering occasionally with Bowey, but mostly with 2013 seventh-round pick Tyler Lewington. On the game's opening goal, Koudys was able to start the rush by knocking a bad D-to-D pass that could have ended in disaster loose at the defensive line for Stephenson to advance with speed, and he was also effective when pinching. Primarily though, he was true to type as a stay-at-home guy who made smart plays under pressure and wasn't afraid to stand people up both entering and exiting zones. He was victimized on the goal that made the score 3-2 for White by a fluky bounce off the post that allowed his man to pound it home and was occasionally drawn out high in the zone, but he made up for any missteps with a couple of outstanding shifts on consecutive penalty kills with his team hanging on to a late one-goal lead.

The Capitals' official updates were largely on video and unfortunately offered little insight regarding the camp's off-ice actvities. So instead, here is The Peerless Prognosicator on three of the six days.

Monday, July 8th: On-ice testing, practices
Tuesday, July 9th: Practices
Wednesday, July 10th: Practices, scrimmage
Thursday, July 11th: Practices, scrimmage
Friday, July 12th: Practices, scrimmage
Saturday, July 13th: Scrimmage

---

Philadelphia Flyers

Matt Skoff

• Prior to camp beginning, Stack the Pads covered Skoff's invitation.
• On July 10th, the Flyers prospects participated in their annual Trial on the Isle, a unique development camp tradition that involves a day of participation in beach-based competition and community service events in Stone Harbor, NJ. Skoff's four-man team included 2011 fourth-round draft pick Marcel Noebels, Colorado College defenseman Eamonn McDermott and Erie Otters (OHL) forward Stephen Harper.
• Skoff, thanks to his backwards Penn State hat, was pretty easy to spot in photos and video at Trial on the Isle, including a group shot with him right in the middle taken before things got underway - and it looks like he's bulked up a bit. He also makes a cameo in an Instagram video of the players approaching the beach and elsewhere (see media at the link in the last bullet).
• While it probably wasn't the producer's intent, Skoff is fairly prominently featured in this camp highlight video as he faced shots during drills from some of the team's top prospects. He's the goalie with the dark mask and mostly white pads with the small oval near the top, or number 70 on the rare occasions you can see his back.
• Although he looked to be doing well in the video, there's at least a bit of anecdotal evidence of the opposite, specifically, mentions of players like Morin and Petr Straka scoring quality goals on him. It does need to be said, though, that a free agent invite like Skoff is only newsworthy to Flyers people when he's getting beat by their draft picks/prospects, so we'd be unlikely to hear of more positive exploits.
• Behance.net grabbed the best action shot of Skoff I managed to find.
• Like Williamson, Skoff delivered a wrap-up tweet when it was over, and also gave some insight regarding his apparent beef situation:

The Flyers media relations staff, for the most part, was pretty terrible in their reporting about camp (beyond Trial on the Isle), partly because their attention was ripped away from it by the introduction of free agent signings and former coach Fred Shero's election to the Hockey Hall of Fame. As a result, I relied on TheHockeyGuys.net for July 7th, 8th and 11th. Beyond the official site's July 10th recap, which I did use, they also came through with a nice feature explaining the goals of Philadelphia's camp, and how they differed from previous scrimmage-heavy years.

Sunday, July 7th: Testing, light drills
Monday, July 8th: Practices with position groups separated, light afternoon skate
Tuesday, July 9th: Two on-ice sessions
Wednesday, July 10th: Trial on the Isle
Thursday, July 11th: Practice, grocery shopping and cooking class, camp break

---

Boston Bruins

Casey Bailey

• Any information at all on free agent invites can be considered a bonus, as obviously, the team, media and fans are much more focused on their draft picks (and usually just the high ones - even guys like Koudys and Williamson tend to be afterthoughts). Fortunately Hockey's Future poster Alicat provided a nugget from July 13th's session - and a positive one to boot: "Good hands and is an excellent passer. Has some speed. He, [Seth] Griffith and [Anton] Blidh had one rush where they went tick-tack-toe and scored on [Zane] Gothberg. Very reminiscent of [the Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Nathan Horton line]'s passing on odd man rushes."
• HF's DKH called Bailey "noticeable" in a brief collection of end-of-camp thoughts. Encouraging stuff to see, particularly when, as mentioned, the average Bruins observer had little incentive to care about him.
• Besides the picture above, which originated with the Bruins' Twitter account, he was also photographed by Puck Sage while shooting on goalie prospect/famous hockey family member Malcolm Subban.
• During Monday's team-building activities on Thompson Island, Bailey (blindfolded, bottom left) was included in an Instagram collage of a climb up an alpine tower.

Wednesday, July 10th: Practice, testing, social media training
Thursday, July 11th: Skills drills, full practice, cooking class
Friday, July 12th (1, 2, 3): Practices, community service activities
Saturday, July 13th: Running/fitness testing, practices, scrimmages, nutrition class
Sunday, July 14th: Practices
Monday, July 15th: Team building exercises, camp break

---

New York Islanders

Eamon McAdam

• The team posted an Instagram video of what they called McAdam's "first drill in an Islanders jersey" on July 9th, the opening day of their camp. Kid can move laterally, which is probably good for a goalie.
• That same day, WFAN's Daniel Friedman asked him about the first thing he noticed when stepping on the ice. The answer: "How strong everybody is. Everyone's bigger, faster, stronger than anything I've ever experienced." (1, 2)
• On July 10th, Friedman mentioned McAdam as a practice standout, and followed up after the close of camp with some impressions: "He was sharp throughout the week. The thing I noticed about him was how fast he moved across the crease and his knack for being square to the shooter... At times, he was a little too aggressive and he certainly has what to work on, but McAdam looked good. Refreshingly, he looked nothing like his pre-draft stats suggested he would. He made a handful of quality saves during the scrimmage, including some fairly tough ones."
• He stopped 28 of 33 shots and took the loss in the open-to-the-public Orange vs. Blue scrimmage on July 11th and was outstanding in the skills competition that followed the game (covered in a separate post). Another opinion on his play there, from This Is Islander Country: "I liked what I saw from Eamon McAdam in net. He gave up a soft goal or two, but the kid is only 18. He played the angles well and moved pretty well laterally in the net. Made a handful of nice saves too. Needs to work on his rebound control a bit, but he definitely looks like a solid goalie prospect."
• Newsday's photo gallery of the event included a great McAdam shot (above).
• All departures are not created equal:

Tuesday, July 9th: On-ice practices, off-ice training
Wednesday, July 10th: On-ice practices, off-ice training
Thursday, July 11th: Morning skate, Orange vs. Blue Scrimmage/Skills Competition
Friday, July 12th: Practices, camp break

Bailey to Attend Bruins Development Camp

Sophomore forward Casey Bailey will attend Boston Bruins Development Camp from July 10th through 15th in Wilmington, MA, the team announced Wednesday.

Development camps, as the title implies, can widely vary in their nature, but on a general level are a way for teams to get their prospects under one roof for a few days of instruction. The bulk of teams' camp rosters are made up of their recent draft picks - both Eamon McAdam and Mike Williamson will be attending the camps for the teams that selected them on Sunday - with undrafted players who hope to receive NHL-caliber coaching and maybe make an impression (like Bailey) sprinkled in.

Bailey is the third Penn Stater to receive a free agent invite to an NHL camp, as both Tommy Olczyk (Carolina Hurricanes) and David Thompson (Philadelphia Flyers) attended development camps last year.

Here's what the Bruins' release said about Bailey:

Casey Bailey is a 6’3”, 195-pound forward from Anchorage, AK, who skated last season for Pennsylvania State University, tallying 14-13=27 totals in 27 games for the Nittany Lions. The 21-year-old ranked second on the team in goals and assists. Prior to joining PSU, the forward appeared in 60 games for the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League, where he notched 27 goals (led the team) and 33 assists (second on the team) for 60 points (second on the team) with 83 penalty minutes (led the team). In four playoff games with the Lancers, Bailey scored two goals and two assists.

Bailey turned out to be one of the stars of the 2012 recruitng class during his freshman season last year, as he's a high-skill player (with a ridiculous shot release, to name one skill) but is also a big guy who is willing to go to the dirty areas. He's certainly a guy who has the potential to sign a professional contract at the conclusion of his college career, whether with the Bruins organization or elsewhere.

Here is the camp's precise location and tentative schedule:

Location:

Ristuccia Arena
190 Main St.
Wilmington, MA 01887

Wednesday, July 10 (Wilmington, MA)

• Development Camp opens

• On-ice practice, Ristuccia Arena, 10:30 a.m.
• Player/staff availability after on-ice practice

Thursday, July 11 (Wilmington, MA)

• On-ice practice, Ristuccia Arena, 11:00 a.m.
• On-ice practice #2, Ristuccia Arena, 12:45 p.m.
• Player/staff availability after second on-ice practice

Friday, July 12 (Wilmington, MA)

• On-ice practice, Ristuccia Arena, 10:30 a.m.

• On-ice practice #2, Ristuccia Arena, 11:45 a.m.

• Player/staff availability after second on-ice practice

• Following the Bruins prospects morning workouts and media availability, they will partake in community events outlined below:

Bruins Development Camp Community Events

B’s Prospects Lead On Ice Clinic

What: The first group of Bruins prospects will lead an on-ice clinic with players from the New England Future Stars Squirt and PeeWee teams. The skate will take place at Burlington Ice Palace, courtesy of FMC Ice Sports. The prospects will assist with on-ice drills and provide autographs for all participants. New England Future Stars combines game play with weekly skill sessions to enhance a players' skill, skating and intellect by creating an environment that fosters each player's development.
Where: Burlington Ice Palace, 33 Ray Avenue, Burlington, MA
When: Friday, July 12, from 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

Bruins Prospects to Visit Nevins Memorial Library

What: To kick-off the Boston Bruins Summer Reading Program “When You Read, You Score” a group of Bruins prospects will be at the Nevins Memorial Library. The prospects will be joined by local children and will do an arts and crafts project, an outdoor physical activity and sign autographs.
Where: Nevins Memorial Library, 305 Broadway, 
Methuen, MA
When: Friday, July 12, from 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Billerica Field Day with B’s Prospects

What: The final group of Bruins prospects will participate in a Summer Field Day with campers from the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Billerica. The prospects and campers will form teams and compete in a variety of Summer Field Day activities including Hula Hoop Marathon, Egg Toss, Beach Ball Race, Ring Toss and Potato Sack Race. After the field day the prospects will sign autographs for the campers in attendance.
Where: Boys & Girls Club of Greater Billerica, 19 Campbell Road, Billerica, MA
When: Friday, July 12, from 3:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

Saturday, July 13 (Wilmington, MA)

• On-ice practice, Ristuccia Arena, 11:00 a.m.
• Player/staff availability after on-ice practice

Sunday, July 14 (Wilmington, MA)

• On-ice practice, Ristuccia Arena, 10:00 a.m.
• On-ice practice #2, Ristuccia Arena, 10:45 a.m.
• Player/staff availability after second on-ice practice

Monday, July 15

• Team building exercises (closed to public/closed to media)
• Development Camp breaks

2013-14 Men's Roster Posted

Sophomore Kenny Brooks and 26 teammates will open the season against Army on October 11th

Penn State has posted a roster for the 2013-2014 Nittany Lion men's team that will play PSU's inaugural season in both Pegula Ice Arena and the Big Ten.

No	Name	Pos	Yr	Ht	Wgt	Hometown	Last Team
1	P.J. Musico	G	Jr.	6'1"	198	Orange, CA	Flin Flon (SJHL)
2	Connor Varley	D	So.	5'11"	195	Lansdale, PA	Des Moines (USHL)
3	Patrick Koudys	D	Jr.	6'3"	210	Smithville, ON	Muskegon (USHL)
4	Luke Juha	D	So.	5'11"	194	Mississauga, ON	Vernon (BCHL)
5	Mark Yanis	D	So.	6'3"	207	Grosse Pt. Woods, MI	Muskegon (USHL)
6	Peter Sweetland	D	Jr.	6'2"	205	Newtown, PA	Green Mtn. (EJHL)
7	Jacob Friedman	F	Jr.	5'9"	175	W. Bloomfield, MI	South Shore (EJHL)
8	Michael McDonagh	F	Sr.	6'2"	190	Wilmington, MA	Winchendon (Prep)
9	David Goodwin	F	Fr.	5'10"	179	Des Peres, MO	Cedar Rapids (USHL)
11	David Glen	F	So.	6'0"	180	Ft. Saskatchewan, AB	Spruce Grove (AJHL)
12	Dylan Richard	F	Fr.	6'0"	185	Sherwood Park, AB	Spruce Grove (AJHL)
13	Kenny Brooks	F	So.	6'1"	195	Las Vegas, NV	Tri-City (USHL)
14	Tommy Olczyk	F	Jr.	5'10"	185	Long Grove, IL	Sioux City (USHL)
15	Curtis Loik	F	So.	6'1"	205	N. Vancouver, BC	Penticton (BCHL)
17	Zach Saar	F	Fr.	6'4"	219	Richland, MI	Muskegon (USHL)
19	Eric Scheid	F	So.	5'9"	163	Blaine, MN	Lincoln (USHL)
20	Joseph Lordo	D	So.	5'10"	185	St. Louis, MO	Sioux Falls (USHL)
21	Ricky DeRosa	F	Fr.	6'1"	185	Aston, PA	Port Huron (NAHL)
22	David Thompson	D	Fr.	6'2"	200	Glen Mills, PA	Chilliwack (BCHL)
23	Jonathan Milley	F	So.	6'4"	220	Gatineau, QC	Pembroke (CCHL)
24	Nate Jensen	D	Sr.	6'0"	185	Shorewood, MN	Mercyhurst (NCAA)
25	Casey Bailey	F	So.	6'3"	195	Anchorage, AK	Omaha (USHL)
26	Mike Williamson	D	Fr.	6'3"	195	Leduc, AB	Spruce Grove (AJHL)
27	Max Gardiner	F	Jr.	6'3"	190	Deephaven, MN	Dubuque (USHL)
28	Taylor Holstrom	F	Sr.	5'9"	185	Yorba Linda, CA	Mercyhurst (NCAA)
31	Matthew Skoff	G	So.	6'1"	186	McKees Rocks, PA	Sioux City (USHL)
34	Eamon McAdam	G	Fr	6'2"	185	Perkasie, PA	Waterloo (USHL)

Given the announcement of Justin Kirchhevel's departure on Thursday, there aren't really any surprises here, as from the roster that closed last season, seniors Rich O'Brien, Michael Longo, Dominic Morrone, Eric Steinour, George Saad and Brian Dolan join Kirchhevel in departure. Now officially on board: an impressive seven-player freshman class including Eamon McAdam, Mike Williamson, David Thompson, Ricky DeRosa, Zach Saar, Dylan Richard and David Goodwin, as well as incoming transfers Patrick Koudys and Eric Scheid.

The other difference in the roster is the deletion of third-string goalie Matt Madrazo, who didn't play a single minute in 2012-2013. Despite never leaving his mark on the NCAA, Madrazo had a solid two years in the ACHA with the Icers. He burst on to the scene as a freshman in 2010-2011 to more or less steal the starting job from senior Teddy Hume while leading the team in crease time (although that's probably not true in a literal sense, if you're unfamiliar with his style). Madrazo was 10-7-1 with a 2.50 goals against average, a 0.923 save percentage and two shutouts in what was otherwise a very disappointing season. They say turnabout is fair play, however, and sure enough, P.J. Musico arrived in 2011-2012 to lead the Icers in most goaltending categories. Following the mid-season departure of freshman Tim Carr, Guy Gadowsky played Musico and Madrazo in a straight rotation, with the latter still offering sparkling numbers - a 12-1-0 record with a 1.90 goals against average, a 0.907 save percentage, and another pair of shutouts.

Matthew Skoff's arrival last season pushed Madrazo down the depth chart, and with the arrival of the touted McAdam this year... well, Gadowsky wasn't about to carry four goalies. Without Madrazo, senior Michael McDonagh stands as the last remaining "original Icer" (players who arrived at Penn State prior to the Terry Pegula donation announcement) on the roster.

With that out of way, the only remaining news is the assignment of jersey numbers to the new players, with most of the freshmen getting numbers either identical to or reasonably approximating those worn in junior. Two returning players have elected to take over jersey numbers vacated by last year's seniors - Connor Varley has moved from 3 to 2, while leading scorer Casey Bailey will don 25 after wearing 18 as a freshman.

33 Seasons, 33 Games (Part II)

In order to bid a fond farewell to the Greenberg Ice Pavilion, the orange barn Penn State hockey called home from January 16, 1981 until February 16, 2013, here is the second half of a subjective opinion of the top 33 games in the building's history. The significance of the number 33, of course, is that the rink hosted 33 seasons of games. "33 Seasons, 33 Games (Part I)" covered numbers 17 through 33, while this one hits the top 16.

Unfortunately, due mostly to lack of documentation concerning Lady Icers and Ice Lions games, this list only includes contests from the Icers-to-NCAA men lineage, with sincerest apologies to all involved in the many fantastic Ice Pavilion games not involving the Icers or Nittany Lion men.

This post will also serve the secondary purpose of launching TYT into its offseason series of history-themed posts, dubbed "Breakout Past" during a period where I had to come up with a really lame title (preferably including a pun) for everything. Look for those each Thursday, starting next week.

16. Penn State 5, Towson 4 - January 22, 2005. In what would turn out to be the Icers' final championship of the Nittany Lion Invitational - a tournament created the season after the Ice Pavilion's opening - scrappy Towson played the Icers extremely tough until Brett Wilson's power play goal with 16 seconds left propelled PSU to victory. Wilson's heroics were only necessary because of three bad calls related to goals, including two apparent Icers scores that were waved off in the second period, the latter of which was a Teague Willits-Kelley effort that was ruled a goal by the referee on the play, setting off the horn... only to be overturned by a linesman 60 feet away. The brutal officiating included the other end of the ice, as the Tigers' Erik Dixon tied the game at 4-4 with 3:33 remaining despite the fact that the net behind goalie Paul Mammola was off the pegs for at least ten seconds prior to the puck's entry.

15. Penn State 4, Central Oklahoma 3 (OT) - October 15, 2010. Arguably, the 2009-2010 Icers were the best team of the Scott Balboni era, so when Jonathon Cannizzo scored late in the first overtime to eliminate PSU from championship contention by a 2-1 score in the 2010 ACHA quarterfinals after the Icers led 1-0 until just 89 seconds remained in regulation, it was quite a blow. While a regular-season win in the following campaign wasn't a full measure of revenge, it was still quite satisfying, especially after the Bronchos' Donald Geary forced overtime 23 seconds away from a Penn State win, perhaps inspiring a couple of "here we go again" eyerolls within the Greenberg throng. George Saad ensured that any similarities to the previous heartbreak ended there by making a fantastic play in overtime to take the puck off of the boards, work to the front, and score. In what - at best - is a footnote to history, the Icers' second home game following the NCAA elevation announcement was a primary motivator of the creation of this blog.

George Saad (center) celebrates his OT winner against UCO

14. Buffalo State 5, Penn State 4 - March 14, 1992. Two weeks after PSU failed to win the first-ever ACHA national championship on home ice (see number 8), the ICHL regular season champions - who went 14-1-1 in league play, the best record in ICHL history - were stunned by Buffalo State in the conference tournament opener. Chris Kruger, Bob Kowalski and Regis Marrale all scored in the third period for the Bengals, who survived a controversial finish to their win. Dave Murphy sniped in the last minute to cut the BSC lead to 5-4, then appeared to tie the game with one second remaining, a goal negated by a ruling that the Bengals had intentionally dislodged the net beforehand. The Icers were awarded a penalty shot, but ICHL MVP Andy McLaughlin was denied by goaltender Chris Economou, who would go on to win tournament MVP honors while leading his team to a championship game loss to Niagara College.

13. Penn State 3, Towson 1 - January 22, 2000. In one of the all-time great performances by a visiting goaltender at the Ice Pavilion, Towson's Derek Rabold stopped 52 of the 54 Icers shots he faced to win NLIT MVP honors, despite his team's loss in the championship game. Prior to Loren Remetta's empty-netter, heavily-favored PSU (which scored 12 on 84 shots against Rutgers the day before) only cracked Rabold twice - once with Jamie Weston's slap shot, and on the winner, a spectacular end-to-end play that saw Weston feed Neal Price at center to catch the Tigers in a line change. Price motored down the left side, then connected with Joe McArdle, who one-timed it home from the right circle.

12. Penn State 4, Hobart 3 - November 29, 1995. While games against NCAA Division III teams later became close to a 50-50 proposition, they were something a little south of that 18 years ago. That fact, combined with a 6-5 overtime win by the Statesmen during the 1994-1995 season, made this triumph noteworthy, even if it didn't directly count for ACHA positioning. The Icers faced second-period deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 before goals by Brian Rolli, Steve Hajek and Don Coyne over a 4:30 stretch late in the period put PSU ahead for good, including insurance against Hobart's extra-attacker answer with time winding down. "The loss to them last year left a bitter taste in our mouths," goaltender Jeff Crispino said, "so this win means a lot."

11. Penn State 6, Kent State 5 (OT) - February 17, 1984. Throughout the 1980s, Kent State - which sponsored an NCAA Division I program from 1986 until 1994 - was one of the Icers' toughest regular opponents. In 1983-1984, despite PSU's eventually winning the national club championship, the Golden Flashes won three of the four games between the two, and nearly took the fourth. Penn State trailed 5-3 late in regulation, but Art McQuillan scored on a backhander with 3:51 remaining to trim the deficit to 5-4, and Brad Rush tied the game roughly two minutes later off of Lynn Sipe's setup. Greg Powers then deflected a Glenn Cawood shot past Adam Brinker for the OT winner. "We've been in overtime before," Powers said, "and me, Art [McQuillan] and Clark [Dexter] go full force in overtime. We were pressing and getting our shots - you could tell it was gonna come. I told everyone on the bench, 'You don't have to warm up, because we're going to score.'"

10. Iowa State 5, Penn State 3 - January 23, 1999. In a preview of the infamous 1999 ACHA national championship game won by "vacated," the Icers and Cyclones met in the NLIT championship game, and the teams ranked first and second in the ACHA for the entire 1998-1999 season put on a show worthy of the pollsters' esteem. After Darren Anderson (one of the stars of "vacated's" title run, as it would turn out) gave ISU a 2-0 advantage on a 3-on-0 rush, Penn State answered three times to gain the lead in the third period: Jason Zivkovic on the power play, Rob Shaner's rebound putback and C.J. Patrick's slapper. The Cyclones, however, had their own rally against a shaky John Sixt with John Strama and Brian Paolello putting ISU back ahead, and Jeff Smith added an empty-netter.

Jamie Hettema scored in the first game at the Ice Pavilion

9. Penn State 6, Upsala 5 - January 16, 1981. A contest generally only remembered for the Ice Pavilion's opening and for the crowd of 1,450 that stood as the building's record for its first nine years was also a fantastic game in and of itself. Matt Glass became the first of many Icers to fill the net beneath Section E, but he was answered by the Vikings with just 45 seconds left in the opening period. Glass' second, along with tallies by Glenn DeStefano, Rush and Jamie Hettema gave PSU a seemingly-safe 5-2 lead late into the third period, before Upsala managed to score three times in the last 120 seconds of the game. DeStefano, however, also scored late and goaltender Jim Pollock shut the door just in time for the Icers to escape with a win that wasn't finalized until 1:00 a.m.

8. Iowa State 5, Michigan-Dearborn 3 - February 29, 1992. The only non-Penn State game on the list qualifies due to its heavy significance as the first championship game in ACHA history, and still the only national title won by the man, long-time ISU coach Al Murdoch, who ended up with his name on the trophy given to the ACHA's last team standing. The Icers were denied home-ice glory that year by Dearborn, as the Wolves bombed PSU 8-5 to earn their way into the final. Incidentally, the captain of that 1991-1992 Iowa State team was Bill Ward, who is now the girls hockey coach at National Sports Academy, the alma mater of current PSU women's team forward Emily Laurenzi.

7. Niagara College 6, Penn State 5 (2OT) - March 12, 1988. In an ICHL semifinal matchup, Knights goaltender Jim Darling made 40 saves - eventually winning tournament MVP honors and leading the Welland, ON-based school to the championship - in beating the Icers. Penn State held a 5-2 lead at one point, but were unable to avoid ICHL elimination at the hands of Niagara for the third season in a row (including another 6-5 double-overtimer two years prior to this game). Payback would be sweet, and it would come the next season when PSU beat the favored Knights 5-3 on the way to the title (see number 3).

6. Penn State 4, Canton 3 (OT) - January 14, 1984. The SUNY school, then known as the Northmen, took an early 1-0 lead on a Mike Jones clapper 1:55 in, and were on the verge of running a flat PSU team out of the rink but for a series of shots ringing off posts and missing gaping nets. Even with puck luck seemingly on their side, Penn State still faced a 3-1 deficit entering the third period, but a Powers putback of a Sipe rebound, following a Jim Yablecki goal, brought the Icers back to even midway through the frame. Yablecki then won the game, and the championship of the third NLIT, 2:35 into overtime with a wrister off left wing. The goal almost never happened, as PSU survived a near-miss by Canton just six seconds into extra time: "The guy came breaking in on a 3-on-2," goaltender John Davis said. "He passed it right in front, and as he came by, he just took my skates right out from under me. They just shot it and I stopped it from the back of the net. The puck has to be completely over. I didn't think it was, it was close though."

Casey Bailey (18) scored PSU's first NCAA goal at the Ice Pavilion

5. American International 3, Penn State 2 (OT) - October 12, 2012. Without a doubt the only game that made the list based on the pre-game warmup, and the chills I (and undoubtedly others) got watching PSU get ready for an actual, honest-to-goodness NCAA Division I men's hockey game after decades of almosts and what-ifs. Nittany Lions hockey will see greater heights than an overtime loss to perennial doormat AIC, a result made possible by Ben Meisner's 61 saves and Jon Puskar's winner, but there will only be one first, and only one time experiencing the unique feelings it inspired.

4. Penn State 4, Oklahoma 3 (OT) - February 4, 2012. The Icers' aura of ACHA invincibility in the final season before making the NCAA jump had already been smashed by Delaware and Central Oklahoma by the time Oklahoma came to town late in the season, but after Shane Vordran capitalized twice on misplayed pucks by goaltender Matt Madrazo to give the Sooners a commanding 3-0 third-period edge, a palpable new height of concern among Penn Staters was reached. And promptly rendered moot by Justin Kirchhevel's two goals in the last five minutes of regulation sandwiching one by Taylor Holstrom. Saad was once again large in overtime, putting back a rebound of an Eric Steinour shot to cause the old barn to explode. "I've been here for a lot of great wins over the years," Joe Battista said. "This will go down as one of the greatest comebacks ever in this building." Third best, to be precise (the Icers never trailed in one of the top three games).

3. Penn State 8, Buffalo 6 - March 12, 1989. No less of an authority than Battista considers this game, for the ICHL tournament championship, the launching point for the success enjoyed by his program in the years that followed. The Icers, who had struggled in the conference since joining in 1985, took the unorthodox step of skipping the club national championships that season to focus on success in the ICHL playoffs after a fourth-place finish in the regular season standings (in those days, nationals preceded the ICHL tournament). The move paid off, although it certainly wasn't easy. Facing a 4-2 deficit entering the third period, PSU quickly tied the game, just as quickly fell behind by two once more at 6-4, then took advantage of a rare full two minutes of 3-on-3 hockey to once again pull even. John Ioia's rebound goal on a 2-on-1 with Lance Riddile at the 17:10 mark put the Icers ahead for good, with Brian Stevenson adding an empty-netter. Current women's head coach Josh Brandwene scored twice for Penn State on his way to the program's scoring record for defensemen.

1 and 2. Penn State 4, Ohio 3 (OT) and Penn State 4, Ohio 3 (OT) - October 29 and 30, 2004. I mean really... could it be anything else? Essentially, take circumstances similar to that UCO game in number 15, add in the fact that the previous season's national tournament loss was in the championship game (as opposed to the quarterfinals), the juice of the best rivalry the ACHA has ever seen and a sellout crowd wearing white t-shirts, then multiply it by two. Michael McMullen scored the winner in Friday's game by cutting to the middle off left wing and putting back his own rebound, a goal that completed a rally from a 2-0 deficit with 10:33 to play. Kevin Jaeger was the hero the next night when he finished a hat trick on a breakaway resulting from Mike Carrano's lob over the Bobcat defense.

Three Stars: April 1-7

3. Men's Hockey Announces 2012-13 Team Awards
(gopsusports.com)

Team MVP and Freshman of the Year: David Glen. Top Scorer: Casey Bailey. Top Defenseman: Nate Jensen. Player's Player: Connor Varley. Top Student-Athlete: Tommy Olczyk. There, saved you a click.

2. Keystone State of Mind
(College Hockey News)

Ahead of the Pittsburgh Frozen Four this weekend, CHN wrote a love letter to the growth of hockey in Pennsylvania, which includes plenty on Penn State, including quotes from Guy Gadowsky on his issues going out to eat during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It also tossed in a...

More than 12,000 fans flooded the gates both days to see Penn State hockey play in Pittsburgh for the first time. (emphasis added)

...which bothers me a little (pretty sure "Penn State hockey" has played in Pittsburgh numerous times before). Unlike some people I could name, I'll assume the writer in this case meant well, so I'll overlook the error when scoring the piece as a whole.

1. Pegula Ice Arena Virtual Tour
(YouTube)

Another pretty easy call for top star honors, because after all, gotta squeeze things like this in before the actual arena makes them obsolete (and it's pretty close to doing so). How could one not be pumped after watching that... right, commenter Ryan Progin?

I think the arena is disappointing.

Oh, okay.

Best of the Rest

Prisuta on Pucks: Wait 'Til Next Year
(rmucolonials.com)

From the not-at-all-surprising department, the agreement for Robert Morris' stand-alone game at the Ice Pavilion this past December included a return trip for 2013-2014.

Next season’s [Colonials'] non-conference schedule will include two games at Lake Superior, a home-and-home series against Ohio State, a home game against Penn State and the second annual Three Rivers Classic at CONSOL Energy Center (Boston College, Bowling Green, RMU and Penn State).

Of course, we know that we're getting two home and two away against each of the other five Big Tenners, a total of 20 games. The Three Rivers Classic has been public knowledge for quite some time. There will be single home games with Army (the PIA opener) and RIT, a home series with Union and one at Air Force (all of which make sense, as each reciprocates a piece of the 2012-2013 schedule). All in all, that's 29 games against the NCAA limit of 34, so we're fairly close to knowing all of the opponents, although exempt games - Canadian exhibitions, trips to Alaska or contests with the National Team Development Program to cite three common examples - probably will push our game total over 34.

Shane Conlan: Probably salty about the weekend's hockey scores.

Miller's OT-winner advances Fighting Falcons over Tomahawks
(nahl.com)

In a story that touches two favorite topics of TYT - future Nittany Lions and the Johnstown Tomahawks - incoming forward Rick DeRosa played a key role in ending the inaugural season of Central PA's NAHL entry in a winner-take-all first-round game three Sunday afternoon. The Tomahawks led DeRosa's Port Huron Fighting Falcons 3-1 with 7:01 left in regulation until the Aston, PA native deflected a power play shot home. He then assisted on a back-door play to tie the game with the Falcons just 35 seconds from elimination, allowing Ian Miller to pot the overtime winner. Port Huron will begin a North Division semifinal series against Soo on Friday.

The vanquished Tomahawks, who ended up with a 27-21-12 record and a fifth-place North Division finish, count PSU football legends Shane Conlan and Jack Ham as part of their ownership group.

Jensen has the ‘heart of a lion’
(redwingscentral.com)

Need a rooting interest for the Frozen Four? You could do a lot worse than St. Cloud State, which features Nate Jensen's cousin Nick, himself an outstanding defenseman. SCSU, as you should know by now, also had former Icers coach and new athletic operations special assistant Morris Kurtz as its athletic director for 27 years.

Of course, there's that whole NCHC thing, so if you go with Quinnipiac, Yale or UMass-Lowell (or all three, for that matter), I won't blame you.

Saad’s maturity growing fast with Hawks teammates
(Chicago Daily Herald)

Brother of George is having a Calder Trophy-worthy season with the Chicago Blackhawks and earned this fun feature that includes shoutouts to both big brother and Tommy Olczyk.

'Blame me,' Lucia tells fans upset with Gophers' early NCAA exit
(Minneapolis Star Tribune)

Time for the "troll the Big Ten" portion of the post. In an annual Minnesota tradition, Gopher fans are all whiny about a great season (a 26-9-5 record, a WCHA regular season co-championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance in this case) and want coach Don Lucia fired. Because SURELY, if the flagship program in the State of Hockey wasn't run by a total idiot, nobody would ever... zzzzzz. Lucia, to his credit, is trying to go Mike Gundy and deflect the heat from the college kids. COME AFTER ME! I'M A MAN! I'M 40!



Bucky's no-shows: An end-of-season update on Badgers ticket usage
(The Capital Times)

Apparently nobody cares about Wisconsin hockey enough to show up anymore. While their announced crowds (tickets sold) averaged 9,521 for the season, and ultimately, that's what counts since it drives revenues...

Men's hockey (6,996)...posted the lowest average actual attendance figure [based on tickets scanned] for their sports in the seven years of data kept by the athletic department.

Ouch. The Nittany Lions' game in Madison on February 25th - PSU won that game, because yeah, I'm going to slide that in - was a primary culprit with an announced crowd of 9,078 but an actual crowd of 5,338. This data, by the way, was obtained through an open records request, since public universities that aren't Penn State have to comply with those.

Jets sign collegiate defenceman Jacob Trouba to contract
(The Globe and Mail)

Michigan blueliner Jacob Trouba went pro after a single season in Ann Arbor, declining to join a long list of star Wolverines players who have left college with a degree, like... ummmm... eh, nevermind.

@Billy_Downey
(Twitter)

Just to end this thing on a positive note...

Nice.