Three Stars: September 23-29

3. Women's Hockey Media Day Wrap-Up
(GoPSUSports.com)

The NCAA women's team held their media day last Thursday. Unfortunately, it was pretty lightly covered, so I didn't have the material for a roundup/link dump post.

Not that it really needs one when GoPSUSports recorded the entire thing on video and even threw in a transcript of Josh Brandwene's press conference. As someone who tries to peel back the layers of interpretation that are inevitable in journalism and give you as much raw material as possible, I approve.

2. A Salute to 32 years at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion
(StateCollege.com)

As mentioned in last week's Three Stars, Joe and Heidi Battista took the final skate at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion a little over a week ago (the facility's fate is still a bit unsettled, although it won't be an ice rink any longer).

Naturally, that meant a "Joe Battista tells stories" column for his subsequent entry on StateCollege.com. Gather 'round, children.

1. Katie Vaughan looking to backstop the Penn State women's ice hockey club to a national championship
(PennLive)

I'm sure some of you are crying bias because I gave first star to the Women's Ice Hockey Club (assuming anyone actually cares where I place the links in these posts). Of course I'm biased. We all are, it's part of the human condition. At least I'm up front with you guys about mine.

Regardless, WIHC goalie Katie Vaughan is one of the finest student-athletes Penn State has to offer and she laid down a fantastic interview here. Hopefully, we're all biased in favor of that.

Best of the Rest

@PegulaIceArena
(Twitter)

Penn State held an open house at Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday which, as it turned out, doubled as a reunion of NHL alumni. Above, obviously, is Mario Lemieux, pictured with Heidi Battista.

Former Red Wing/Whaler/Hurricane/Flyer Keith Primeau was also there, and while he might not be in the "greatest ever" discussion, he did once do this.

Szyszko Retains Captaincy, Rothman and Schaffer Named 2013-14 Alternates
(psuwihc.com)

UPark's ACHA teams named their 2013-2014 letter-wearers last week. As should be fairly obvious from the header, Carly Szyszko will once again wear the C for the women, while Allie Rothman and Ashton Schaffer take the As.

The Ice Lions also have some highly-worthy leadership: Max O'Malley is the captain, with Creek Lewis and Ryan Urban serving as alternates.

Ice Chips Blog - Season previews for 2013-14
(achahockey.org)

Both of those teams were picked to return to nationals this season on the ACHA website.

Ohio State hockey: B1G dreams beckon
(Land-Grant Holy Grant)

Here's a well-done preview of the Ohio State men's team from OSU's SB Nation blog...

...I'm a little worried though. To this point, the people who support and write about Buckeye hockey appear to be very nice, reasonable and articulate. In other words, the polar opposite of their neanderthal football brethren. So basically, what are they up to?

Tougher schedule would help MU women's hockey
(GoErie.com)

Over in Erie, people are fretting because they don't view Mercyhurst's schedule as tough enough to prepare the Lakers for their annual NCAA Tournament trip.

But after [the Minnesota State, Ohio State, Cornell, Clarkson, Robert Morris and St. Lawrence] games, which teams on the 33-game schedule will give the Lakers the battles they need to prepare for the postseason?

Syracuse? The Orange are winless in 23 career meetings with the Lakers. The rest of the CHA? Lindenwood, Penn State and Rochester Institute of Technology finished last season with a combined 30-68-10 record. Lindenwood begins only its third year in NCAA Division I. Penn State and RIT joined D-I last year.

I guess I should probably be mildly offended, but I'm not. We're a second-year NCAA program. We'll get there.

RMU women’s hockey team seeks to climb conference
(City of Champions)

A nice preview of the perenially-tough RMU Colonials who, with all due respect to a growing Syracuse program, have emerged as Mercyhurst's primary College Hockey America threat most of the time.

Women's hockey drops 2013-14 regular season opener to No. 3 Clarkson
(RITathletics.com)

Five regular season games have already been played by CHA teams. Lindenwood lost to and tied with Bemidji State over the weekend, while Mercyhurst split that aforementioned Minnesota State series. Then there's this one, a 12-1 win by third-ranked Clarkson over RIT. Yikes.

New Community/UNO Athletic Facility
(YouTube)

The first time one of my favorite teams won a championship, I really enjoyed the offseason. Got the t-shirt, got the hat, went to the parade, basked in the glow. It was glorious. Then, just before the next season started, I realized something obvious but generally forgotten in brief moments of euphoria: they don't cancel the league so that my team can be the champs forever. You still have to go out and defend the title, and you probably won't do it successfully.

That's sort of how I feel about Pegula Ice Arena right now. Other schools aren't going to stop building new arenas just because we have one. And much like PSU people feel PIA is better than new facilities at Notre Dame, Miami and Minnesota-Duluth, others will feel that their place beats ours.

One of the early challengers will likely come from UNO, and while it looks fantastic, it's going to double as a basketball arena. So I think we'll be okay up against that one.

Penn State All-Sports Museum
(Facebook)

Hockey exhibit at the all-sports museum? Hockey exhibit at the all-sports museum.

You know, it's interesting... the more I learn - the outstanding collection of memorabilia shown above being the latest bit of knowledge - the more I'm convinced that my issues with the handling of Icers and Lady Icers history are not due to an institutional flaw, but instead are a result of stubborn and/or lazy individual(s).

Basically, I'm not sure what exactly USA Hockey teaches in the course of its prestigious Brian Fishman Internship, but I'm not impressed.

ACHA WD2: Penn State 6 vs. Liberty 0

Geneva Wagoner scored twice in her first game at Penn State

The first college hockey game in the history of Pegula Ice Arena wasn't much of one.

Freshman Geneva Wagoner scored twice, sophomore Devon Fisk added a goal and an assist and senior captain Carly Szyszko set up three goals as Penn State steamrolled Liberty 6-0 in the regular season opener for both teams.

It didn't take those three, PSU's starting line Friday night, very long to get going. Just 29 seconds of game time after Associate Athletic Director Joe Battista's ceremonial puck drop to mark the historic contest, Szyszko motored down left wing and found Wagoner in front, where the Alexandria Bay, NY native was able to chip past Flames goaltender Leanne Niemi.

Fisk did the honors just over two and a half minutes later after a Kim Badorrek shot was knocked down in front. Liberty's Kaitlyn Scales attempted to knock the rebound to safety, but a Fisk stick lift and a couple of hacks later, it was 2-0 Penn State. Allie Rothman's bomb from left point after intercepting a clearing attempt made it 3-0 into the first intermission.

Unfortunately for the Flames, the WIHC wasn't ready to take the foot off the gas just yet. At the 4:17 mark of the second period, Tara Soukup gained the puck near center and took it herself by parting the LU defense before shelving it. Midway through the period, Szyszko found Badorrek all alone up top and the Altoona native became the third blueliner to score in the game. Wagoner's second goal from just outside the blue paint - set up by Szyszko's third assist, a quick backhanded feed - capped the scoring.

Niemi was under siege for the entire game, facing a whopping 72 shots in all, compared to just four the other way as Katie Vaughan and Sarah Eisenhut combined for a shutout.

Penn State and Liberty will meet for the second half of the series on Saturday afternoon at 6:30 p.m. in Altoona's Galactic Ice Rink.

Highlights

---

Box Score

---

First Period
Scoring
1. Penn State, Geneva Wagoner (Carly Szyszko), 0:31; 2. Penn State, Devon Fisk (unassisted), 3:11; 3. Penn State, Allie Rothman (unassisted), 7:55.
Penalties
1. Penn State, Tara Soukup (2:00 body checking), 3:33.
Second Period
Scoring
4. Penn State, Tara Soukup (unassisted), 4:17; 5. Penn State, Kim Badorrek (Carly Szyszko), 8:40; 6. Penn State, Geneva Wagoner (Carly Szyszko, Devon Fisk), 12:49.
Penalties
2. Penn State, Mary Kate Tonetti (2:00 roughing), 0:31.
Third Period
Scoring
None.
Penalties
None.
Goaltending
Penn State: Katie Vaughan: W, 3 saves/3 shots; Sarah Eisenhut (0:00 3rd): 1 save/1 shot. Liberty: Leanne Niemi: L, 66 saves/72 shots.

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.

WIHC Announces Second Roster

Geosciences and biogeochemistry scholar Elizabeth Denis, a former NCAA player at Brown, returns.

The ACHA Women's Division 2 Penn State Women's Ice Hockey Club has announced a roster for the coming season, one that presents both challenges and opportunity.

The primary challenge involves making up the offensive production of Devon Fisk and Mandy Mortach, as PSU's top two scorers from 2012-2013 both decided to not play this season. There's really no other way to slice it: their combined 26 goals will either need to be replaced somehow or sorely missed. They weren't garbage-time tallies either - in the team's run to the ACHA national championship game in March, Fisk scored the winner against top-seeded Alaska in the tournament opener to serve notice. Mortach followed with a pair in a win over Wisconsin-Stout the next day, and in a rematch with the Blue Devils in the semifinals, Fisk may have scored with Penn State 8:40 from elimination to force an ultimately successful overtime (whether or not she touched Tara Soukup's power play blast on the way through is a point of some uncertainty, but at the very least, it was a good screen).

On the other side of the ledger, the team's defense and goaltending should be good. Really, really good. Starting in the crease, both netminders return. Katie Vaughan and Sarah Eisenhut are two of the ACHA's best, with the former winning All-American (honorable mention) and All-Tournament (second team) honors as a junior. While Vaughan was the usual starter a year ago, neither had a save percentage under 0.923 or a goals against average over 1.51.

In front of Vaughan and Eisenhut, Soukup, Ashton Shaffer, Allie Rothman and Jackie Saideh will try to carry on their status as one of the nation's top defenses. Reinforcements will help the WIHC run three pairs deep, as former Tier 1 player Kim Badorrek, Princeton Tiger Lilies alumna Cassie Dunne and Anna Marcus, an all-conference selection at Ridgefield (CT) High School last year, come on board. As stellar as the goalie stats were in 2012-2013, there's good reason to believe they'll be even better in the coming campaign.

There is promise in the forward group, even without Fisk and Mortach. For starters, Carly Szyszko is back for one more go as someone with proven scoring ability who simply does not get outworked. Former goaltender Mary Kate Tonetti enjoyed a very good first year ever without the pads and will only grow as a threat. Elizabeth Denis averaged a goal every other game after joining the team in the middle of last season and brings a physical dimension as well. The new players up front include Sam Summers, who previously played 48 games in two seasons (2009-2011) as a member of the Lady Icers. Once, on January 21, 2011, she enjoyed a three-point game in a 5-1 win over now-conference rival Cal (PA) that gave Szyszko a goaltending win (both of PSU's regular goalies were in Turkey for the World University Games at the time).

Other newcomers include Lucy Yeatman, Hannah Dier and Geneva Wagoner. Wagoner played for Millbrook School in New York, the New England prep Division II runners-up a year ago while Yeatman showed promise with the Chester County Skating Club.

Here's the full squad, which will open up in the Pegula Ice Arena's Community Rink against Liberty on September 27th at 10:15 p.m.

No.	Name	Pos.	Class	Shoots	Hometown	Last Team
1	Katie Vaughan	G	Sr.	Left	Pittsburgh, PA	Team Pittsburgh
3	Anna Marcus	D	Fr.	Right	Ridgefield, CT	Ridgefield HS
5	Nina Elia	F	So.	Right	Skaneatles, NY	Skaneatles HS
6	Geneva Wagoner	F	Fr.	Right	Alexandria Bay, NY	Millbrook School
8	Jackie Saideh	D	So.	Right	Concord, MA	Concord-Carlisle HS
9	Ashton Schaffer	D	Jr.	Left	Midlothian, TX	Alliance Bulldogs
11	Mary Kate Tonetti	F	Jr.	Right	West Chester, PA	West Chester Quakers
12	Taylor Nyman	F	Jr.	Right	Souderton, PA	Hatfield Angels
14	Carly Szyszko	F	Sr.	Left	Bensalem, PA	New Jersey Colonials
15	Hannah Dier	F	Fr.	Right	Wall, NJ	Wall HS
18	Kim Badorrek	D	Sr.	Right	Altoona, PA	Team Pittsburgh
19	Tara Soukup	D	So.	Left	Pittsburgh, PA	Ohio Flames
20	Allie Rothman	D	Sr.	Right	West Chester, PA	West Chester Quakers
23	Lucy Yeatman	F	Fr.	Right	Avondale, PA	CCSC Cougars
28	Elizabeth Denis	F	Gr.	Left	Durham, NH	Brown University
31	Sarah Eisenhut	G	Jr.	Left	Lansing, NY	Ithaca Shooting Stars
33	Cassie Dunne	D	Fr.	Right	Wyndmoor, PA	Princeton Tiger Lilies
36	Sam Summers	F	Sr.	Right	Ellicott City, MD	Susquehanna Rapids

Ten Forgotten Stories of the Transition

Penn State's transition from ACHA to NCAA is nearly complete by every conceivable measure, as the public opening of Pegula Ice Arena and the inaugural season for the Big Ten, the last significant milestones, are just about one month away. With that in mind, here's a look back at ten obscure stories (plus two honorable mentions) that may have slipped from the memories of most observers over the three years - yes, it's been that long - since the university announced its intent to sponsor varsity hockey and thanks to the massive donation of Terry and Kim Pegula.

The nature of the stories, of course, is that they are easy to forget - and that includes by me. If you think I've missed something more deserving than what's listed here, let me know in the comments!

Honorable Mention: PIA Groundbreaking

While Pegula Ice Arena's groundbreaking event on April 20, 2012 - notable for Terry Pegula's announcement that he had upped his donation from $88 million to $102 million - hardly qualifies as a "forgotten story," one quirk of the proceedings does. The two men's players made available to the media that day to talk about the arena were goaltender Matt Madrazo and forward Justin Kirchhevel, neither of whom lasted on PSU's NCAA roster until its opening.

Honorable Mention: Pennsylvania Puck

On October 1, 2011 and following a healthy buildup, Pennsylvania Puck (papuck.com) officially launched with the promise of delivering the best coverage available of Keystone State hockey. Although it tended to be a bit too focused on the AHL's Hershey Bears, it came through for the most part with an interesting mix of behind-the-scenes features, how-to videos, first-person blogging and more conventional reporting (arguably its most notable Penn State-related article concerned then-broadcaster Steve Penstone).

Rather suddenly and after only five months, the site shut down, citing traffic and ad revenue that did not meet expectations. PA Puck still maintained Twitter and Facebook accounts that shared hockey news from around the commonwealth after discontinuing its site content, but on Monday announced that those would be stopped as well.

10. Reed Linaker

Given the way his story suddenly re-emerged in June, it's possible that Linaker doesn't qualify as "forgotten" right now, although he will certainly re-enter that territory in time. The skinny: Linaker committed in May 2011 and, as that made him the first pledge for the 2012-2013 season, he became the first pure NCAA player and first scholarship player in Penn State hockey history.

However, before his freshman season began, the Albertan abruptly disappeared from the PSU roster, and although he attended games in a suit, he never played in one. As it turned out, Linaker was not cleared to play by the university's medical staff due to a heart issue (Linaker, for his part, disputes the assessment) and was not allowed to join the team. He eventually left school and will sit out the 2013-2014 season while continuing to explore other college options both north and south of the Canadian border.

9. The Blowout at RMU

Contrary to popular belief, the Penn State women did not play Robert Morris for the first time on November 10, 2012 at the Ice Pavilion. The meeting in question actually took place the previous year, on September 23, 2011, at RMU's 84 Lumber Arena as an exhibition opener to the final Lady Icers season. Although PSU's team included future NCAAers Kate Christoffersen, Tess Weaver, Katie Murphy, Madison Smiddy, Lindsay Reihl and Cara Mendelson (Taylor Gross and Jess Desorcie didn't arrive until mid-season), the hosts scored early and often in a 12-0 shellacking.

The Colonials' goal scorers included players like Rebecca Vint, Thea Imbrogno and Jamie Joslin who would star against the Nittany Lions' NCAA entry the following year, while Murphy and current Women's Ice Hockey Club president Allie Rothman led the Lady Icers with two shots apiece. RMU went on to win the College Hockey America playoff title, so it's not like they were a terrible team.

8. The CCHA "Invitation"

In a bit of a bizarre maneuver - particularly since Penn State had not yet announced its intent to elevate hockey to varsity status - current Michigan State coach Tom Anastos, then the commissioner of the CCHA, told the Detroit News in August of 2010 that he'd love to have the school in his league. "They are a very attractive choice - very attractive," Anastos said. "They're in a different market than we're in, more and more U.S. players are on college rosters, and there's tremendous growth of the sport in Pennsylvania."

The quote actually hurt PSU in the public's estimation. One year earlier, the CCHA had rejected an application from struggling independent/cause célèbre Alabama-Huntsville, and in tandem, the two events led many to speculate that the 11-team league was "saving a seat" for PSU, to UAH's detriment. The CCHA met its demise after last season when the later-formed Big Ten took away Michigan, MSU and Ohio State (as well as Penn State) and other schools followed in jumping ship. Anastos, in all likelihood, saw that outcome in his crystal ball a couple years ahead and, without regard to UAH's application, was doing what he could to preserve his conference.

7. Tim Carr

Like Linaker, Carr was a first - along with Jake Friedman, he was the initial Penn State commit following the Pegula donation. Unlike Linaker though, Carr actually played at PSU, suiting up in three games as an Icers freshman in 2011-2012 and going 2-1-0 with a 2.00 goals against average, a 0.919 save percentage and a shutout of Rutgers. The product of Pine Bush, NY had enjoyed a great campaign with the EJHL's New Hampshire Jr. Monarchs the season before, earning a good chunk of minutes in a tandem with current Boston College netminder Brian Billett. As a result, many (guilty) pegged him as a significant contributor to the inaugural Nittany Lions, but he quickly fell behind Matt Madrazo and P.J. Musico in the Penn State crease and never recovered.

Over winter break and just before the Icers' outdoor game against Neumann at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park, Carr transferred to NCAA Division III Western New England University. In a season and a half with the Golden Bears, he has compiled a 7-8-1 record, a 2.94 goals against average and a 0.919 save percentage.

6. Name The Student Section

Prior to and throughout most of the 2012-2013 season, there was a push from the fine folks in the athletic department to develop a name for Penn State's hockey student section. In addition to the standard social media solicitations, there were suggestion boxes set up at the Ice Pavilion during games. Given that we haven't heard a thing about it in roughly nine months, it's probably fair to consider the effort abandoned. And I'm fine with that. After all, PSU's well-regarded football student section doesn't have a name. The lesser-regarded basketball student section does have a name, one that does little other than draw out snarky hoops loyalists when an "ill-informed" journalist dares to use "Nittany Nation" in any sort of general context. To paraphrase noted vampire hunter Abraham Lincoln, better to remain nameless and be thought a fool than to come up with a really terrible name - The A-Team at Michigan State, for example - and remove all doubt.

5. The Shoot Twice Founders Club

The what? Yeah, pretty much. One early rendering of Pegula Ice Arena (below) included a large banner for the mythical association fronting the upper level. However, as I'm sure all of you know by now, the "shoot twice" end is, in actuality, home to the student section and not the Founders Club - and it looks nothing like what is depicted. Although the rendering quickly became dated, it remained a favorite among bloggers and media well past its sell-by date, possibly due to its showing a packed bowl with a game on the ice (something that was generally not the case with other, more accurate versions). The Founders Club was still receiving circulation as recently as January, even with the actual arena over halfway complete.

4. PegulaVille

In July 2012, then-junior John Romano initiated a movement for a student hockey campout, similar to the well-known Paternoville Nittanyville for football games. There was a Twitter account, which quickly gained a couple hundred followers. There was a Facebook page. There was some publicity, including a pretty cynical Three Stars entry on this blog and a much more positive turn in the Collegian that included quotes from Connor Varley. Then, shortly after the Nittany Lions' inaugural jersey unveiling event that September, it went poof faster than Keyser Soze and hasn't been heard from since.

3. Mark Johnson

The last, frantic days of the search for Penn State's first NCAA men's coach in April of 2011 were truly a spectacle, one that gained national interest as the college hockey world waited to hear which of finalists Guy Gadowsky, Scott Sandelin and Mark Johnson would get the nod.

The choice, obviously, ended up being Gadowsky, but Wisconsin athletic director and noted windbag Barry Alvarez stirred up controversy when he claimed days later that Johnson had received an offer from PSU and turned it down to remain the women's coach at UW, his alma mater. Was Gadowsky a Plan B, or even a Plan C (Sandelin and Minnesota-Duluth, his employer both then and now, remained silent on the issue)? Not so fast. A couple weeks after Alvarez's comments, Johnson went on the record to dispute his boss' claim of an offer and even said that he was relieved at not having to face a difficult choice.

2. The 2011-2012 Co-Coach Plan

When Gadowsky was hired, he did not directly replace then-Icers coach Scott Balboni. In fact, the two were listed as co-head coaches for 33 extremely awkward days. The idea, initially, was for Balboni to remain as the game-day, ground-level coach, allowing Gadowsky and his staff additional time to recruit while also evaluating players and implementing systems. Fortunately, sanity eventually won out: Gadowsky expressed a desire to take on the whole ball of wax, and Balboni obliged by resigning.

1. Jessi Hilton

While Penn State has had a couple of traditional major junior defections already in the forms of Thomas Welsh and Conor Garland, Jessi Hilton was sort of the backwards version of that. In early July 2011, and at the same time as Kenny Brooks, Hilton committed to PSU.

He was with the AJHL's Sherwood Park Crusaders at the time, but had previously played 12 regular season games with the WHL's Calgary Hitmen during the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 seasons, which not surprisingly presented issues. Quietly, Hilton disappeared from the Nittany Lions' commit list just one week later, when the NCAA wouldn't grant his appeal concerning those "professional" games - even if the appeal was granted, he still would have had to sit out a full season plus 12 games. Fortunately, the Hilton story has a happy ending, as he wound up at the University of British Columbia (the CIS is okay with major junior participation and UBC, by the way, is where former PSU women's player Katie Zinn transferred) and scored 10 points in 22 games as a freshman last year.

Three Stars: July 15-21

3. Record 68 PSU Student-Athletes Honored as Big Ten Distinguished Scholars 
(gopsusports.com)

Hockey players Tommy Olczyk, Lindsay Reihl and Kate Christoffersen were among the 68 Penn Staters named Big Ten Distinguished Scholars last week, an honor for student-athletes with a grade point average of 3.7 or higher. What makes it especially impressive is that none of the three have actually played in the Big Ten.

In all seriousness, people like them (and the many other outstanding students on both the men's and women's teams) are why I'm proud to blog about Penn State hockey. Also, #culture.

2. The Pipeline Show - Season #8 Clips
(The Pipeline Show)

Last Tuesday evening - July 16th, show number 56 if you're digging at the link - Penn State's own David Glen spent an hour in The Pipeline Show's studio, along with Adam Tambellini, a promising prospect who played in the BCHL last season, and host Guy Flaming. While nothing earth shattering happened, it was nice to get a little more in depth than is typically the case with a recorded one-segment interview. And as you may have expected, Glen showed well enough to demonstrate why he's probably the leading candidate to wear the C after Olczyk graduates. For that alone, it's worth a listen.

By the way, something kind of fantastic: at the beginning of the second segment, both Glen and Tambellini plugged their Twitter accounts, and Flaming followed up by asking the latter how much his follower count blew up after he was picked in the third round by the New York Rangers at the NHL Draft on June 30th. That prompted me to check both of their pages. Tambellini, who is headed to North Dakota, has just under 1,500 followers. Undrafted Glen, who plays at Penn State, is over 2,000.

So yeah, welcome to the big-time college hockey, Fighting Sioux Flickertails fans.

1. Liquor Control Board Suspends G-Man’s Liquor License
(Onward State)

State College bar Gingerbread Man, generally known as G-Man and for its bro-tastic clientele, had its liquor license abruptly suspended at some point between July 13th and July 16th for reasons unknown. Shortly after the news spread, the following appeared on the establishment's Facebook page (assume a quote-long "[sic]"):

To all my G-man friends Thank you for all your continued support. The G-Man will be closed for the next few weeks. We will open again in early August and we will have NEW Menu, New Management, New Specials, and New ownership in process. We are very excited to bring back the old tradition of the G-man as a great restaurant, that happens to be a great bar! We are extremely excited about the future of the G-man so we hope you will be there to support us as we move forward. Thanks

Since 2009, G-Man has been owned by The Hat Trick Group, Inc., which includes former Icers coach Scott Balboni, current Women's Ice Hockey Club coach Pat Fung (who in the past has also coached the Ice Lions and Lady Icers, while assisting with the Icers) and former Icer Teague Willits-Kelley. However, it appears as if the era of hockey-based bar ownership in town may be coming to a close.

Best of the Rest

EA Sports re-ups on college football after NCAA snub
(USA Today)

There was a day, not all that long ago, when people persistently suggested that college hockey could or should or might be added to EA's popular NHL series of video games, which presently includes the major-junior CHL, as well as the AHL and professional leagues across Europe. That event now seems further away than ever with the NCAA buried in litigation over the use of player likenesses in EA games covering other sports, namely football and basketball - litigation that has prompted the NCAA to pull out of games subsequent to the just-released NCAA Football 14.

The involved parties will continue to find a way to produce a college football game, as the NCAA's withdrawal is largely symbolic (the rights to the various schools' names, logos, etc. are handled through the Collegiate Licensing Company, not the NCAA). However, the football games make money, while EA has killed both the NCAA March Madness/NCAA Basketball (1998-2010) and the MVP: NCAA Baseball (2006-2007) series that didn't. Given the questionable marginal value of adding college hockey to the NHL game and the current legal climate, it ain't happening anytime soon. It simply wouldn't be lucrative enough to negate the exposure, in my amateur judgment.

But hey, we'll always have Icers hall of famer Curtiss Patrick in NHL 09, right?

Trophy Michaels Pegula Ice Arena Tour 
(YouTube)

Here's a nice 2:41 chunk of a Pegula Ice Arena tour, shot primarily on the floor of the main arena, but also including some of the underneath stuff like the Zamboni area and the dry lockers.

NCHC Announces Inaugural CBS Sports Network Schedule
(NCHC)

The conference built to grab a massive television payday will have all of 18 games on CBS Sports Network, which is sort of like NBC Sports Network, Fox Sports 1 and ESPN, just without the viewers, sponsors, carriage or high-end programming. Well done, boys.

Of interest: on November 15th, CBS Sports will carry a doubleheader involving both Wisconsin (at Miami) and Michigan (at Nebraska-Omaha), if you're the sort of person who likes to scout future Penn State opponents. I'm guessing that if you read hockey blogs in July, you probably are.

WMU to build new hockey arena on campus
(Bronco Hockey Hot Stove)

NCHC school Western Michigan is rumored to be - there is no way I'm going with "reportedly" on this source - building a new arena. It is rumored to cost $16 million. Have fun with that, I guess.

Badgers receive 2013 WCHA Final Five playoff championship rings
(Bucky's 5th Quarter)

Due to declining ticket sales, Wisconsin sold sponsorship of its 2013 WCHA playoff championship rings to Chevrolet.

Lindenwood Adds Samantha Ullrich To Coaching Staff
Lindenwood Announces 2013-14 Recruiting Class
(lindenwoodlions.com)

It was a busy week for Lindenwood's media relations people. Penn State's CHA rival added an assistant coach on Thursday, former Robert Morris Colonial Samantha Ullrich, who most recently was on the staff of Team Pittsburgh's U19 AAA squad that won the 2010 USA Hockey national championship. Two days before introducing Ullrich, LU announced its eleven-player freshman class for the coming season. Like PSU, the Lions have gone in hard on Minnesota high school players, grabbing three this time around - including Nicole Rash, a teammate of Nittany Lions freshman Sarah Nielsen at Edina.

No NHL for now, but could UW hockey thrive in Seattle?
(Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Never forget where you came from, Penn State.

My thoughts on west coast NCAA hockey haven't really changed in the last couple years. It could be a big deal. A really big deal. As I say that I'm looking at Washington, the subject here, located in a major city that, by all accounts, loves hockey and includes what seems like a workable short-term arena solution (as we know, that's kind of important). And also at schools like Arizona and Arizona State, home to two of the ACHA's best-run and best-supported programs. Of course, there's also the rapidly-growing California hockey scene, touching on a bunch of other Pac-12 universities.

The biggest problem is that somebody has to be first, and that's not such an appealing position as a geographic outlier that runs the risk of getting Huntsvilled. Seriously, which conference takes an unproven startup program nowhere close to any existing program, and one that is more or less guaranteed to leave when its primary conference can get to six? The WCHA, which many think is already overextended based on its new place in the universe? The NCHC, which was formed when a few power schools ditched long-standing rivals that were perceived as bad for the bottom line? Once the ball gets rolling, there's no stopping it. But right now, it's hard to see who can push the thing forcefully enough.

HARBORcenter Reaches Agreement with Marriott, Shaner Hotels to Develop Hotel Facility
(Buffalo Sabres)

From the "it's not what you know, it's who you know" department: HARBORcenter, Terry Pegula's rink, hotel, retail and restaurant complex in downtown Buffalo, has contracted with Shaner Hotels to operate a Marriott at the facility. Shaner, for those who don't know, operates 36 hotels in 14 states (plus another in Italy) and is headquartered in State College. Oh yeah, and they sponsor Penn State hockey. It's not terribly difficult to put those dots together.

Canisius - which presently calls the campus rink of Division III Buffalo State "home" - has been in negotiations to play at HARBORcenter once it opens in 2015. Additionally, the twin rinks that will also be connected to the Sabres' First Niagara Center should be an appealing option for major tournaments.

Several Teens Reportedly Paddled With Hockey Sticks In Alleged Hazing Incident
(CBS Pittsburgh)

I don't really like the word "hazing," because people who engage in it don't really deserve a softened version of "being a douchebag who is guilty of assault." Whatever you want to call it, it's alleged to have happened with Upper St. Clair High School's hockey team. Suck less, guys.

How To Do A Bieber Fangirl Story: Ask About The Eagles’ QB Dilemma
(Deadspin)

The Women's Ice Hockey Club's Allie Rothman, in the course of her internship at Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia this summer, edited a video featuring CSN's Sarah Baicker asking fans outside of a Justin Bieber concert last Wednesday about the Eagles' quarterback situation and about the Beebs-Blackhawks locker room story. It's about as fantastic as you'd expect, and as a result, it ended up on Deadspin. Rothman reacted by tweeting that "I don't know whether to be proud or horrified" of the notoriety. Proud, Alexandra. Definitely proud. Rule of thumb: if you're involved in something that ends up on Deadspin and it's not there because of you being an idiot in some way, soak in the viewership and enjoy.

Ice chips: Doerring leaves UVM; Frosh confirmed; Todd leaves Spartans; Fan forum fun
(Burlington Free Press)

In a move that affects two separate Nittany Lions opponents, junior defenseman Blake Doerring is transferring from Vermont to Ohio State. He only played four games last season due to injury (after 29 as a freshman), so it's tough to call this one paradigm shifting, although the Buckeyes will benefit from having a sturdy stay-at-home guy when he's eligible to play at OSU in 2014-2015.

The Catamounts also lost junior forward Mike Montagna to Division III Oswego this offseason. Montagna only played in 11 games for UVM last year, but one of them was the Philadelphia College Hockey Faceoff against PSU - he was a -2 with one shot on goal in the contest.

@ChristiVetter (1, 2)
(Twitter)

An easy call for best tweet(s) of the week: 2014 women's commit Christi Vetter, during the ESPYs last Wednesday evening. I sincerely feel bad for anyone who missed Vetter's Lakeville North fall 4-3 in six overtimes to Minnetonka in February's Minnesota AA state semifinal. Despite the loss, Vetter may have been the best player on the ice, as she willed the Panthers back from a 3-1 deficit with a pair of second-period goals to force (lots of) extra hockey. Of course, PSU freshmen Laura Bowman and Amy Petersen weren't exactly terrible either, with the former assisting the latter on the game-winner after each had an assist in regulation.

ACHA WD2: Penn State 2 vs. Alaska 1

Katie Vaughan finished with 20 saves, including seven during a heart-stopping third period

Anything can happen at tournament time. Just ask the Women's Ice Hockey Club. Or, perhaps even more appropriately, ask Alaska. The Nanooks - the top seed in the West Region - were stunned by East Region No. 4 Penn State, 2-1, to open the ACHA National Championships in Ashburn, VA.

The win starts PSU off on the right note: 1-0-0 in the three-game preliminary round, which will pare the field from eight teams to four over the first two days of the tournament.

After an extended feeling-out period in what turned out to be a defensive yet vertical game, Allie Rothman's first goal of the season gave Penn State a surprising 1-0 lead late in the first period. Rothman intercepted a clearing attempt just inside the line at the tail end of a power play, then threw the puck on net - never a bad idea. Alaska goaltender Katrina Lydon made a chest save, initially, but the rebound bounced up, past her shoulder, and over the goalline.

PSU extended the lead to 2-0 with 9:49 left in the second when Devon Fisk once again made two plays that she typically makes. First, she stole the puck from the Nanooks' Brittany Stahle on the near boards in the Alaska zone. The loose puck ended up on Lydon, who stopped it, but Fisk scooped up the rebound, swung behind the net, and fired home once reappearing on the opposite side.

As is the case against any good team though, it wasn't simply a matter of coasting to the finish line from there.

The Nanooks surged in the third period, outshooting PSU 8-3 while getting the WIHC in some penalty trouble. With 7:06 left, or 17 seconds after Taylor Nyman's tripping penalty, Alaska defender Bailey Brewer blasted one past Katie Vaughan from left point. Shortly after, cross-checking calls 11 seconds apart to Mandy Mortach and Rothman forced a long 5-on-3 kill, but Vaughan, along with forwards Carly Szyszko and Elizabeth Denis, and Ashton Schaffer, Tara Soukup and Georgia Foulds on defense answered the call during a tense 109 seconds.

Vaughan finished with 20 saves, which generally increased in difficulty as the game progressed.

Penn State will tackle their final two preliminary games on Friday. First, at 10:45 a.m., PSU faces West No. 2 Wisconsin-Stout, the defending national champion. A few hours later, at 5:30 p.m., West No. 3 North Dakota State will be the opponent. If the WIHC is in the top four of the standings following those matches, they'll advance to Saturday's semifinal round.

Highlights

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Here are Penn State's goals - apologies for goal scorer Rothman being out of frame on the first one.



Box Score

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First Period
Scoring
1. Penn State, Allie Rothman (unassisted), 10:55 (power play).
Penalties
1. Penn State, Tara Soukup (2:00 elbowing), 6:00; 2. Alaska, Bailey Brewer (2:00 body checking), 8:57.
Second Period
Scoring
2. Penn State, Devon Fisk (unassisted), 7:11.
Penalties
3. Penn State, Elizabeth Denis (2:00 interference), 9:26; 4. Alaska, Hunter Hollenberg (2:00 body checking), 16:05.
Third Period
Scoring
3. Alaska, Bailey Brewer (Cayla Wiita), 9:54 (power play).
Penalties
5. Penn State, Taylor Nyman (2:00 tripping), 9:47; 6. Penn State, Mandy Mortach (2:00 cross-checking), 11:18; 7. Penn State, Allie Rothman (2:00 cross-checking), 12:07.
Goaltending
Penn State: Katie Vaughan: W, 20 saves/21 shots. Alaska: Katrina Lydon: L, 16 saves/18 shots.

Penn State-Slippery Rock Photo Gallery

Photos from Sunday morning's game between the Penn State ACHA women's team and Slippery Rock. Click for full size.

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The game's opening faceoff - Slippery Rock was still in it at this point.

Allie Rothman (20) looks to center for Devon Fisk (15).

Jackie Saideh had to don the number 28 jersey.

A great looking scoreboard and a battle in the corner - I think that's Saideh.

Nina Elia carries through center.

Fisk was a force all game on offense...

...and defense.

Scoring eight goals gives plenty of opportunity for center ice faceoff photos.

Those goal celebrations became pretty routine after a while.

SRU's Christy Pastucha tries to beat a PSU change.

Katie Vaughan made 10 saves in two periods of work.

Fisk examines a shooting lane.

Saideh provided good presence in front of the net.

The No. 5 team in ACHA WD2 probably enjoyed the handshake.