Three Stars: August 19-25

3. Beantown Classic – Scouting the Forwards
(Over The Boards)

Forward A.J. Greer, a Nittany Lions commit scheduled for 2015 entry, participated in the highly-regarded Beantown Classic showcase from August 10th through 14th. And did quite well for himself - OTB rated him the number two forward there and had this to say:

Greer started strong here and never let up. Consistently created chances and used his outrageously long reach to score a number of creative goals including a wrap-around and a full-reach fake that got one of the better goalies here to bite just enough for Greer to bury in the ensuing opening. Surprisingly deceptive and will only get better. Would like to see more snarl from the forward but he did show a mean streak here at times. Youngest player in the pro division but finished second in overall scoring.

Just one guy's opinion? Au contraire, mes amis. USHR tabbed Greer the number two forward in the pro division (1996 birth years and older, in case you're wondering).

AJ Greer, late ’96 F, KUA (#11 Bombers) – 6’4”. The youngest player in the pro division, the Penn State recruit is not even draft-eligible until 2015. A power forward in the making.

We got ourselves a pretty good one here, guys.

2. Preseason Previews: PSU Still Too Many Unknowns
(B1G Ice Hockey)

The Big Ten Hockey Blog predicts that PSU will finish last in the conference, largely due to the unknown quantity of conference play for the young program.

I'm not going to say too much about it here, because I'm still contemplating writing a full post in response (I did fire off a few points in the comments over there if you're interested). However, I think relegating the Nittany Lions to the basement out of hand because the other league teams "have been doing it for decades" is a mistake. Banners don't skate, as the saying goes, and I sincerely cannot identify a single reason to say that Penn State is any worse than Ohio State or Michigan State right now. Given the whole 2-1-0 situation against that pair in 2012-2013 with eight pure ACHA players on the roster, there is reason to see it the other way around.

1. Penn State breaks in new Pegula Ice Arena ice sheet
(Western College Hockey Blog)

For the record and on Thursday, Joe Battista, Guy Gadowsky, Josh Brandwene and their families were the first to go for a skate at Pegula Ice Arena. Evidence of the happenings comes from Battista's Twitter, the men's team's Instagram (twice), and the women's team's Instagram (again, twice).

Most coverage of the ice's initiation focused exclusively on Gadowsky, which is understandable to a degree, as the men's team is the one that draws the eyeballs. But also a mistake, because it meant whiffing on a story like this:

(Belated) happy anniversary guys! The next 21 go pretty fast, from what I hear.

Best of the Rest

@Fung_er
(Twitter)

It certainly took a while, but the Women's Ice Hockey Club's Mary Kate Tonetti finally has her ACHA Women's Division 2 Off-Ice MVP award after being named its winner back in March.

York City Ice Arena to Host CHE Playoffs
(psuwihc.com)

Sticking with the ACHA women, some pretty great hockey will be coming to York on February 22nd and 23rd in the form of the College Hockey East playoffs. The four teams that make up this season's inaugural edition of CHE (PSU, West Chester, California (PA) and Delaware) were half of the field at the 2013 ACHA WD2 National Tournament, including both championship game participants.

Charles Vance McCullough
(Centre Daily Times)

Here's the obituary for Vance McCullough, the long-time head of Penn State's club sports who passed away unexpectedly last Monday at age 69.

Vance was a driving force in creating a club sports department supporting many programs that were organizationally on par with NCAA teams. His legacy includes the Men's and Ladies Icers Hockey teams, as well as the nationally recognized men's and women's rugby teams.

Hey wait, that sounds awfully familiar...

McCullough was a driving force in creating a club sports department supporting many programs that were organizationally on par with NCAA teams, but for the recognition and the existence of scholarships. His legacy included not only the Icers and later the Lady Icers, but continues today through the success of the Ice Lions and Women's Ice Hockey Club, as well as Penn State's nationally-recognized men's and women's rugby teams.

Flattered, Koch Funeral Home guy who wrote the obit.

Top 5 Big Ten Off-Season Stories
(Western College Hockey Blog)

PSU doesn't even register in this rundown of the Big Ten's offseason beyond a mention of the school's first NHL draft picks, with stories like the Illinois rumors and Ohio State's post-Osiecki meltdown collecting the attention. The crazy thing? PSU doesn't really deserve to register in a rundown of the Big Ten's offseason beyond the draft picks and maybe Pegula Ice Arena's completion.

Basically, Penn State's program has finally reached sort of an awkward milestone: it's more or less completely normal.

Other than new program-type stuff, making offseason news is bad roughly 92 percent of the time. So here's to never, ever appearing in one of those types of posts again.

@OhioState_MHKY
(Twitter)

Ohio State has new alternate jerseys (above), and suddenly, I want to go get Taco Bell.

Although they include a few striping modifications, they're essentially a white adaptation of the jerseys the Buckeyes wore for the Frozen Diamond Faceoff, a January 15, 2012 outdoor game against Michigan in Cleveland.

Just made you smarter than your friends on a completely useless topic. You're welcome.

In other OSU news, the team named its leadership group last week, headlined by captain Curtis Gedig.

Pittsburgh-born Saad savors his day with Stanley Cup
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Brandon Saad, the brother of former Nittany Icer George who became the first Pittsburgh born and trained player to win the Stanley Cup in June, got his customary time with sport's most iconic trophy on Thursday.

Penn State Athletics Announces National Anthem Performer Auditions for 2013-14 Year
(gopsusports.com)

Karen Newman, Lauren Hart, Jim Cornelison, Jeff Jimerson, Rene Rancourt... anthem singers can become legends to their team's fans in hockey. If you think you're up to it, September 5th is a date you should circle.

Bennett takes his hockey show to the Lone Star State
(Foster's Daily Democrat)

Luke Bennett, a Rochester, NH-native forward who recently signed with Corpus Christi in the NAHL, is interested in Penn State. But not that interested.

Bennett has grown to like the western brand of hockey.

“I like the style,” Bennett said. “It’s a little different. It’s faster with less fights (than East Coast hockey). I’m a skill guy, not a fighter. I’m 165 (pounds). I’m not throwing around too much.”

Bennett plans to use his time in Texas to expand his game and draw D-I college attention. He mentioned schools like Western Michigan, Penn State and UMass-Lowell, but adds that in his heart he wants to stay in the west.

Construction Webcam
(rit.edu)

Last week, structural steel went up on RIT's Gene Polisseni Center. The 4,500-seat arena, which will replace PIA as NCAA Division I's newest hockey venue, is scheduled to open in time for next season. The Nittany Lion women, of course, will play there each year as part of the CHA schedule.

Despite the lost distinction for Penn State, it actually is quite fun watching someone else's dream building materialize. And if you still have the urge to hate, just remember that Polisseni Center broke ground during RIT's homecoming last October - a weekend that was spoiled (for Tigers faithful) by the PSU men and their big win in Rochester.

@GopherHockey
(Twitter)

A quick bit of setup: Minnesota fans have been very vocally opposed to the Big Ten's "intrusion" into the hockey bubble because they'll miss their big games against Bemidji State and Mankato State Minnesota State-Mankato Minnesota State in the WCHA, or something like that. Furthermore, despite his pair of national titles, four Frozen Fours and seven conference regular season or playoff championships, they aren't exactly thrilled with their coach, Don Lucia, either. Because they're the State of Hockey, as they're more than happy to remind you, and if they don't win everything ever, THINGS WILL EXPLODE.

So with all of that out there and from a Penn State perspective, you can understand why the photo above, of Lucia (left) presenting Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany with a Gophers jersey, could be considered quite entertaining.

@TYTBlog
(Twitter)

A quick, shameless self-link to share some news for the Twitter-free among you:

Confirmed: Rodney Martin will return as PA announcer for the inaugural Pegula Ice Arena season. Fantastic news.

Really could not imagine things any other way.

Three Stars: June 24-30

3. Hockey or Football on Homecoming weekend? Penn State question of the day
(PennLive)

The brand-new Pegula Ice Arena will open its doors for the first NCAA hockey contest in its history, featuring the Nittany Lions against Army Friday night, Oct. 11. The next day is State's annual Homecoming game, and it should be a must-see game, as well, with Michigan coming to town for a 5 p.m. kick.

If you could only attend one game that weekend, which would it be? That is the Penn State question of the day.

Yes, I'm biased, but how is this even a question? Penn State football will play Michigan at home again in 2015. Penn State hockey will not be opening the ice arena that the university has needed for 100 years again in 2015.

2. A look back at highlights from the 2012-13 Penn State ice hockey season
(Stack the Pads)

Nothing wrong with a peek back before plowing forward, and Derek Meluzio has you covered in that department with photos, videos and memories galore.

1.Gibsonia’s Saad celebrates as Stanley Cup champion
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

As I'm sure you know, the Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last Monday with a stunningly quick game six rally in Boston to flip the result of a contest that previously looked like it would push the championship series to a seventh game. You probably also know that rookie Hawks forward Brandon Saad, a Pittsburgh-area native, is the younger brother of George Saad, who just completed his senior year with the NCAA Nittany Lions after three with the ACHA Icers. Regardless, it's not every day that a Penn Stater gets to celebrate on the ice with the Cup, so you can stand to hear it again.

Here's hoping the scene is duplicated someday, except with the Penn Stater in the beard and uniform. And involving pretty much any team besides the Blackhawks. The Islanders, Blues, Caps and Canucks would all work under the right circumstances.

Best of the Rest

@BattistaJoseph
(Twitter)

Your weekly PIA photo, combined with some news:

Successful test of the Ice plant at Pegula Ice Arena & raised scoreboard to the rafters! 72 days until we move in!

Seventy-two days from the June 26th tweet is Friday, September 6th. Going to go ahead and guess that not a whole lot of work is getting done on University Drive that afternoon.

Ohio State recruits Tyler Sheehy, Jack Dougherty decommit after Mark Osiecki firing
(Bucky's 5th Quarter)

Have I mentioned lately that I think the Buckeyes' stunning ejection of head coach Mark Osiecki a couple months ago was a huge mistake? Thanks to some great reporting from B5Q's Andy Johnson, we now know that OSU is up to five decommits since the coaching change. Zach Stepan, a teammate of Eamon McAdam with the Waterloo Black Hawks last season and a 2012 Nashville Predators draft pick, was the big blow in my opinion, but based on what I know about Tyler Sheehy, Jack Dougherty, Cliff Watson and Nolan Valleau... well, Osiecki wasn't a terrible recruiter, put it that way.

2013 NHL Mock Draft: NCAA Women’s Hockey Edition
(The Hockey Writers)

Hypothetical funsies: What if NHL teams were only allowed to draft women's NCAA players? The sole CHA player to be "selected" was Mercyhurst forward/conference player of the year Christine Bestland, as she went off the board 19th to Columbus, using the pick acquired from the Rangers as part of the Rick Nash trade. Don't ask me why trades of male players still count in a women-only league.

Arena's ice rink test hits its goal
(Lincoln Journal Star)

Pinnacle Bank Arena, the soon-to-be-open palace for Nebraska men's and women's basketball, is able to maintain a sheet of ice. If you need it. Anyone still want to argue for Illinois being the next Big Ten school to add hockey?

There actually is a counterpoint, though. At a listed capacity of 12,700 with the ice in, it's a little large for college hockey, and as a multi-purpose arena, Huskers hockey wouldn't have it whenever it wants. Wisconsin recently built a pricey ($27.9 million) auxiliary ice facility to combat similar issues with the Kohl Center. Ohio State suffers from that issue as well with Value City Arena, but with a less luxurious back-up, the OSU Ice Rink. In a world where Pegula Ice Arena is the new bar, is it really smart to enter NCAA hockey with a less-than-ideal facilities situation?

Gophers' Condon Talks Big Ten Hockey
(WSAW)

Someone affiliated with the University of Minnesota men's hockey program, senior center Nate Condon, is excited about the Big Ten. I don't really expect him to survive the week up there, but good luck bud.

The Meek Shall Inherit The Ice: Small colleges making it to the NCAA Frozen Four
(USA Hockey Magazine)

A nice look at how the little guys get it done on the game's biggest stage despite the presence of behemoth programs.

It's bound to change at least a little bit in time, but the article is interesting to me in part because Penn State reads more like a small-school program right now. The Lions are still heavy on mid-range prospects and four-year guys and light on the one-and-dones that characterize schools like Michigan and Wisconsin.



Eamon McAdam 2013 NHL Draft Prospect
(YouTube)

Generally, I'm taking a pass on NHL Entry Draft stuff here - most of the pre-gamers are out of date, the aftermath has and will be covered in other posts - but hey, highlights are timeless.

Goalies coach and Lancaster native Darren Hersh celebrates Kelly Cup title with Reading Royals
(lancasteronline.com)

Darren Hersh, the Icers' goaltending coach from 2000 through 2003, has had quite an interesting career - including a recent ECHL championship with the Reading Royals.

"I feel incredibly lucky to have been a part of the special team that the Royals had this past season," Hersh said. "I hardly remember hoisting the Cup, because everything was a blur during the on-ice celebration. Honestly, there have been only a few other times in my life that I can remember being as happy as I was at that moment."

Oh, and because you can do things like this in hockey: two degrees of Eamon McAdam. Jay Williams, mentioned in the article and now at Miami University, is a former student at Hersh's goalie academy. McAdam and Williams were Waterloo Black Hawks teammates from 2010 through 2012.

2013-2014 Arizona Wildcat Hockey Schedule
(arizonawildcathockey.org)

The ACHA Division 1 Arizona Wildcats' schedule for the coming campaign includes a home series against York University, a CIS school. That one should be a nice measuring stick for both the rebuilding program and for the ACHA as a whole. The Icers lost to the then-Yeomen (they're called the Lions now, unfortunately) 6-1 on January 3rd, 2001. More recently, the CIS' University of British Columbia beat the ACHA's Arizona State and Oklahoma 8-2 and 4-3 (OT) in a holiday showcase on December 28th and 29th of last season.

Brianne McLaughlin named to 2014 Olympic hockey roster
(City of Champions)

Finally, congratulations to Robert Morris alumna-turned-assistant coach Brianne McLaughlin, who will once again serve as the CHA's only representative on the United States' Olympic entry for women's hockey next year in Sochi, Russia. The goalie was on the silver medal winning squad at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics and also has a pair of gold medals from the Women's World Championships (2011 and 2013).

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.

Three Stars: February 11-17

PSU signee Laura Bowman - a Minnesota Ms. Hockey semifinalist - propelled Minnetonka to states.

3. Penn State Women's Ice Hockey Feature
(BTN)

I tend to avoid things that were tweeted or otherwise distributed by the fine folks in PSU athletic communications (figuring most of you have probably already seen said things), but this one's worth ignoring that guideline. Hats off to BTN for spotlighting women's hockey despite it not technically being a Big Ten thing, and hats off to Josh Brandwene, Lindsay Reihl, Nicole Paniccia and others for letting the camera zoom about half an inch from the side of their faces.

2. Penn State hockey team has plenty of Pittsburgh flavor
(WTAE)

Speaking of video features, here's one on the men's team, with a focus on the Pittsburgh connections of several players. The story also comes with a photo gallery, as well as the extended version of the interviews with George Saad, Tommy Olczyk and Michael Longo. Oh, and a Pegula Ice Arena tour.

1. Minnetonka girls' hockey roars back on Benilde
(Minneapolis Star Tribune)

For those who don't follow this blog's Twitter account, I'm unapologetically really, really into the Minnesota girls high school playoffs. And why shouldn't I be? The legendary state tournament, at St. Paul's Xcel Energy Center this Wednesday through Saturday, will feature four Penn State recruits: Laura Bowman (Minnetonka) and Amy Petersen (Minnetonka), who are signed for next season, as well as Hannah Ehresmann (Minnetonka) and Christi Vetter (Lakeville North) who are committed for 2014-2015. A fifth PSU recruit, Edina's Sarah Nielsen, lost in her sectional final for the right to join the other four.

Anyway, Minnetonka reached the state tournament in dramatic fashion Friday night, by rallying from a late 2-0 hole against powerful Benilde-St. Margaret's to win 3-2 in the Section 6AA championship game. PSU recruits were key to to comeback, as Petersen had a goal and an assist on the Skippers' first two goals, and Bowman scored the winner on the power play with less than three minutes remaining. Both are quoted in the linked recap.

Best of the Rest

Photo: Jim Rosvold/USCHO

Wisconsin defeats Minnesota at Soldier Field
(uwbadgers.com)

The latest in an (over?) saturated schedule of outdoor games: Wisconsin topped Minnesota 3-2 at Chicago's Soldier Field Sunday night in front of 52,051. The game was the back half of the Hockey City Classic doubleheader, which featured a Notre Dame win over Miami in the opener.

The Badgers' next games, of course, are on the 24th and 25th when they host Penn State, in the season-capping series for the Nittany Lions. UW will then close out their regular season with four games against the present first (St. Cloud State) and second (Nebraska-Omaha) place teams in the WCHA. In other words...

Bringing another sport tradition to Indiana
(The Exponent)

Husker Hockey isn't Coming to The B1G Anytime Soon, But It Does Exist in Club Form
(Corn Nation)

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, last week was unofficially "we're not starting hockey" week in the conference, as articles from both Purdue and Nebraska - the Huskers are generally considered one of the more likely candidates - threw cold water on the hopes of puck fans at both schools.

I continue to be of the belief that anyone waiting for the conference to grow beyond the present six will be on that for quite a while, but feel free to argue with me in the comments. Not all discussions interest me but this one does, maybe because Penn State was central to it for so long.

2013 M1 National Tournament
(achahockey.org)

The field for the first ACHA Division 1 national championship tournament without Penn State - I'm sorry, but you're wrong if you don't feel at least a little strange about that - was announced last Wednesday via a streaming broadcast that, in one of the most #ACHAproblems moments ever, was cut short by technical difficulties an hour in. The three ACHA opponents from this season all made it of course, with Arizona State seeded second, Ohio fourth and Oklahoma sixth. Delaware, which has had an up-and-down title defense season, is tenth, and other familiar foes like Illinois (seventh), Oakland (11th), Iowa State (12th), Rhode Island (17th) and Rutgers (18th) are sprinkled throughout.

For whatever its worth, ISU and Ohio are now tied with Penn State with a record 21 nationals appearances. The Icers appeared at every tournament from 1992 (the first season for it) though 2012, while the Cyclones previously missed in 2011 and the Bobcats were absent in 1993.

HWAA 2013: State-by-State MVPs
(College Hockey Inc.)

This past Friday through Sunday was Hockey Weekend Across America, and to celebrate, CHI put together a state-by-state list college hockey MVPs. PSU's not represented (Boston College goaltender Parker Milner, a Pittsburgh native, is PA's MVP), but I'm more interested in the table below the map, which shows the total numbers of DI players by state. Pennsylvania's 69 are fifth, behind the three Ms (Minnesota, Michigan, Massachusetts) and New York. Not too shabby.



High School Goalie Scores on Own Net, Flips Off Bench, and Leaves
(Western College Hockey Blog)

Simply put, one of the more bizarre things I've ever seen. Austin Krause, a goaltender at Farmington High School in Minnesota, used the occasion of his Senior Day to express how he felt about losing playing time to a sophomore this year. It's all there in a glorious video, but with his team up 2-1 with about three minutes remaining, Krause deliberately played the puck into his own net to tie the game, then left the ice while flipping his bench the Birdie Shaw. The own-goal proved pretty important, as Krause's backup gave up a late power play goal, and Farmington lost 3-2.

I kind of want to know what happened afterwards, though. There is absolutely no way Krause got undressed and out of there before someone followed him back to the locker room, is there?

Three Stars: January 7-13

Luke Juha's freshman season is over.

3. Locals help establish strong hockey foundation at PSU
(TribLive)

Much to my amazement, Pittsburgh media was still in on Penn State hockey two weeks after the Three Rivers Classic ended. Matt Skoff, Michael Longo and George Saad - PSU's Pittsburgh connection - get a nice feature this time around.

2. Hannah Hoenshell CHA Rookie of the Week highlights
(YouTube)

I love how the CHA puts together highlight videos for their weekly and monthly award winners. This one, featuring Hannah Hoenshell of course, is kind of old news (it came out just after the last Three Stars), but I'm a huge Hoenshell fan, so... do yourself a favor and watch her second goal about eight times.

1. @TDC_MHockey
(Twitter)

On Monday, Guy Gadowsky updated the media (unfortunately not including yours truly, as mid-week stuff is pretty well off the table for me) on what has become quite the rash of injuries, especially on the blue line. Getting Mark Yanis, who had been out with a fractured ankle since November, back over the weekend was nice, but...

• D Luke Juha (abdominal injury), who last played January 5th against Connecticut will miss the remainder of the season.
• There is no timetable on F Jonathan Milley, who missed time in November and has now been out since December 8th with what is being described as a lower body injury. It should be noted that both Milley and Juha missed the vast majority of their junior seasons last year with injury issues.
• D Nate Jensen (upper body injury) is expected back before the end of the season. He, like Juha, last played on January 5th.
• F Justin Kirchhevel (concussion) will be in the lineup Tuesday night after missing six weeks.
• D Brian Dolan's injury was relatively minor - he's expected in Tuesday's lineup as well after missing just this past weekend.

Best of the Rest

Buckeye Ryan Dzingel is the official Hobey Baker voting recommendation of TYT.

Vote For Hobey 2013 Phase I
(hobeybakeraward.com)

There are about 28 billion players on the Hobey Baker Award fan voting ballot, which is used to help pare the preliminary candidates down to 10 finalists. None are Penn Staters (that would have been a separate post, obviously), but there are plenty of Big Tenners and Nittany Lions opponents.

The former category includes A.J. Treis and Jacob Trouba from Michigan, Matt Berry and Jake Hildebrand from Michigan State, Brady Hjelle and Ryan Dzingel from Ohio State, Mark Zengerle and Michael Mersch from Wisconsin, and Erik Haula, Nate Schmidt and Nick Bjudstad from Minnesota. In addition to the MSU, OSU and Wisconsin contingents, Andy Starczewski (Army), Alex Gerke and Garrett Bartus (Connecticut), Evan Zych (Holy Cross), Adam Brace, Eric Levine and Zach Hervato (Robert Morris), Kyle Bodie, Wayne Simpson and Greg Coburn (Union), and Brody Hoffman and Chris McCarthy (Vermont) have played or will play PSU this year.

Recommendation? With all due respect to Levine, Dzingel has been the best opposing player I've seen so far this year, and he's also a Big Tenner. Take that, ignore it, whatever, your choice.

Fate of UAH hockey program could be decided at next week's NCAA convention
(al.com)

The NCAA convention, which begins Wednesday in Grapevine, TX, may seal the fate of Alabama-Huntsville's program. WCHA representatives are expected to vote on UAH's admission to the conference while there, and a rejection might finally mean that the struggling independents have used up their ninth life. Obviously, here's hoping for the opposite outcome.

Club hockey lives Division-I dream
(Inside Vandy)

Vanderbilt's ACHA Division 3 team was crushed by those Chargers on January 5th, but that's not really the point, is it? Definite soft spot for stuff like this.

TWICH: College Hockey Westward Expansion?
(College Spun)

Just to keep the ACHA thing going, here's a pretty standard-issue "more schools should have NCAA hockey" article, but with the best factual error ever.

The way college hockey is set up is different from any other NCAA sport. There are four different levels of college hockey. There is Division-1 NCAA and than there are three separate levels of something called ACHA. The ACHA is a governing body of college hockey that oversees all other levels, mainly including club. Most schools who do not want or cannot afford a D-1 NCAA team choose this route.

Ouch, sorry DIII hockey. Also, I'd like to hear more about these non-club ACHA teams the Icers apparently played all those years.

Wisconsin Unveils Hockey City Classic Throwback Jerseys
(Bucky's 5th Quarter)

The Badgers unveiled their jerseys for the Hockey City Classic, a February 17th doubleheader at Chicago's Soldier Field that will see Wisconsin play Minnesota and Miami take on Notre Dame. I approve.

In hindsight, I'm kind of mad that Penn State didn't use the excuse of last season's outdoor game to come up with some kind of fauxback one-off jersey. Unreasonable? Not really - the Icers played a "third jersey game" from 2007-2008 through 2010-2011 before discontinuing it last season.

Why do we send millions to USA Hockey?
(Let's Play Hockey)

Whether you agree or not, this column does raise interesting arguments about USA Hockey's (over)regulation of the game... and the writer wins like 30,000 rhetoric points for using the words of probably the organization's biggest icon in his introduction.

Bruce Marshall Resigns As Men’s Hockey Coach
(UConn Today)

Finally, best wishes to Bruce Marshall, who resigned as UConn's coach two months after taking a medical leave of absence (and two days after his team finished sweeping Penn State) for an undisclosed condition. From Marshall's statement:

"During my time away from the program, I determined that this decision was in the best interest for myself, my family and the UConn men’s ice hockey team. I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of the program during my time as a Husky and I wish nothing but success for the team as it continues to make the exciting transition to Hockey East for the 2014-15 season."

I've never met Marshall, but from the accounts of those who have, he sounds like a class human being and a great coach who was the driving force behind the Huskies' just-underway attempt to step up in status.

Assistant David Berard, who took over once Marshall went on leave - including against PSU - will finish out the season as head coach, and a national search for a permanent replacement will follow.

M: Penn State 0 vs. USNTDP U18 3

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // Centre Daily Times recap

The Nittany Lions fell to 10-13-0 in all games (while remaining 8-11-0 in NCAA games and 6-10-0 against NCAA Division I) and had to settle for a weekend split following a 3-0 exhibition loss to the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-18 team Saturday night. Here's the GoPSUSports.com recap, followed by the TYT live blog from the tilt.

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The Penn State men's hockey team split its weekend series against the U.S. National Under-18 Team with a 3-0 setback at Greenberg Ice Pavilion Saturday evening.

After a scoreless first period, Sean Malone gave the U.S. a one-goal lead with 1:45 left in the second stanza. Michael McCarron tallied at 16:31 of the third before Evan Allen added an empty-net marker in the game's final minute. Team USA netminder Thatcher Demko turned aside 25 shots.

Nittany Lion goaltender PJ Musico (Orange, Calif.) made 41 saves, while Penn State finished 0-for-5 on the power play. The U.S. went 0-for-6 with the man advantage and outshot the Nittany Lions by a 44-25 margin.

In the opening period, Penn State found itself down a man early and often as the team committed four penalties during the game's first six minutes. The Nittany Lions were outshot 19-4 in the opening frame, with Musico turning aside each U.S. attempt.

With 1:45 left in the second period, Team USA skated to a 1-0 lead. Allen moved the puck to Labanc in the right circle, where he passed to Malone at the far post for the one-timer.

McCarron gave the U.S. a 2-0 advantage with 3:29 left in the third. Shane Eiserman passed to McCarron in the slot, where his high shot beat Musico. Tyler Kelleher collected an assist on the play.

The U.S. added an empty-netter with 58 seconds remaining when Allen collected the loose puck along the half-wall and wristed a shot into the open net.

The Nittany Lions will return to action Tuesday, Jan. 15 when they welcome Neumann to the Greenberg Ice Pavilion. Opening faceoff is set at 7:30 p.m.

M: Penn State 5 vs. USNTDP U18 2

Box score // GoPSUSports.com recap // GoPSUSports.com photos
StateCollege.com recap // Centre Daily Times recap // PSU ComMedia recap

The Nittany Lion men (10-12-0 in all games, 8-11-0 in NCAA games, 6-10-0 against NCAA Division I) rallied from a 2-0 deficit early in the second period to defeat the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-18 team 5-2 Friday night at the Ice Pavilion.

However, it was a couple of future Big Ten opponents that had the highly-physical game's first (and second) word. Midway through the first period, and capping a slow start from the Nittany Lions, future Minnesota Golden Gopher Hudson Fasching drove hard on PSU goalie Matt Skoff. Skoff was up to that challenge, but the rebound popped back in front of a gaping cage, where Connor Clifton tapped in for a 1-0 NTDP lead. Just 37 seconds into the second period, J.T. Compher, who will play at Michigan next year, beat Skoff with a wicked snipe from the right-wing circle on the power play.

Michigan-bound NTDP forward Tyler Motte is defended by PSU's Joe Lordo. Photo: Steve Hass

The last word, though, is the one that counts, and following Compher's goal, the words all belonged to the Nittany Lions.

George Saad got things started with a gritty answer to Compher 1:51 later, and PSU's normally anemic power play put the blue and white in front for good. First, at the tail end of a full two-minute 5-on-3, Kenny Brooks put home a rebound following a nice David Glen-to-Curtis Loik passing play resulted in the initial shot. Joe Lordo's blast through traffic from above the right-wing circle on a third-period power play.

Tommy Olczyk added insurance with 6:48 left after an outstanding play by Michael McDonagh to win a puck battle in the corner before getting it in front to the captain, and Brooks added a late empty-netter from the opposite side of center.

Skoff, for his part, turned in an outstanding game, ending with 47 saves on 49 shots. He was helped by a defense that only had five players dressed, including Mark Yanis, who played well in his first action since fracturing his ankle on November 3rd.

The two teams will face off again Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. in the Ice Pavilion.

Penn State-Buffalo State Photo Gallery

Since I didn't produce a live blog or have access to postgame comments (due to a lack of wifi at the rink and going credential-free for this tilt), I figured the least I could do was take a few photos. Click any of them to enlarge.

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First up is Rockwell Hall, home to BSC's School of Arts and Humanities and by far the nicest building on a pretty utilitarian campus.

This is the exterior to the Buffalo State Ice Arena, which is actually part of a larger sports arena complex that also includes BSC's basketball gym.

The game was the season opener for the Bengals, and they were pretty excited about that fact.

Here's Matt Skoff making a save during warmups.

And another of Skoff...turns out goalies are easier to photograph than most players.

I made a few attempts at skaters anyway - this is Tommy Olczyk (carrying puck) during warmups, along with Nate Jensen (24), Taylor Holstrom (28) and Brian Dolan (25).

Here are the Nittany Lions emerge from the locker room before the start of the first period. The nice thing about small rinks is that they let you go almost anywhere. I probably could have walked back into the room if I wanted.

Shortly after that, the team lined up for the starters and national anthem...

...followed by the opening faceoff. As far as I could tell, everything was still going well at this point.

Buff State brought a large and enthusiastic crowd, but one that also came with several Jerry Sandusky-related signs, at least one of which was confiscated by police.

Here's what was a fairly common sight during the game - discussion of a penalty call. The PSU players are George Saad (left) and David Glen (right).

The Penn State bench. P.J. Musico (1) and Mark Yanis (5) are in the foreground while coaches Guy Gadowsky and Matt Lindsay study the action.

Because faceoffs are the goalies of game action, here's another one. David Glen (11) and Curtis Loik (15) are the two Nittany Lions, while Buffalo State goalie Kevin Carr ended up with a 35-save shutout.