Penn State-Saint Joseph's Photo Gallery

All photos by and courtesy of Steve Hass. Click on any one for an enlarged gallery view.


Freshman forward Michael McGuire

Junior forward Franky Reluzco

Sophomore forward Taylor Vincent

Senior forward Austin Wagoner

Freshman forward Danny Moscone

Club Sandwich: October 8th

Taylor Vincent had a three-point evening in a blowout of Saint Joseph's on Friday

ACHA D2 Ice Lions

Following up their pair of blowout wins over ACHA Division 1 Indiana (PA) to open the season, the Ice Lions did something even worse to Saint Joseph's to open their Mid-Atlantic College Hockey schedule with a win at Pegula Ice Arena Friday night.

Ryan Urban got things started just 40 seconds from the opening faceoff, and the goals came even faster after that - by the 1:45 mark of the first period, it was 3-0 PSU thanks to Taylor Vincent and Abe Edson. Edson would complete a hat trick with goals in each of the final two periods while adding an assist to Peter Daley's 6-0 goal midway through the second, while Urban added a second goal and an assist on Spencer Svoboda's third-period power play snipe. Svoboda, in addition to that marker, added a couple of helpers during the stat-padding affair.

Chris Dinsmore's slapper from the dot boosted the Ice Lions to a 4-3 overtime win over MACH rival Temple the next day in Penn State's toughest test of the season to date. With the victory, PSU climbed to 4-0-0 overall and 2-0-0 in the MACH North Division.

Tim Acker gave the Ice Lions a 1-0 lead midway though the first period, but he was answered just 32 seconds later on a breakaway by the Owls' Steven Luongo. Temple went ahead in the second when Joseph Pisko slammed home Stephen Kennedy's rebound, but a holding call to TU moments later helped Urban re-knot the contest off of Acker's setup. Late in the second period, during a 4-on-4 stretch, Acker collected his third point and second goal to put Penn State back ahead into the third period. Once more though, the trailing team had a reply thanks to the Owls' Phil Vassilev with 6:23 remaining in regulation.

Grad student Ryan Fullerton, who previously played at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI, turned in a sound effort between the pipes.

Next up, the Ice Lions will head to the ACHA Showcase in Kalamazoo, MI this weekend to take on power programs SIU-Edwardsville, Michigan State (the defending national champs) and Grand Valley State.

Tyler Lantz (19) and Larry Barretta (17) helped Berks to a weekend sweep

Around the Commonwealth

Note: Apologies for the fact that I've neglected the team at Penn State Harrisburg in these updates - despite my best efforts, I simply can't locate anything out there about them. If you have any information, or at least know where I can find it, let me know in the comments and I'll add them in.

ACHA D1 Berks (4-2-1, 1-0-0 ECHA)

October 4th: W 10-3 vs. Cortland State
October 5th: W 5-1 at Lehigh

The Blue Lions bounced back from a tough two losses in three (one coming in overtime) weekend to blow past both Cortland State and Lehigh. In the win over the Red Dragons, a tight 2-2 game early in the second period was blown open by consecutive goals from Chris Cashin, Tyler Lantz and Tommy Demusis - then followed by five more from Berks in the third period after Cortland had trimmed the score to 5-3 late in the second. Larry Barretta, who already has nine goals and 15 points this season, scored twice to help seal the follow-up in Bethlehem the next day.

ACHA D3 Altoona (3-1-0, 0-1-0 CHE)

October 5th: W 7-3 at George Mason
October 6th: W 6-2 at George Mason
October 7th: L at California (PA)

Following their riveting season-opening win over IUP at Galactic Ice, Toontown headed down to Virginia for a series with George Mason. In the opener, Jeff Nelson clicked for two goals and an assist, while Ben Kinch added a pair of helpers in addition to his own tally. Nick DeLaurentis had a pair of goals as well, with Adam Badorrek and Conlan Sodrosky scoring the others. Freshman goaltender John Travis got the win in his first career start. The rematch featured many of the usual suspects starring offensively: Kinch scored twice and Nelson and Sodrosky each got one, as did Steven Fedena and Luk Devorski.

Details concerning Altoona's Monday night loss at Cal weren't immediately available.

ACHA D3 Behrend (3-1-0, 1-0-0 CHE)

October 4th: W 7-5 at Washington & Jefferson (D1)
October 5th: W 8-0 at Washington & Jefferson (D1)

While few would confuse W&J with Oklahoma among D1 programs, Behrend was still very impressive in securing a pair of road wins against a team two divisions up. On Friday, PSUB took a game tied at three after 40 minutes and outgunned the Presidents in the third period to win 7-5. The next day, Sam Stroud's shutout was supported by a Justin Leonard hat trick as well as two goals from Jared Bagnato.

ACHA D3 Brandywine (4-0-0, 1-0-0 DVCHC)

October 4th: W 7-3 vs. Alvernia
October 5th: W 7-3 at Rowan

Perennial ACHA regional tournament participant Brandywine is off to another great start thanks, most recently, to a pair of 7-3 wins over the weekend. The first, against Alvernia, was the team's DVCHC opener and powered by four goals from senior and Archbishop Wood graduate Drew Haber as well as a goal and three assists from Billy Gregg.

Three Stars: September 30-October 6

Even PSU's Cooperall phase deserves to be remembered

3. Men's Hockey Media Day - Sights and Sounds
(GoPSUSports.com)

Much like with the women last week, I figured I could link 38 stories using the quotes given at last week's media day, or I could just give you the raw material.

PS. Is it just me, or is "sights and sounds" a really, really stupid label for something about a media day? Sights: People sitting behind a table and a microphone. Sounds: People talking. It's not a carnival.

2. Good Life: Q&A with Guy Gadowsky
(Centre Daily Times)

I've had sort of a mancrush on Guy Gadowsky ever since he revealed his music tastes to Pennsylvania Puck a while back, but I don't think I truly "got" him until recently. This interview, while good, doesn't break a ton of new ground - although this caught my attention:

We’re still very young and, obviously, competing against the programs in the Big Ten that we are, we’re not looking at expectations in terms of wins and losses. We certainly have very high expectations to continue to build on that foundation and areas that we can control.

Raise your hand if, the first time you heard him say something about laying and/or building on a foundation, you expected him to still be saying it heading into his third season at PSU. I didn't. But now, I don't really expect him to ever stop, which is something I can certainly appreciate. You could probably rephrase it as "take care of the little things and the big things (the wins and losses) take care of themselves," a line often attributed to one former Penn State coach.

1. How Penn State hockey got here
(Big Ten Network)

Finally. Someone who gets it with respect to PSU hockey history. His name is Jeremy Woo, and you can thank him by giving him a click and read.

For what it's worth, I did my part by a) linking it and b) arranging for this tribute.

Best of the Rest

Freshman goalie Eamon McAdam, during his first appearance in a full PSU uniform

A closer look at the players between the pipes for Penn State ice hockey in 2013-14
(Stack the Pads)

PennLive goalie expert Derek Meluzio gives his take on the men's crease situation, sure to be a major topic of discussion as the season gets underway.

Fans Flock To Pegula Ice Arena For Midnight Practice
(StateCollege.com)

A nice wrap up on the men's midnight practice Friday night/Saturday morning from Ben Jones, including a photo gallery.

Captain Practice A Unique Wrinkle As Season Approaches
(StateCollege.com)

Jones earned the rare double with a nice feature on how the team deals with the fact that the NCAA doesn't allow full practices until one week before most teams begin the regular season.

In move that alters landscape of college hockey, Pegula proud to unveil new era at Penn State
(Associated Press)

This one made it in more because it's an AP story that received heavy distribution than due to anything particularly fabulous about it, but I did like this quote near the end from Joe Battista:

“Someday, wouldn’t it be great to turn on the television and see Penn State play Alabama in ice hockey?”

Not if Nick Saban is allowed anywhere near that program.

PSU All-Sports Museum's Hockey Exhibit to Open Oct. 11
(GoPSUSports.com)

In last week's Three Stars, I shared a photo gallery of the new hockey exhibit at the All-Sports Museum. I thought it was open then, but apparently, it opens Friday.

Big Ten Network Makes Investment in College Hockey
(New York Times)

This one ought to get people talking:

If college hockey takes off on television, Minnesota Coach Don Lucia said he hoped two more Big Ten institutions might add the sport.

The Big Ten associate commissioner Jennifer Heppel, who oversees hockey, said she would not rule out adding associate members for hockey alone, as the conference did for Johns Hopkins in lacrosse, though not soon.

“It’s hard to predict the college landscape right now, especially Division I,” she said.

Nebraska-Omaha or UNO or Omaha or whatever they're calling themselves these days has always been tossed out as a possible Big Ten affiliate member, due to being part of the University of Nebraska system that also includes Big Ten member Nebraska-Lincoln. I suppose the same logic puts Minnesota-Duluth out there as well.

Freshman David Thompson is expected to play a big role on the Penn State blueline

Blueline depth bodes well for Penn State
(The Daily Collegian)

The Collegian is over halfway through a comprehensive and well-conceived ten-article season preview for the NCAA men. The first entry is linked above, and here are the others out so far:

B1G and Pegula will help lure recruits
Offense looks to improve with depth and experience
Potential NHL talent factor in to this season and future
Student Section looks to terrorize opposition
Penn State's nine most formidable foes
Penn State eyes underdog role with tough schedule

With the season already underway for many teams and about to be there for the rest, similar efforts are all the rage. Here are a few more...

Penn State Men’s Hockey Season Preview
(PSU ComMedia)

It really is pretty refreshing to see people finally treating the Nittany Lions like an actual hockey team and not just a... oh wow, Pegula Ice Arena is amazing, you guys. The Collegian's on board with that, as is ComRadio's Ross Insana, who checked in with his version of a men's preview.

Insana also wrote a column regarding PSU's size and physicality. We sure do have some big hombres on the squad, especially up front.

2013-2014 Big Ten Preview: Individual Awards
(Western College Hockey Blog)

WCHB - which still hasn't been re-named, despite its now-national scope - took a fairly predictable approach with respect to their guesses at Big Ten awards by largely ignoring PSU other than tossing the two recent NHL draft picks on the all-rookie team.

Penn State Season Preview
(USCHO)

Flipping over to the women, USCHO hit the Nittany Lions in their team-by-team previews and highlighted the fact that Penn State didn't really get run out of the rink by anyone in NCAA year one.

“The fact that we were there in those games, with so many close contests last year, to me was a very pay-it-forward type thing,” [Josh] Brandwene said. “We’re looking to get better defensively, we’re looking to get better offensively. We want to improve every day and build upon the opportunity we had last year to be competitive and then take it to the next level.”

Penn State Women’s Hockey: Season Preview
(Victory Bell Rings)

VBR's Mary Clarke (who did a phenomenal job tweeting the women's games over the weekend, make sure you're following her), had this to say:

Last year, Penn State surprised some people with their resilience and overall team tenacity. This year, look for the team to improve overall, with a few new additions to the forward core, a new face on the blue line, and a strong goaltending team in net. Keeping the opponent’s shots on goal to a minimum and increasing their own shots towards the net, in my opinion, will be a key to their success this season.

Also, she called me lovely, which made me feel pretty good about myself.

Blue Liner Notes: ACHA Teams Get Underway
(Black Shoe Diaries)

IcersGuy began his weekly rundown of UPark's four teams for the season with a look back at the opening series for the Women's Ice Hockey Club and the Ice Lions.

Robert Morris extends Colontino through 2016-17
(USCHO)

In an abbreviated "opponent news" section, RMU women's coach Paul Colontino received a two-year contract extension. Colontino is just beginning his third season and, in 2012, led the Colonials to the CHA playoff title.

Lofty goals for Robert Morris hockey this season
(Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Over on the men's side, Derek Schooley's gang will come into the season motivated by their NCAA Tournament at-large bid near-miss last season. RMU was left out of the show despite wins over Quinnipiac (the eventual tournament runners-up who spent most of the season ranked number one) and in the Three Rivers Classic title game over perennial power Miami.

Welcome, Josh Healey!
(Deadly Nuts)

Deadly Nuts recently completed a series profiling Ohio State's freshman, and it's pretty fantastic. Possibly because other people care about annoying things like "copyright infringement" (sounds like a made up thing to me), both this post and the entire blog are illustrated with MS Paint cartoons. And I've said it before, but the writing is sort of what I was/wanted to be before I lost my edge sometime in 2011 and started writing dry recaps of other people's work once a week.

I picked Healey to link because he's from that PSU recruiting hotbed of Edmonton, AB and because he played with Dylan Richard for Canada West at last year's World Junior A Challenge.

Robert Pelletier vs Conor Garland Sep 22, 2013
(YouTube)

Once in a while, something reminds me that I never deleted my "Conor Garland" Google alert. Finally, this time around, I succumbed to my morbid curiosity. So I went to look up something about him that I could use here and found... a fight video. Didn't expect that. If you're hoping to see the diminutive Garland take a Boogaard vs. Fedoruk-level beatdown (admittedly, I was) you'll be disappointed, but he eats a high enough number of quality blows for me to keep it in.

Anyway, in a partial 2012-2013 season for the QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats (26 games), Garland had six goals and 17 points for a club that went 42-23-3 but was bounced in the first round of the playoffs. So far this year, Moncton is 4-6-0 with Garland's 11 points placing him third on the team in scoring. He's eligible for the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, but at 5'7", 170 pounds opinions on where he'll go are mixed, even with his ridiculous skill level.

Sophomore Jordin Pardoski and her teammates were wound up after beating Vermont

@JordinPardoski
(Twitter)

Jordin Pardoski, reporting from the bus on the way back from the tie-win weekend in Vermont:

This maaaaaay or maaaay not be the first bus ride where NO ONE is sleeping #WoundUp

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.

Three Days in the ACHA

Kevin Backoefer and Behrend split their opening weekend by taking down Fredonia in OT at home

On Friday, I wrote about the flood of Penn State ACHA games over the weekend that signaled the beginning of the hockey season. So... how did that all turn out? Glad you asked.

As I'm sure you know by now, I attended four of the twelve contests below in person (the ones without words underneath the final score) so feel free to click through for separate posts on those.

Friday, September 27

Men's D3: Penn State Behrend 2 at RIT 8

A quick glance at that score says that the Tigers thrashed Behrend, although the game didn't reach blowout status until a wild third period that saw seven combined goals (it was 3-0 RIT after 40 minutes). Kevin Backoefer and Nathan Ropelewski scored for the Lions.

Men's D2: Penn State 6 at IUP (D1) 1

In the front end of a home-and-home series with the Crimson Hawks, the Ice Lions steadily grew their lead throughout the contest to win rather comfortably. Creek Lewis got his season off to a great start with a hat trick - all goals coming on the power play - and Peter Daley, Voight Demeester and Fredrik Linge matched him with three more.

Men's D1: Slippery Rock 1 at Penn State Berks 4

Berks is the one PSU team in this post that had games under its belt prior to this past weekend, as they split with that same IUP team that played the Ice Lions on September 20th and 21st. A strong second period against SRU helped the Blue Lions climb to 2-1-0 on the year.

Men's D3: Rutgers-Camden 2 at Penn State Brandywine 8

The perennially-strong team at Brandywine got off to a good start by dismantling Rutgers-Camden in a DVCHC contest at West Chester's mammoth Ice Line.

Women's D2: Liberty 0 at Penn State 6

Saturday, September 28

Men's D3: IUP (D2) 4 at Penn State Altoona 5 (Photos)

Men's D1: Slippery Rock 4 at Penn State Berks 3 (OT)

The Rock, much as IUP ultimately did, rallied for a split against Berks, thanks to J.T. Grahl finishing a hat trick in the extra period. The result was at least mildly controversial, as the Blue Lions had two goals disallowed in regulation.

Men's D3: Penn State Brandywine 3 at Shippensburg 2

At the venerable Hersheypark Arena and in another DVCHC league game, Brandywine overcame two Austin Rinck goals to take a tight game that was tied after both the first (0-0) and second (1-1) periods. Brandon Benn scored twice for PSUB, Billy Gregg had the third, and goalie Andrew Hieber stopped 46 of 48 shots.

Women's D2: Liberty 0 at Penn State 7 (at Altoona, PA)

Men's D3: Fredonia 3 at Penn State Behrend 4 (OT)

Behrend bounced back with a rousing overtime win in its home opener against College Hockey East foe Fredonia. Ropelewski was the hero - although without Hunter Cunningham's two goals and an assist, he never gets a chance at the winner.

Men's D2: IUP (D1) 2 at Penn State 8 (Photos)

Sunday, September 29

Men's D1: West Chester 5 at Penn State Berks 3

Uniquely among teams featured in this post, Berks had the always-tough task of a three game weekend. They may have paid for it against West Chester as PSUB jumped out to a 3-1 second-period lead thanks to goals from Thomas DeMusis, Theodore Marquardt and Josh Flamini (shorthanded). However the Golden Rams responded decisively with four unanswered, including three in the third period.

Nine up, three down. Not a bad weekend, Penn State hockey.

ACHA D2: Penn State 8 vs. IUP (D1) 2

Let it be said, first of all, that IUP is not a horrible team. Playing out of ACHA Division 1 and College Hockey Mid-America, the Crimson Hawks were squarely in the middle of the conference pack with an 8-7-1 league record a year ago. And while CHMA is a one-bidder in terms of D1 nationals, IUP played three tight games against the team that took that bid (John Carroll). They initiated 2013-2014 with a split against Penn State Berks.

Yet the Ice Lions made the Hawks look pretty horrible.

Following up on Penn State's season-opening 6-1 win in Indiana on Friday, Danny Matrosic and Creek Lewis scored twice, while Ryan Urban and Tim Acker added a goal and two assists as PSU thrashed IUP for a second time, 8-2 Saturday night, in the first intercollegiate men's hockey game at Pegula Ice Arena.

It wasn't a contest for the faint of heart, as it had that typical second-game-of-the-series crankiness which manifested itself in bone-jarring hits for the first 15 minutes. But what followed was something a bit more sinister in a 49-minute-long second period that contained enough penalties to strain the inventory of available slots on the gamesheet, including a major and a game disqualification to PSU defenseman Chris Dinsmore for a headshot.

That's the bad news. The good news is that Penn State dominated the extended special teams drill. Urban got things going with 1:26 left in the first period by scoring on the advantage while parked just to the left of the net, and thanks to Dinsmore and Acker working it down low to him. Austin Wagoner - the older brother of Women's Ice Hockey Club freshman Geneva - then made it 2-0 just before the period expired when he split the Hawks defensemen and outworked both to the bouncing puck that he deposited.

The aforementioned swamp of a second period also came with benefits. After IUP's Sean Beichner dumped Lewis, but charged him to do so, Dinsmore took Taylor Vincent's pass and stepped into the high slot to fire home another power play goal with 11:10 left. Lewis - who isn't the type of guy that likes being knocked over, even illegally - got revenge for that transgression beginning less than a minute later with PSU's third PPG to make it 4-0. The payback continued with another Lewis goal after that, this time at even strength.

It's important to point out that despite the lopsided score, the plague of penalties affected both sides, making the Ice Lions' penalty killers some of the unsung heroes of the game. Guys like Urban - the epitome of a skill player who also takes care of the little things - Peter Daley, Abe Edson, Rob Fauth, and of course freshman goalie Matthew Erlichman were all essential to PSU's expansion of its lead as things progressed. The PK was finally dented on a pair of 5-on-3 goals by Anthony Venezia late in the second period and Reid Duguid early in the third (with the latter requiring a pretty spectacular effort and shot after barreling in off left wing), but the exchange of time off the ice could have easily turned out much worse for Penn State than it did.

Matrosic and Acker ensured that IUP got no closer than five, as their three goals - as well as noisy singing and chanting from the students in a packed house - closed out the last 22:56 of the game.

Up next for the 2-0-0 Ice Lions: a pair of Mid-Atlantic College Hockey home games against St. Joseph's and Temple on October 4th and 5th respectively. Both games start at 10:15 p.m. in the Pegula Ice Arena Community Rink.

Penn State-IUP Photo Gallery

All photos by and courtesy of Steve Hass. Click on any one for an enlarged gallery view.


Senior forward Austin Wagoner

Junior forward Austin Meehan

Freshman forward Abe Edson

Creek Lewis (7) and Ryan Urban (26) celebrate Urban's first-period goal

Wagoner, splitting the D on his first-period goal

Junior forward Franky Reluzco

Junior forward Tim Acker

Urban

Junior forward Fredrik Linge

Sophomore defenseman Tyler Person

Senior defenseman Chris Dinsmore

Sophomore forward Taylor Vincent

Head coach Ryan Behnken

An active group of students sang and chanted throughout the contest

Junior forward Neil Laessig

Freshman forward Daniel Matrosic

Freshman goaltender Matthew Erlichman

Wagoner

Freshman defenseman Voight Demeester

Jumping In With Both Feet

After the ACHA Division 1 team at Penn State Berks gave us a taste of real-life hockey action last weekend - a road split at Indiana (PA) - Penn State hockey largely hits its 2013-2014 stride beginning today. While neither NCAA team opens up until the women head to Vermont in a week, take a look at the schedule of games for all of the ACHA squads over the next three days:

Friday, September 27
Men's D3: Penn State Behrend at RIT, 7:30 p.m.
Men's D2: Penn State at IUP (D1), 7:35 p.m.
Men's D1: Slippery Rock at Penn State Berks, 7:45 p.m.
Men's D3: Rutgers-Camden at Penn State Brandywine, 9:15 p.m.
Women's D2: Liberty at Penn State, 10:15 p.m.

Saturday, September 28
Men's D3: IUP (D2) at Penn State Altoona, 3:50 p.m.
Men's D1: Slippery Rock at Penn State Berks, 4:00 p.m.
Men's D3: Penn State Brandywine at Shippensburg, 6:00 p.m.
Women's D2: Liberty at Penn State, 6:30 p.m. (at Altoona, PA)
Men's D3: Fredonia at Penn State Behrend, 7:30 p.m.
Men's D2: IUP (D1) at Penn State, 10:15 p.m.

Sunday, September 29
Men's D1: West Chester at Penn State Berks, 4:30 p.m.

Not bad, eh?

I encourage anyone able and looking for an activity this weekend to get out and support at least one of those teams. The WD2 Women's Ice Hockey Club and the D2 Ice Lions play at the Pegula Ice Arena Community Rink, of course. The WIHC's game Saturday is at Galactic Ice Rink in Altoona, which also happens to be home ice for Penn State Altoona. The Ice Lions' game at IUP tonight will take place in Indiana's S&T Bank Arena. Penn State Berks is based in the Body Zone Sports and Wellness Complex in Wyomissing, while Penn State Behrend calls the Mercyhurst Ice Center in Erie home. If you're in the Harrisburg-Hershey area, Shippensburg will host Penn State Brandywine at the historic Hersheypark Arena, while Brandywine's home game will be at Ice Line in West Chester.

For my part, I'm going to try something possibly crazy, but definitely unprecedented in a couple different ways.

A quartet of those games listed above are in the cards for TYT, which will tie the blog's weekend record for attendance at Penn State games originally set January 11th through 13th. The first game will be the Women's Ice Hockey Club's season opener against Liberty tonight, the first intercollegiate hockey game of any kind played in Pegula Ice Arena.

On Saturday, a never-before-attempted tripleheader is in order, beginning with a tough season opener for Altoona against IUP's Division 2 team. Immediately after that, the WIHC will play a rematch with Liberty on the same sheet of ice. The conclusion of that game should come quickly enough to grab a soft pretzel and a coffee for dinner and head back up I-99 to see the Ice Lions play their home opener, the first men's intercollegiate game in Pegula Ice Arena, against IUP's Division 1 team. Sometime in there, I hope to write posts about all of those games (this is all pretty meaningless to you without that, after all).

Should I survive, it will be a story for the grandkids. I've certainly watched and even attended three (or more) hockey games in a day before - any ACHA National Tournament is an obvious example - but never with the level of engagement that will be required tomorrow.

Here's a brief look at each of the games on the docket.

The WIHC has the highest of aspirations for the coming season

Women's D2: Penn State vs. Liberty

On paper, to put it bluntly, the Women's Ice Hockey Club should roll. Penn State is loaded up this year as seniors Carly Szyszko, Katie Vaughan and Allie Rothman are back for one more shot at a national championship after falling just short in last year's title game and in two previous seasons as ACHA D1 Lady Icers.

Although Mandy Mortach, the team's hard-nosed second-leading scorer in 2012-2013, will not return, nearly everyone else does. The list includes Smash Sisters Tara Soukup and Ashton Schaffer on defense, dynamic forward Devon Fisk and other key players like Mary Kate Tonetti, Elizabeth Denis, Nina Elia, Taylor Nyman, Jackie Saideh and Sarah Eisenhut, one of the best goalies in the nation, but with the misfortune of being stuck behind the highly-acclaimed Vaughan. A sound group of six new players will give PSU incredible depth as well, bolstering their status as a title favorite.

Liberty is on the other end of the spectrum. The Flames were 0-12-0 last season and scored just seven goals in those contests, and a pair of exhibition shutout losses to the Carolina Lightning U16AA squad two weeks ago gave little hope for improvement. Second-year head coach Sara Niemi will look to her goaltender, younger sister Leanne Niemi, to keep Liberty in range.

Altoona coach Tom Lantz hopes his team will have a late-game edge

Men's D3: Penn State Altoona vs. IUP (D2)

Altoona, as with all two-year commonwealth campus teams, is a unique coaching challenge because every player is either a freshman or (figuratively speaking) a senior. Tom Lantz doesn't have the luxury of multi-year rebuilds, and only sees limited gains from individual players along their respective development curves before needing to bring in an entirely new team.

The good news in that department, as Toontown attempts to bounce back from a disappointing 2012-2013, is that one of this year's "seniors" is explosive forward Conlan Sodrosky, and another is stalwart defenseman Brian Kruser, both of whom were recently named alternate captains. Although he slumped a bit late in his freshman season, Sodrosky showed that he produces points in bunches, as his 19 in 16 games included outings of five, three and three. The team made headlines in the offseason by acquiring the services of Penn State football legend Derrick Williams as a strength and conditioning coach, and it's hard to believe that Altoona's training with a former NFL player won't pay dividends in those tight third periods.

Indiana's D2 club will present an obvious challenge as a team in a higher division. Last year, the Crimson Hawks split a pair of games against members of Altoona's conference, College Hockey East, beating Saint Vincent College 4-1 and losing to Pitt-Johnstown by the same score. Ryan Dougherty, who scored 12 times in 14 games a year ago, will lead the IUP offense.

The Ice Lions are counting on Creek Lewis to score - often - from near the blue paint

Men's D2: Penn State vs. IUP (D1)

Second-time first-year Ice Lions head coach Ryan Behnken, although also playing an Indiana team one step up in division, has a set of problems a little bit different from Lantz. After a couple seasons of reaping residual benefits of the Icers' transition to NCAA status in the form of players like Mike Broccolo, Joe Zitarelli and Mac Winchester, those guys have now graduated. Second-team All-American defenseman Brandon Russo, another former Icer, didn't graduate - but he did transfer to Canisius to play for the Golden Griffins' NCAA Division I team. So in a sense, it could be said that 2013-2014 is the first year for whatever the "real" program will be going forward, as PSU attempts to follow up on a pair of dominant seasons ending with nationals bids.

That's not to say that the Ice Lions are barren. Far from it. Junior power forward Creek Lewis remains one of D2's best scorers, and he's complimented quite nicely by Taylor Vincent, an 18-goal man as a freshman last year. Ryan Urban, Franky Reluzco and Fredrik Linge are also names to watch up front, while senior standouts Chris Dinsmore and Max O'Malley will be expected to help a somewhat inexperienced blueline corps grow into the part as the season progresses. Teddy Steinhart is the presumptive starter in goal, although he'll be pushed hard by senior Martin Gudewicz and freshmen Michael DeGaetano and Matthew Erlichman.

Much like the Ice Lions, the Crimson Hawks (who, unlike most teams discussed here, have already started their season and carry a 1-1-0 record, as mentioned at the top of the post) face a few holes to fill. Top scorers Jeff Cupelli and Chase Keibler have departed, leaving Tyler Fitzgerald and Adam Kondraski under pressure to increase their production. Ryan Lord returns in goal, although he struggled a little bit in his first outing of the season, a 5-4 loss to Penn State Berks.

Urban Named to D2 Selects

Junior Ice Lions forward Ryan Urban has been named a member of the ACHA Division 2 Select team that will tour Europe over winter break, the team has announced.

Urban, a 6'0" 170-pounder from Chester Springs, PA, has been one of Penn State's most valuable snipers over the past two seasons. In 2012-2013, he scored 12 times in 20 regular season games, and his 3-on-5 goal off of a misplayed puck at the ACHA National Tournament in March against Weber State was vital to a come-from-behind effort that kept PSU's title hopes alive. As a freshman, he scored ten times, including the opening tally (and technically the winner) in a 9-0 win over Northern Arizona at nationals. Urban's career has coincided with one of the best stretches in team history: 57-9-1 overall (including winning streaks of 25 and 16 games), a pair of appearances at the ACHA National Tournament, a pair of MACHA North regular season championships and one league playoff title.

The ACHA D2 Selects are assembled every other season to participate in an exhibition tour overseas. Further details regarding the 2013-2014 edition - the full roster, the schedule, etc. - have not yet been announced. A handful of invites, defenseman Andrew Dougherty from MACHA rival Rowan and Kyle Garlasco and Richie Pallai Jr. of William Paterson to name three, have trickled out via social media.

In 2011-2012, former PSU captain Jim Recupero was a member of the Selects squad that went 6-0-0 while touring Germany, Slovenia, and Austria. The Pittsburgh-area native was one of the offensive stars of the group, as he scored in each of the first four games, against the ERSC Ottobrunn A-Team, ERC Sonthofen, EHC Waldkraiburg and HK Olimpia Ljubljana.

Ice Lions' Russo Transfers to Canisius (Updated)

UPDATE 9/10 1:15 P.M.: Canisius has released its official 2013-2014 roster with Russo, who will wear number 47, included. He will sit out the first eight games of the season due to issues transferring credits from Penn State.

The original post follows.

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Multiple sources have confirmed to TYT that star Ice Lions defenseman Brandon Russo has transferred to Canisius College, where he will join the school's NCAA Division I program in December once his release restrictions from Penn State have expired.

The move is sort of a full-circle transition for Russo. The Fairfield, CT native and Salisbury School graduate was a 2009 USHL Draft selection of the Youngstown Phantoms spent the 2010-2011 season in that league. In 14 games with the Phantoms, Russo posted a goal and seven assists to be the team's leading scorer among defensemen, but he was shipped to Indiana in a mid-season trade and finished out that campaign with the Ice. In all, he had 24 points (two goals, 22 assists) in 51 games.

Russo was one of Guy Gadowsky's earliest recruits, committing within a couple weeks of the coach's hiring in May, 2011. And, truth be told, he was easily one of the stars of the class, even with four NCAA transfers (Taylor Holstrom, Nate Jensen, Bryce Johnson and Justin Kirchhevel) and Tommy Olczyk also coming in for the final Icers season. Respected programs like Harvard, Nebraska-Omaha, Yale, Union and, yes, Princeton had all kicked the tires in spite of his 5'8" height. College Hockey Recruit Exchange called him the seventh-best prospect east of the Great Lakes in 2008, a list also including notables like former Harvard captain Danny Biega, Notre Dame's Stephen Johns and Stanley Cup champion Brandon Saad.

As a freshman, he didn't disappoint on the ice. In 20 games, he had a line of six goals and nine assists, including a tally in an ACHA National Tournament win over West Virginia while demonstrating the type of high-tempo offensive upside Gadowsky values on the blueline. Officially, he missed many of the early-season games due to injury, unofficially, there were (unconfirmed) rumors of off-ice issues. Whatever the situation, he fell out of favor with the coaching staff and was not carried over to last season's NCAA roster.

Instead, he spent 2012-2013 with the ACHA Division 2 Ice Lions, becoming a vital cog on a team that returned to the D2 national championship tournament despite losing players like captain Jim Recupero and star goalie Tom Badali from the previous year. Russo was better than a point per game player during the regular season (30 in 27), including three power play goals, as Penn State won the MACHA North regular season title and finished as the Southeast Region's number two team. He was recently named a second-team ACHA D2 All-American, essentially confirming that yep, he's still a pretty good hockey player.

He'll join a Canisius program that broke new ground in 2012-2013, despite a 13-18-5 regular season record. The Golden Griffins swept RIT to close the schedule, then stormed through the Atlantic Hockey playoffs, taking down Bentley, Air Force, Niagara and Mercyhurst to secure the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid. A loss to top overall seed Quinnipiac in the East Regional (but a very competitive one, as the Griffs held a 3-1 lead in the third period before allowing three unanswered) ended the run, but still, point made. Not only was it the first NCAA appearance for Canisius, but it was the first time Atlantic Hockey sent two teams to the tournament, with Niagara earning an at-large bid. With star goalie Tony Capobianco, leading scorer Kyle Gibbons, and nearly all others back, expectations are undoubtedly running high for coach Dave Smith's squad.

While Russo will never sit on the home bench at Pegula Ice Arena, in an interesting twist, he'll eventually play at another Terry Pegula-funded venue: Buffalo's HARBORcenter, which will host the Griffs upon its completion in time for the 2014-2015 season.

DIII Manhattanville Adds A Hired Hand

Josh Hand, Penn State's volunteer goaltending coach during the 2012-2013 inaugural NCAA season, has left to become the community relations coordinator for Manhattanville College athletics. He'll also assist with the Valiants' NCAA Division III men's and women's hockey programs.

Hand, a former goalie at NCAA Division III Concordia (MN) (2004-2008) and assistant coach/hockey director at ACHA Division 2 Texas A&M (2008-2010), first came to PSU as an assistant coach with the Icers for the 2010-2011 season. He then played a vital, yet underrated, role in Penn State's transition to NCAA status.

PSU struggled through much of that 2010-2011 season and, after two January losses at Ohio, was on the verge of missing the ACHA National Tournament for the first time ever. However, the team righted itself during the second half of the year, including while head coach Scott Balboni was in Turkey as part of Team USA's World University Games coaching staff in late January and early February. Hand led the Icers in Balboni's absence, a stretch involving a pair of wins and a shootout loss in tough series against Delaware and Rhode Island that more or less ensured the Icers' qualification for nationals.

Crucially, he was the team's recruiting coordinator as well and his work in the spring of 2011 helped lay the foundation for where the Nittany Lions stand today. With Balboni's future uncertain - not to mention his own - Hand spearheaded PSU's early 2011-2012 recruiting efforts that landed players like Jacob Friedman and Peter Sweetland, both of whom are still with the NCAA program.

Guy Gadowsky was hired for the Icers' final season in April, 2011 and shortly after brought his assistants at Princeton, Keith Fisher and Matt Lindsay, with him. Hand was able to stay in Hockey Valley by moving into the head coach role for the ACHA D2 Ice Lions, guiding the team to one of its most successful seasons ever: 30-3-0 (including a 25-game winning streak), the MACHA regular season and playoff titles, and an appearance at the D2 national championships in Fort Myers, FL.

During that season, he also worked with the Icers' goalies, something that continued with the Nittany Lions for the 2012-2013 season. Under his tutelage, goalies Matt Skoff and P.J. Musico blossomed, representing one of PSU's strengths last year.

With Manhattanville, which is located in Purchase, NY, Hand joins a pair of hockey programs that have seen a lot of success despite just 14 years of history. From 2005-2008 the Valiant men appeared in four NCAA Tournaments, including a DIII Frozen Four in 2007, and the team has six ECAC West regular season or playoff championships to its credit. Head coach Arlen Marshall is entering his second year following up a 15-10-3 mark in 2012-2013. The women have been even more successful, with eight total NCAA appearances (seven in a row from 2002-2008) including participation in the 2002, 2003 and 2008 national championship games. David Turco is entering his third year in charge of the program with a 33-18-5 record.

Hockey Valley Homecoming

If tweets from Penn State hockey players arriving on campus for fall semester don't get your blood pumping, you may be an empty, red seat and should probably head over to Columbus. Enjoy.

You may be wondering about Jordin Pardoski at this point - after all, I used her photo at the top. Well, she gets her own category.

Let's get 'er going.