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

Vaughan to Play Second WUG for Team USA

USA Hockey announced Wednesday that senior Women's Ice Hockey Club goaltender Katie Vaughan will play for Team USA at the upcoming Winter World University Games, which will be held December 10th through 21st in Trentino, Italy.

She was one of 17 named to what USA Hockey is calling a "preliminary roster," with more players to be added later this month.

Last season, en route to second-team All-ACHA Tournament and ACHA All-American honorable mention honors, Vaughan posted sparkling stats: an 8-4-0 record with a 1.40 goals against average, a 0.943 save percentage, and a shutout in helping to lead Penn State to the ACHA Division 2 national championship game. She spent her first two years at PSU with the ACHA Division 1 Lady Icers program, where she notably backstopped the team's 3-2 overtime upset of NCAA Division I Sacred Heart on January 14th, 2012. So far in 2013-2014, she has a perfect stat line, thanks to two shutout periods against Liberty in September 27th's season opener.

Vaughan also played for Team USA at the 2011 World University Games in Erzurum, Turkey, the first time USA Hockey sent a women's team to the tournament. Alongside fellow Lady Icers Heather Rossi, Lindsay Reihl and Denise Rohlik, she went 2-1-0 in four games, including a 1.81 goals against average and a shutout to help the Americans to fourth place. Vaughan is one of just two returning members of that team, as she's joined by Robert Morris (IL) forward Ramey Weaver in that category.

Team USA, it was previously announced, will be led by long-time Penn State hockey coach Mo Stroemel, who has served as director of operations for the NCAA women's team, as both an assistant and a head coach with the Lady Icers and the ACHA Men's Division 2 Ice Lions, and also as an assistant with the ACHA Men's Division 1 Icers. He was the head coach of the 2011 U.S. World University Games entry as well. Stroemel will be assisted by Rob Blackburn and Kristen Wright, the head coaches at Michigan and Colorado, respectively.

There are other Penn State connections to the WUG as well. Massachusetts defender Paige Harrington, who played for the Lady Icers in 2011-2012 before transferring, is on the women's preliminary roster. Former Icers head (2006-2011) and assistant (1997-1999, 2001-2006) coach Scott Balboni will lead the men's team at the tournament.

Here is the schedule Stroemel, Vaughan, Harrington and the U.S. women's team face, with all games being played in a 1,672-seat rink in Pergine Valsugana, a municipality within the province of Trentino in northern Italy. All times are Eastern.

December 10th vs. Russia, 10:00 a.m.
December 12th vs. Great Britain, 6:00 a.m.
December 13th vs. Japan, 2:00 p.m.
December 15th vs. Canada, 2:00 p.m.
December 16th vs. Spain, 2:00 p.m.
December 18th vs. Semifinals, TBD
December 20th vs. Championship/Third Place, TBD

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 WD2: Penn State 7 vs. Liberty 0

Head coach Pat Fung and the team observe the early stages of the third period

Following Friday night's dominating 6-0 win over Liberty to open the 2013-14 season, some people may have thought that there was no way a team could issue a more coldly-efficient beating.

Those people, should they exist, were wrong.

Jackie Saideh - while playing forward - and Devon Fisk each recorded hat tricks, and Anna Marcus scored her first Penn State goal as the Women's Ice Hockey Club rolled Liberty 7-0 Saturday evening in Altoona. PSU is now 2-0 on the young season despite the absences of key regulars Allie Rothman and Elizabeth Denis.

Measuring the WIHC's performance may best be done through the shot count: 82-3, a margin that topped even Friday night's 72-4.

Still goals, not just shots, are needed to win games. Fortunately, Penn State got plenty of those too.

Saideh got things going 2:54 into the game by pouncing on a muffed clearing attempt after linemate Lucy Yeatman worked the puck to the front. Her second goal, the 3-0 tally, came from a nice Tara Soukup pinch at the left point that kept the play alive. Yeatman then wound up with the puck on the opposite side and found Saideh in the middle, where a second attempt found twine.

Fisk traded goals with the Massachusetts native in that first period, collecting the game's second score 4:32 in. Mary Kate Tonetti won a battle on the left-wing wall and left it for Fisk, who did the rest by dangling to the front, including around both Flames defenders, and burying. She then made the score 4-0 into the first intermission after Carly Szyszko threw a quick backhanded pass into the slot where both she and Geneva Wagoner were waiting, with the former eventually doing the honors after an earned 50-50 puck.

The only goal of the second period came off the stick of Marcus. She took a feed from Saideh in the neutral zone and swooped in on Liberty goalie Leanne Niemi, faking a shot before shifting to the backhand and sliding it home.

Fisk and Saideh both polished off the win by completing their three-goal outings in the final period. Saideh went first, cashing in yet another loose puck after Kim Badorrek's shot was knocked down in front. Fisk's effort was similar, as she finished a partially deflected Wagoner shot.

Sarah Eisenhut played the entire game in goal and earned her first shutout of the season.

PSU will be off next week before heading to the Rostraver Ice Garden in Belle Vernon, PA on October 11th and 12th to take on 2013 ACHA National Tournament participant California in the first College Hockey East games of the season.

Box Score

---

First Period
Scoring
1. Penn State, Jackie Saideh (unassisted), 2:54; 2. Penn State, Devon Fisk (Mary Kate Tonetti), 4:32; 3. Penn State, Jackie Saideh (Lucy Yeatman), 11:17; 4. Penn State, Devon Fisk (Geneva Wagoner, Carly Szyszko), 12:32.
Penalties
None.
Second Period
Scoring
5. Penn State, Anna Marcus (Jackie Saideh), 8:33.
Penalties
None.
Third Period
Scoring
6. Penn State, Jackie Saideh (Anna Marcus), 5:28; 7. Penn State, Devon Fisk (Geneva Wagoner), 10:17.
Penalties
None.
Goaltending
Penn State: Sarah Eisenhut: W, 3 saves/3 shots. Liberty: Leanne Niemi: L, 75 saves/82 shots.

ACHA WD2: Penn State 6 vs. Liberty 0

Geneva Wagoner scored twice in her first game at Penn State

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Highlights

---

Box Score

---

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

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.

Fisk Rejoins Women's Ice Hockey Club

Less than a week ago, the Women's Ice Hockey Club had a large problem. Despite a robust group of returning players for this season, the team faced the prospect of having to replace the offensive production of Devon Fisk and Mandy Mortach, 2012-2013's two leading scorers, both of whom elected to sit out as sophomores. An outstanding recruiting class offered promise, but it had yet to be seen if that promise would translate to results.

Today, before playing a single game, the issue is half resolved: Fisk has reversed course and will play after all.

Here's the release from the WIHC.

---

Sophomore forward Devon Fisk, the Penn State Women's Ice Hockey Club's leading scorer in 2012-13, has announced that she will return to the squad this season after initially electing to sit out.

In addition to her team highs of 15 goals and 21 points in her rookie year, Fisk boasted three game-winning goals, including one against Alaska at the ACHA National Tournament in which the product of the West Chester Quakers program singlehandedly ripped the puck away on the backcheck before coming in alone to bury. The righty was also credited with the winner in Penn State's 2-1 victory over eventual national champion West Chester on January 26th. She closed the campaign with a trio of awards: team co-rookie of the year, ACHA All-American honorable mention and ACHA All-Tournament first team.

"Fisk is an athletic dynamo who creates ice vertically with her speed, strength and goal scoring ability," head coach Patrick Fung said. "Players she couldn't beat wide with speed, she would create havoc by bulling her way to the net. She also made a strong commitment to the defensive side of the game as the season progressed and I anticipate she will be a tough matchup for many teams as her career progresses."

Fisk and the rest of the team open up in just 16 days - on September 27th at 10:15 p.m. - against Liberty in the Pegula Ice Arena's Community Rink, the first intercollegiate hockey game in the history of Penn State's glittering new $90 million facility. The next day, the WIHC will head down I-99 for a rematch with the Flames in Altoona, PA's Galactic Ice Arena at 6:30 p.m. Conference play in the inaugural season of College Hockey East (which includes PSU, West Chester, Delaware and California) begins on October 11th and 12th at Cal, with the league's playoffs on February 22nd and 23rd in York, PA. The 2014 ACHA National Tournament is scheduled for March 13th through 16th in Newark, DE.

For the latest on the WIHC throughout the drive for the 2014 national championship, be sure to follow the team on both Twitter (@psuwihc) and Facebook (facebook.com/psuwihc).

WIHC Announces Second Roster

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.