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I C E HOC K EY BIG FINISH heading into off-season Season-ending victory boosts Penn State���s outlook | ith 60 minutes remaining in its inaugural season, the Penn State men���s ice hockey team knew it didn���t have much time left in which to shock the college hockey world. The Nittany Lions certainly used that time well. After suffering a 5-0 loss to No. 16 Wisconsin one day earlier, the Lions finished their season Feb. 25 with a 32 overtime victory against the Badgers. ���On Sunday we didn���t belong on the same ice with them,��� sophomore captain Tommy Olczyk said. ���But we came back and found a way to win. It was enormous for our program.��� Head coach Guy Gadowsky said he liked the fact that the Wisconsin game did not have a Christmas tournament W feel; the points mattered for the Badgers, and his team had to play well to win. Gadowsky gave credit to Bill Downey, Penn State���s director of hockey operations, who was able to move the Wisconsin games to the end of the year so that the Nittany Lions could use the two-game series to assess their progress. With the victory over the Badgers, Penn State finished its season with a 13-14 record. It played five games against Big Ten opponents, finishing 3-2 with victories over Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin. League play will begin next season, with Penn State set to host 10 conference games at the new Pegula Ice Arena, which will open in October. Gadowsky had said going into the season that he was not going to use wins and losses as his sole benchmark for success. ���No one knew if we would get a D-1 win; that wasn���t a given,��� he said. ���The first one was a lot of fun. ���A benchmark I didn���t expect was to go on the road in a Big Ten environment and to come away with not one but two wins.��� Even though the team is not competing in the postseason, it is able to continue practicing for the duration of the NCAA tournament. Some practices will be overseen by the captains because the coaches will be on the road recruiting. ���I think when coaches aren���t there, there is a tendency to take it a little easier and whatnot, but it starts with leaders on the team,��� Olczyk said. ���Not Arena set to open in October What���s next for the Penn State ice hockey program now that its inaugural Division I season is in the books? Another momentous step forward: the opening of the Pegula Ice Arena. The arena will open its doors Oct. 11 when the Nittany Lions begin the 2013-14 season against Army. A raucous atmosphere is pretty much assured, as the opening is set to take place on Homecoming weekend. The Pegula Ice Arena will have 6,000 seats and a 1,000-seat student section that will be right on top of the opposing goalie for two periods each game. The seating in the student section is as steep as building codes allow, a facet of the design that is intended to amplify the noise behind the goalie and enhance Penn State���s home-ice advantage. Freshman forward David Glen said he���s eager to see just how loud the place gets. ���Pegula provides a great atmosphere with a college sport feel,��� he said. With the Big Ten set to begin hockey competition next season, the Nittany Lions will be welcoming some high-profile opponents to their new $90 million arena. The league���s hockey-playing members are Wisconsin, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Penn State. The Lions went 3-2 against Big Ten opponents this past season. Having defeated Ohio State in Pittsburgh and split with Michigan State and Wisconsin on the road, they are optimistic about their future in the new league. Said coach Guy Gadowsky, ���You get a lot of confidence by going into the Munn Ice Arena or the Kohl Center and coming out with a win.��� ��� M.F. COMING TOGETHER The Pegula Ice Arena will be ready for Penn State���s opener against Army.

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