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students and the rest of the fan base? There are so many things I'm looking forward to seeing this year. The first game in the building, the first game in the Big Ten – all of that I can't wait for. But honestly, the one thing I'm looking forward to seeing the most is the atmosphere generated by the student section. I think it just has so much potential to be a great atmosphere, one of the best in college hockey. I can honestly say that more than anything, I'm looking forward to seeing how much fun those students have coming to our games. That's what it's all about, and that's what I'm looking forward to more than anything this season. Fans will get to see the arena soon, but can you talk about some of the other amenities that you have behind the scenes? You have your own weight room, plus another sheet of ice to practice on, correct? This facility is great for our studentathletes. We have study areas built in, film areas for when they have their schoolwork completed. They have everything they need. But what this facility really is, is a great facility for the entire community, and I appreciate that more than anyone. I have kids who play hockey, and over the short time that I've been here, basically every youth group or any group that uses the facility has approached me about when they can get some more ice time. I know Mr. Pegula really wanted this to be an arena for the entire community, not just the men's and women's programs. We're essentially doubling the ice here in State College, and that's great for everyone. I think the closest facility is 45 minutes away. Now, of course, as a program we need ice, the figure skaters need ice, the students need ice, the oldtimers need ice, the youth need ice. There are so many groups in this town that want more ice time, and that's what's great about the Pegula center, as we now have two ice sheets. But as far as our student-athletes are concerned, it's a beautiful arena, and we have cutting-edge equipment, but I think the most important factor is that it's right in the heart of campus. It's going to be very convenient having everything under one roof. Whether they need medical treatment, want to work out in the weight room, study film or work on their skills, everything they need is under one roof. Everything they need to better themselves, as athletes and students, is all right here at the Pegula center. Obviously it doesn't have much history yet, but where does it rank compared to some other Big Ten facilities? Is there a case to be made that it's the best facility in the Big Ten? By no means am I going to say we're the best. There are so many great facilities in college hockey, but ours is right up there. I think that when you add our students in it, that's what will put it over the top. I think that's what is going to define the Pegula Center – the atmosphere that we create inside there. Switching gears, can you talk about what hockey recruiting is like? Are you watching prospective players two, three years in advance? Are you going up to Canada often? I imagine there's a lot of travel. There are some NCAA rules that are a little different in hockey compared to a sport like football. For one, three of us are allowed to recruit, so Coach [Keith] Fisher and Coach [Matt] Lindsay travel a ton. I do as well, but not nearly as much as they do. So it really is a busy schedule. We don't have any set periods where we have to take a break, because we're not only competing against other colleges, we're competing against junior hockey teams in Canada. There really aren't any breaks, and that makes the travel really extensive. Also, because of how prevalent junior hockey has become in Canada, oftentimes, even though we are making commitments to players who are very young, they won't come here until a few years later because they want to experience junior hockey. So that's another thing that is a little different as well. Can you explain how one of your players can be drafted yet still play collegiately? And how important is that for your program from a publicity perspective? I think that rule just fits our model, because of how prevalent junior hockey is. The average age of a freshman coming into Division I hockey is actually over 20 years old, because of playing junior hockey. Because these guys are getting drafted at 18, 19 years old, they would never get to go to college if they had to immediately report to the team that drafted them and their minor league affiliates. So it just fits our model, it's the way things have always been. But no doubt about it, having a few guys in our program already who have been drafted, it's very important. Those guys still have to put in the work, still have a lot to improve on, but we're very happy to have those kinds of players on our roster already. For years, Penn State fans have been dreaming of an outdoor game in Beaver Stadium between the Flyers and Penguins. If an event like that did come to town, what kind of a recruiting tool would it potentially be for the Penn State program? I think a game like that would be a great thing for not just hockey, but for Pennsylvania, and therefore a great thing for Penn State. It would take a place like Penn State to pull that off, that's for sure, so I think it would be great publicity for us. I'd love for that to take place, and it would be a success, too. Everyone who lives in Pennsylvania knows how great of a hockey state this is. When those two teams are playing, you see all the jerseys around campus. Then, if you try to go out to eat certain nights in this town and those teams are playing, restaurants are packed and you can't even get in. So we here [in Pennsylvania] already know how great of a hockey state this is, but an event like that would allow everyone to see how great of a state this is, and that would only help Penn State as a university and our hockey program.

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