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we are all extremely encouraged by how far we came last year. Have team goals been established for the upcoming season? The coaching staff has goals that we try to achieve for sure. Some of those goals aren't relayed to the team. It is re- ally important where we are at right now to really focus on the process. We have a long way to go, and if you just look at end results, sometimes you miss a lot of steps along the way. Patrick Koudys is the new captain, while Nate Jensen and David Glen are back in their roles as assistant captains. How will this affect the team? Koudys was a unanimous selection for captain; there was no question from the team. He deserved it by the way he plays. He gives the team such confi- dence but also how he is off the ice. He is an engineering major, incredibly in- telligent, incredibly positive. You want to be around him. If you're having a bad day, you want to go see him; if you're having a good day, you want to be around him. He's just one of those guys you want to be around. Glen and Jensen are coming back as assistant captains. The team selected them, and it is very well deserved. I think it's like with Tom- my [Olczyk], you want to establish the fact that you don't have to have a letter to be a leader. Obviously, he is an excel- lent and strong leader, and I think this is a good way to reinforce that you don't need a letter to be a leader on the team. I am hoping that is the way everybody feels – freshmen included. With David and Nate, I think they were picked for different reasons. If you get into a tough, tough battle, Glen is the first guy you want to see going over to the boards. That is just the way it is, and I think that's sort of what the team sees. With Jensen, he is very skilled, and when he is on, he gives you so much confidence. His strengths on the ice re- ally show through. When he is on, you can see we are a different team and I think that is where he gets his votes. You only graduated one player. You have 18 of the top scorers and the en- tire goalie contingent returning. What does that mean as you look to continue putting the building blocks in place? I think it helps. We have said all along this summer, if we can continue to im- prove, there is a really exciting future. I think the fact that we only lost one graduate [Mike McDonagh] really helps that. But he was a heck of a guy, and that is a big loss. Any time you lose a person like that, it hurts the team. But, at the same time, much of our scoring has returned. We have a big defensive core returning and all three goaltenders. If we can continue on the same path, I think the future is exciting. Who will be in goal to start the sea- son? I think is very obvious that Matt Skoff is the choice. I think all three goal- tenders last year had an opportunity to show what they can do to get results. Matt Skoff ended up for whatever rea- son having all of our wins, best numbers in save percentage, best numbers in terms of goals against. He really showed that he has a tremendous work ethic and commitment to the team, and the team really plays well for him. He is an excellent teammate and has the respect of everyone. He has really earned [the starting position]. He is going to be giv- en that opportunity. You have two Europe-based players. What does that mean for recruiting and bringing in a whole new potential fan base? Scott Conway I know his citizenship is U.K.; he actually is Canadian but grew up in Florida and U.K. He is a bit of a different bird. But he really excelled here in North America, so I sort of con- sider him a product of North American hockey. Erik Autio is as Finnish as they come. I'm really excited to see what he can do. For anybody to wear a letter for a national team speaks lot [for his] tal- ent and character. That is a great acco- lade. So we are very excited to see what he brings here. We don't know. We haven't been able to practice with them, so we can't tell how the transi- tion will be, but we are all very excited to find out. What does it mean to be able to play in four NHL arenas and also travel to Alaska this season? It is a tremendous experience, and we have talked about mental toughness and how you end up playing 60 minutes. Alaska is a great place to play. They are very passionate about hockey and they want to beat you; it's a tough place to play. Madison Square Garden – to be able to handle all that goes on there is going to be great experience in building mental toughness. Any time you get to play in an NHL building – we are very lucky to again play in [the] Consol [En- ergy Center in Pittsburgh], very lucky again to play in [the] Wells Fargo [Cen- ter in Philadelphia]. Those experiences will add to our tool box in terms of being able to handle adversity. I think it is tremendous. When we finally get to Hockeytown in Joe Louis Arena [in De- troit], we will have a lot of experiences that should make us more comfortable, so we are very, very fortunate. What are you most looking forward to when you get back into Pegula? All of the "firsts" are over with, so now it is all about hockey. What is the most exciting part of the season? It's the same as what was probably the most exciting part last year – to see the student body. I love it. It is so fun and so motivating, and I think the players love it so much. To me, it is really why we are all here at Penn State. A big, big reason why we are all here – because of the passion and support of the student body and the atmosphere it creates in our arena. I love it. I really look forward to that every game we have. I can't wait to see the student body. They are so great. They dress up, they dance. It's so much fun. I really, really enjoy it. No matter

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