Blue White Illustrated

ICE HOCKEY Nittany Lions surge to impressive start When Penn State began its first Division I ice hockey season, ex- pectations were muted, tempered by the expectation that it would take time to build a competitive team. Certainly, few people ex- pected this. Through mid-November, the Nittany Lions have tallied a 6-3 record, including a 4-1 road record. What's more, two of Penn State's victories have been against opponents that have qualified for the NCAA tourna- ment at least once since 2010. After losing two of its first three games, Penn State re- bounded with a 3-2 victory over the Rochester Institute of Tech- nology on Oct. 20. In 2010, RIT finished as one of the top four teams in the nation, but this sea- son it's struggling at 2-6-1. The Lions' most impressive vic- Tim Owen university is wary of launching with such a high-profile event. "We're not going to use an NHL game for the flush test," Battista said. "Plus, if we were going to host a pro hockey team, it would probably be the Buffalo Sabres." The Sabres, of course, are owned by Terry Pegula, who with his wife, Kim, donated $102 million to fund the are- na's development. During a sneak- peek walk-through of the construc- tion site on Oct. 27, Battista paused nearly a dozen times to highlight amenities that are being installed specifically at Pegula's request. The list includes a café that will serve soup, sandwiches and coffee and will overlook the public skating rink. The regulation-sized rink is one of two that the building will house (the other is the Division I playing surface), and it will be open for public use for up to 18 hours a day, 360 days a year. Pegula also requested that the seat- ing in the student section be as steep as building codes would allow. Said Battista, "Mr. Pegula wanted the op- posing goalie to feel like he was inside tory to date came on Nov. 10 against Air Force, which qualified for the past two NCAA tourna- ments. After falling to the Fal- cons on the first night of the two-game series, Penn State re- bounded sharply, getting goals from five players in a 5-1 victory. Head coach Guy Gadowsky called the victory "a big step" for the program. "I'm excited right now," he said. "Air Force is a great pro- gram, and we played right up there with them." Penn State went into its series against Union on Nov. 24-25 hav- ing won six of its past eight con- tests. Union, which appeared in last season's NCAA Frozen Four, was 6-2-1 as of this writing. While the men have gotten off to a hot start, the Penn State women have struggled to find similar success. After winning their debut against Vermont on Oct. 6, the Nittany Lions lost the next four in a row. As of this writing they held an overall record of 4-7-1. a garbage can with a little kid bang- ing against the sides with a hammer." Pegula also asked that each conces- sion stand be named using ice hock- ey terminology, so look for them to have names like Power Play and Zam- boni. For now, the men's and women's ice hockey teams are playing in the nearby Greenberg Ice Pavilion, which previously served as home to the Icers club team. But this will be the varsity teams' first and only sea- son in the facility, which has a seat- ing capacity of only about 1,300. Battista said no decision has been made concerning the future of the Ice Pavilion, but he said the rink will not remain. –TIM OWEN

• Cover