The View From the Booth

Fitting Finale

2012-01-29T15:22:00.003-05:00

The final games in the historic rivalry between the Icers and the Ohio Bobcats could not have been better.

Obviously, the two victories by the Icers at the raucous Bird Arena was the capper that the team and its fans wanted. There would be no "Saturday Swoon" by Penn State.

The Icers came out on fire and set the tone in the first thirty seconds. Despite going down 1-0 in the third minute, Penn State took a 2-1 lead to the locker room on goals by George Saad and Peter Sweetland. Peter's goal was his first in an Icers' uniform and would stand as the eventual game winner.

George added the insurance marker on a second-period breakaway, while Justin Kirchhevel put the final nail in the coffin in the third, finishing another great three-way passing play from Tommy Olczyk and Taylor Holstrom.

So the Icers sweep the season series for just the second time in the long history between these two programs. That is a testament to just how intense the rivalry has become over the years.

And so it comes to an end, unless the Icers and Bobcats meet in the National Tournament. It's been an honor to have been a part of the rivalry for the past decades, seeing the highs and lows of the battles from a broadcaster's perspective.

Thanks so much to all of the players that have made the rivalry what it is, and for making my job so enjoyable (despite the climb into the Bird broadcast booth). Speaking of that, all joking aside, thanks to Dan Morris and Marcus Marazon before him, for providing us with the perfect perch to make the calls since 2002.

We will miss it all and wish OU nothing but the best in the future. Okay, maybe starting in the fall!

Holey Schnikie!

2012-01-28T07:54:00.008-05:00

With apologies for "borrowing" the signature phrase of ESPN hockey fan John Buccigross, I couldn't think of a better way to describe Friday's 2-1 come-from-behind victory by Penn State over the Ohio Bobcats after Rodney Martin beat me to what I planned to use!

Well played, sir!

Two third period goals by Taylor Holstrom ("Holey" to his teammates) overcame Zack Barbis' first period tally for the Bobcats. The Icers won their 20th of the season and in doing so handed OU their first home loss of the year.

Simply put, the first of the final two games at the Bird Arena lived up to every expectation. Simply put, it was a war from the opening faceoff.

The Bobcats, energized by Gang Green and the majority of the sold-out crowd at the Bird, exploded out of the gate and took runs at anyone in a blue sweater. The Icers responded in kind, leading to a steady parade to the penalty box in the first 20 minutes.

The Icers dominated play in the middle frame as the penalty parade continued. The teams settled down to solid end-to-end hockey in the third, with just four penalties called in the final 20 minutes.

The good news is that the Icers went 8-8 on the penalty kill. The bad news is that the Icers were 0-8 on the power play. Many of the penalties (both ways) were the after the whistle calls that frustrate coaches, and some of the Icers were guilty of letting the Bobcats get under their skin.

Both teams had their chances early on, and both teams were denied goals by the netminders' best friend - the goal post. Brett Agnew for OU and Eric Steinour were robbed by the red pipes in the first period.

The battle included the goaltenders. OU's Fedor Dushkin was spectacular, stopping 26 shots to earn third star honors. Meanwhile, P. J. Musico was named second star as he went toe-to-toe with the Rovno, Ukraine native, stopping 18 Bobcats blasts to record his 10th win of the season.

Vince Chandler and I talked about the rivalry between these storied programs and what it has meant to the ACHA. As I put it, two teams that have a "respectful" hate for each other.

That respect was displayed by the member of Gang Green who paid tribute to Coach Paterno before the game. On behalf of the Penn State family, thank you for your support.

So, now it comes down to one more battle at this venerable bandbox and one more climb into our broadcast booth. One more night that will see both teams leaving it all on the ice and one more night where I expect to be drained by the time we sign off.

And then -- one more long bus ride back to Hockey Valley. Oh well, three out of four ain't bad! Game time can't come soon enough.

One Last Trip to the Bird

2012-01-24T21:00:00.003-05:00

The final season for the Penn State Icers is rapidly drawing towards the finish line, and this weekend marks one of the milestones of this last campaign in the ACHA.

The Icers will battle the Ohio Bobcats and their seventh man at the funky bandbox that is the Bird Arena. There is no doubt that the Penn State - OU rivalry is the biggest and baddest in Division 1, despite what others might say.

Simply put, these two teams have a good, respective hate for each other that goes back to the days of 5 cent beers and chicken-wire fencing instead of glass above the boards at the Bird. Just ask any of the old Icers about their memories - good and bad - about playing in Athens.

For me, it will be one last weekend to climb the scaffold behind the Icers bench to call the action from the best "seat" in the house. As shaky as the perch can be at times, it was a great place to call the Icers' 5-0 whitewash of the Bobcats in the 2003 National Championship game - the last of the four straight for the "Class of Champions".

Winning at the Bird is not easy. The Icers since 1990 have a record of 10-13-3-3 on the ice surface that is 15 feet shorter than a regulation-size rink. Bobcats head coach Dan Morris always has a game plan that can frustrate the best teams, including Penn State.

The seventh man, especially Gang Green, can be intimidating. The noise is amplified by the low ceiling and tight confines of the arena. Sometimes in the past some in the crowd stepped over the line, but most have toned down their act in recent years. They are still "rabid", but in a good way.

One Icers player who is well aware of the history between the Bobcats and Icers is senior Kurt Collins.

The State College native grew up watching the Icers and OU, and has been a key member of the Icers in their battles against the Bobcats over the past four years.

Kurt and his fellow seniors want nothing more than another sweep in their final meetings with their long-time foe.

Should be a fun weekend!

Sadness in Happy Valley

2012-01-23T18:41:00.003-05:00

"A man is more than his failings." -- Rick Reilly, Sports Illustrated

It is entirely appropros that Monday dawned with a chill rain from low-hanging clouds that have blanketed Happy Valley. For there is no joy in this community following the passing of Coach Paterno on Sunday.

No matter how you feel about him after the events of the past couple of months, there is no denying that JoePa touched thousands of people and, in some way, made their lives better. Even those of us who are not alumni, referring to Barb and myself, understand what the Paternos have meant to this school, this community and beyond.

I don't profess to "know Joe", even after sitting through many of his press conferences. I can admit to almost running him down with my car while he was out for his daily walk. That happened a week or two after Barb and I arrived here from Colorado Springs in early 1999.

Joe was one of the main reasons that I took the job that brought us to Happy Valley and eventually the Icers. I was a fan of Penn State football going back to the win over Miami at the 1987 Fiesta Bowl, when fellow Canuck Pete Giftopoulos sealed the national championship with his interception.

One person that did know JoePa and what he meant to the Icers is Joe Battista. JoeBa and JoePa were two of a kind, beyond their Italian heritage. More than the passion for coaching their respective sports, they shared a passion to make the boys who played under them better men who learned to succeed in life beyond football and hockey.

On Friday, we saw the unbridled joy on Joe's face while we spoke during the first intermission, just hours after the Board of Trustees had approved the construction of the Pegula Ice Arena.

The joy is dimmed today with the knowledge that a supporter of Penn State hockey will be missing on the opening night in 2013. Missing in person perhaps, but not in spirit.

Rest in Peace, Coach

2012-01-22T10:23:00.003-05:00

Season Sweep

2012-01-18T12:39:00.006-05:00

The Icers returned to the Greenberg Ice Pavilion last weekend for the first home series of 2012 and came away with a sweep of the Rhode Island Rams.

The two wins couldn't have been more different, with a solid 9-3 romp on Friday in which seven players scored followed by a sloppy 2-1 victory - another of the "Saturday Swoon" games that we have seen too often in the past.

In addition to giving Penn State a season sweep in the final year of competition against the Rams, the two wins gives the Icers a 17-3-1 record and a 3-1-1 mark in the first five games of the second semester. Whether or not that's good enough to keep the Icers at #1 when the new ACHA poll is released on Friday remains to be seen.

Next up for the Icers - the West Virginia Mountaineers (13-12-0). WVU comes to Hockey Valley after edging Pitt 2-1 in a game played in Charleston, WV on Martin Luther King Day and a 14-1 thumping of Lehigh two days earlier.

Paul Daley recorded his 100th career point, assisting on Dan Meiselman's opening goal in Friday's win. Gunner was happy to reach the milestone in front of his family. Be sure to check out this great story by Daily Collegian writer Christine Newby about proud hockey dad "Big Paul" Daley Sr.

A note for those of you wanting to see the Oklahoma game. After finally getting my home phone and internet service repaired and running "up to speed", I have uploaded the second and third periods to our UStream channel.

Unfortunately, the first period video was corrupted and I couldn't upload it. With it being a scoreless tie after 20 minutes, I'll just say you didn't miss anything!

Weekend Split

2012-01-07T23:19:00.003-05:00

The Icers toppled the Sooner Schooner on Saturday and in doing so righted their own ship. The 3-0 victory over the other OU ended the two-game skid and gave Penn State a weekend split after Friday's 3-2 shootout loss to Central Oklahoma.

Saturday's matinee with the Sooners was a tight affair until Dan Meiselman opened the scoring with his fourth goal of the season at 4:41 of the second period.

Meiselman added his second of the game at 3:27 of the third (even though the goal was credited to Chris Cerutti).

Paul Daley assisted on both goals, giving the senior 99 career points.

Just two minutes later, Taylor Holstrom notched his first power play goal of the season and his 8th overall.

The Sooners had no answer for Matt Madrazo, who stopped all 22 OU shots to pick up the win and his second shutout of the season.

To all those who had planned on watching on UStream, we had a connection to the wifi at the Blazers Ice Centre, but for some reason I could not get a connection to the internet.

To make matters worse, our cell feed to 3WZ-FM in State College was interrupted by a weak cell signal in the arena. I wound up having to disconnect the cell phone from our mixing equipment and hold it like a microphone. During the final two periods I tucked the phone under the earpiece of my headset.

To say the least, it was an awkward situation, but at least the call got back home and Barb was able to route it from her laptop to our desktop computer and then to UStream!

I can't tell you how nice it will be to be back in the comfortable confines of the Greenberg next weekend when Rhode Island comes to town.

The team and staff enjoyed a post-game dinner with Icers Hall of Fame goalie John Davis. John drove up from his home in Dallas to catch the game and catch up with Coach Gadowsky and the squad.

John wasn't the only Penn State fan this weekend, with lots of folks decked out in blue and white at both games in the Heartland.

I'm not looking forward to an early morning on Sunday with a return flight to Philadelphia via St. Louis and then the bus ride back to Hockey Valley. We should be back just in time to see the Broncos finish off the Steelers.

Getting Caught Up

2012-01-06T16:56:00.013-05:00

Since we walked out of Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday night, it has been a day of travel and the better part of today trying to find a way to make a video webcast happen for tonight's game against Central Oklahoma. The former went well. The latter - not so much.

With no internet access available at the Arctic Edge Arena, I looked into a number of options, none of which would allow us to bring you a good video stream. So - we will record the video while providing an old-style radio webcast on UStream. Barb will be doing her Executive Producer thing at home to get the audio to your computer.

Once we are back at the hotel, I will try to upload the recording to UStream so anyone who wants to watch tonight's game can do so at their leisure.

Now, on to the Neumann game. With the exception of the outcome, it was everything that we hoped it would be. Even though all the trappings of the NHL's Winter Classic had been removed from Citizens Bank Park, just being there and being a part of it was something all of us will cherish.

While Barb and I were disappointed that we weren't broadcasting in the elements, it actually worked to our benefit. The setup in the visitor's TV booth afforded us access to some lighting and other perks that we don't usually have. We opened windows to bring some of the outside inside, while not needing to dive into the big bag of cold weather gear.

There are so many to thank for all the work they put into the night, especially Ed and his fellow press box attendants, Dave the "fixit" guy who made sure all of our technical issues were resolved, and most of all to Bill Downey and Joe Sheridan for all of the work they did just to make it happen.

Lastly, Barb and I want to thank our good friend Steve Zodtner for joining me for one last go-round as "Foster and Howie" (pardon the Hockey Night in Canada reference).

Here's the video highlights from the night.

There are tons o' pictures and videos of the night floating around the internet. It may be overkill, but here a a few more taken by Howie and the Executive Producer.

Arriving at the park as dusk settles in.

Our first view from the booth.

Curley, Larry and Moe

Tebowing?

Howie and Foster

The nerve center of Icers webcasts

Rodman relaxes before debuting on the big stage (where he knocked it out of the park!)

Game Face (thanks Steve for showing the flag)

The walk from the dugout

Let's get it started!

As Vince Chandler put it, a little snow to put a bow on a great night!

Chomping at the Bit

2012-01-02T08:30:00.005-05:00

The Icers returned to business on New Year's Day, three weeks and a day since wrapping up the first semester with a 4-2 win over Liberty.

Assistant Coach Matt Lindsay led the drills as the guy hit the ice at the Greenberg with just three days to prepare before heading outdoors to face Neumann U. at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The Knights are the number 11 8 (as of Jan. 2 poll) team in NCAA Div. III and will likely be the Icer's toughest test of the season.

Neumann heads to CBP fresh off of a championship at the Pathfinder Bank Oswego Hockey Classic. The Knights blanked the host Lakers (currently #2 in D-III) 3-0 in Saturday's title tilt, the first time Oswego has been shut out since January 2002.

The Knights, now 9-3-0 heading into the first-ever meeting with Penn State, have become a D-III powerhouse under head coach Dominick Dawes. In just his fourth season as head coach, Dawes is already the winningest coach in Knights' history. The winning began early, with Dawes leading the team to the 2009 NCAA Division III championship, the first in school history.

Dawes' current squad is led by forwards Jordan Zalba (Jr., Victoria, B.C.) and Oswego tournament MVP Cory Park (Sr., Mississauga, Ont.).

Goaltending wins championships, and Neumann is solid between the pipes. Ross MacKinnon (Sr., Manchester, CT) was the 2009 Frozen Four MVP in his freshman season and was in net in Saturday's win over Oswego. Matt Tendler (Sr., Warminster, PA) is one of three Philly-area Knights players.

Tendler was the victor in Neumann's 5-3 win over Hamline in the opener of the Oswego tournament. If I was a betting man, I would lay odds on Coach Dawes giving Tendler the start on Wednesday.

Our own Philadelphia guys are going to enjoy playing in their own backyard. Among them is senior defenseman Dan Loucks, who has teamed with fellow Phillyite (Phillyan?) Rich O'Brien to form a formidable shut-down combo.

By the way, it looks like I will get my wish for hockey weather. The National Weather Service is forecasting a slight chance of snow and below-freezing temperatures for Wednesday night.

Musings on Outdoor Ice - Circa 1971

2011-12-30T13:14:00.006-05:00

We are just days away from 2012 and the Icers' return to action under the bright lights at Citizens Bank Park. Before heading off to visit my family over Christmas, I got together with senior Paul Daley to get his perspective on playing outdoors, and added reminiscences of JoeBa and yours truly about our experiences on frozen ponds.

I also got in touch with Dr. Larry Hendry, the first coach of the Icers, and asked him to provide a few words on playing "au naturel" back in the day.

Dr. Larry provided more than a few words. He found the time during a hectic Christmas that, as he put it, was "a challenge with three of the grandkids at 20 months to 3 years old. Our garbage disposal and dishwasher went out making for more fun. All in all, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Larry, on behalf of all of us in the Icers family, thank you so much, not only for what you have so eqolquently written, but for what you and the Icers pioneers did to set the stage for what we enjoy today.

Happy New Year everyone, we'll see you in Philly!

In the fall of 1971, some 200 ice hockey enthusiasts joined the Penn State Hockey Club and gathered together to play for the first time on campus since the early 1940’s. Most players had grown up skating outdoors on frozen ponds, lakes and rivers, given that indoor rinks were relatively scarce in North America.

The opportunity to play for the first time at Penn State on artificial ice was a dream come true when the University renovated a field house that was also shared with the track and baseball teams. Historically, numerous valiant efforts that had been made to establish hockey as a sport - including flooding the campus tennis courts - failed largely due to variable weather conditions.

The composition of the club was eclectic as undergraduates, grad students, staff and faculty were all welcome to participate. The club was organized such that there were multiple intramural teams and “A” (aka varsity) and “B” (aka junior varsity) squads. Although few knew each other, a strong bond quickly formed between club members as they shared stories about their formative years on the ice.

Everyone pitched in at every level from all night ice painting (five times during the season) to collecting dues and donations at a time when the club had virtually no resources. A high level of academic excellence was evident as students practiced in the evening with internationally known Professors who had lectured them earlier in the day. One line was composed of a freshman engineering student at center flanked by a Ph.D. student in Earth and Mineral sciences at right wing and a Professor of Chemistry at left wing.

While many of the players were from Pennsylvania, where ice hockey was struggling to gain acceptance, some veterans turned mentors were from rabid hockey bastions in Minnesota, Massachusetts and upstate New York. A half dozen very talented Canadians from Montreal, Calgary and Toronto shared experiences of playing pick up hockey at an early age from sun up to after sunset.

Some Penn State players actually played Division I hockey (St. Lawrence, University of Alberta, McGill University) and others had played on Junior A or semi-professional teams. Thus, contrary to what one might expect, the inaugural and subsequent Penn State teams were far from a “rag tag” group and presented themselves well.

My personal experience at skating was in one of the most unlikely of locations, namely, a pond adjacent to a boathouse in New York’s Central Park. When my brother and I were able to stand up on skates, my father, who was attending night school under the GI bill, would take us to the park on weekends. He would help put on our skates and then hit the books while watching over us from a patio overlooking the pond. Negotiating the rocks and stones along the shoreline to get to open ice was always a challenge as well as trying to keep skate blades from being caught in crevasses that pervaded certain sections of the pond.
Once warmed up, the sometimes-bitter cold was forgotten and the wonderful feeling of skating freely over the long expanses of the pond took over. When it was nearing time to return home, my father would lace up his racing skates and fly around the pond backwards while pulling us at terrifying speeds. It would be some years later that we found out that our dad had won several medals in speed skating events at Madison Square Garden while serving in the Army.

After completing graduate school in the winter of 1971, I joined the Penn State faculty. To my surprise and disappointment, hockey had not been played on campus for thirty years. Thanks to the efforts of many, hockey magically burgeoned at Penn State in the fall of 1971 and has remained in continuous operation for forty years.

The first team in 1971-1972 sported a won-lost record of 14-6. While all practices were indoors and only one game was played on outdoor artificial surface, many of the veterans told stories of their humble beginnings shoveling snow for hours just to be able to clear a surface to skate.

We often talked about our collective dream of having a Division 1 hockey team in Happy Valley. Today, we old-timers who are scattered far and wide across the continental US, Hawaii and Canada remain in contact and still reminisce about the “Miracle of ‘71”. Those of us who only played sparingly in our youth in front of a few fans (mostly family) remember vividly taking to the ice at the first game at the Ice Pavilion to a standing room only, packed house of thousands with many more fans in the parking lot trying to get in the door.

It goes without saying that we look forward to the fulfillment of the dream of D-1 hockey at Penn State along with the past 40 years of players, fans, coaches, volunteers and supporters. Those of us from the early 70’s who can’t make it will also be there in spirit as the team takes to the ice in the ground breaking outdoor game January 4 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia against the Neumann Knights.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...Hockey!

2011-12-22T10:16:00.010-05:00

Dear Santa,

I've been a very good boy this year, so I'm hoping that you will bring me just one gift for Christmas. Would it be too much to ask for some cold weather in Philadelphia the first week of January?

Let's face it, the weather is always a crapshoot when it comes to playing hockey outside. And while it's too early to accurately forecast what awaits for the Icers and Neumann Knights as well as the Rangers and Flyers, everyone involved with the NHL Winter Classic is hoping there will be cold and maybe even some snow like we saw in Buffalo, Chicago and Boston, and not the rain-soaked affair witnessed in Pittsburgh.

If the current seven-day forecast is any indication (and it really isn't), we'd better be extra nice so Santa brings a change in the weather.

Daytime temperatures in the upper 40s and overnight lows hovering around freezing could pose problems for NHL ice guru Dan Craig and his team. Earlier this week, they brought in the trucks and began turning Citizens Bank Park into a hockey arena. As always, the NHL provides 24/7 streaming coverage of their work:

For those of us north of 40, playing outdoors until we couldn't feel our toes remain one of the fondest memories of our mostly misspent youth. For me, my brother and our friends it was a wealth of opportunities. We enjoyed a small natural pond close to our house on the eastern edge of Toronto, a much larger pond provided when the owner of a nearby nursery flooded the field where his plants grew in the summer, and not one but two natural rinks at our elementary school.

Each fall, fathers and sons would construct a hockey rink with plywood sheets as boards and a pleasure skating rink surrounded by 1x10's. Once the cold weather arrived, our dads would haul out the firehose every night and flood the rinks. I swear the ice was smoother and faster than some of the arenas I've been in with the Icers.

Try doing that today and school officials and lawyers would double over with apoplexy. As Jenny Yuen wrote in a Toronto Sun article earlier this week

...a “community representative” needs to get the principal’s okay and a permit application needs to be filled out. It’s a long-winded process where the Toronto District School Board needs to sign off on it and meetings with city parks staff, janitors and the school board need to be scheduled with the community representative. The whole thing usually takes six to eight weeks and the application must be filed by Aug. 1 each year.

Ms. Yuen wrote about the many NHL stars that learned the game on ponds and backyard rinks. I can attest to that having shared the ice at Inglewood Heights PS with Brad Park. The Parks lived around the corner from us for a time, long before Brad became Hockey Hall of Fame member Brad Park.

We even played organized hockey under the sky at the Agincourt Lions Arena. I scoured the archives and found this photo from somewhere around 1970. Your humble hockey player is number 6 in red. I can still hear my coach screaming, "Hey Penstone, get two hands on the stick!"

JoeBa eloquently describes the joy of pond hockey in his latest column:

Skating outdoors is a throwback to a simpler day with no referees, no coaches and no parents. Just being able to breathe the crisp winter air and work up a sweat while playing the game I love is about as good as it gets. So I am envious of the members of the Icers who will get to experience the ultimate outdoor feeling by playing as a part of the Winter Classic.

I'm envious as well, but I'm hoping that we'll be able to call the game down at ice level on a cold night, with our noses running and the feeling leaving our toes. I'm not sure the Executive Producer sees it my way, but it sure would be fun.

The fun factor is not lost on senior Paul Daley, but Gunner knows that the Icers will have to take care of business against the Knights.

Lastly, Barbara and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah and a safe and Happy New Year. We hope to see many of you in Philadelphia!

Lynchburg Letdown

2011-12-10T11:01:00.004-05:00

It is difficult on this Saturday morning to find any positives out of Friday's 4-3 loss to the Liberty Flames.

Despite jumping out to a 2-0 first period lead, the Icers were out of synch most of the night, especially in the third period. The turning point to me came at the start of the third, when Penn State was unable to score with a lengthy two-man advantage.

Just like in the loss at Delaware, the Icers were guilty of turning the puck over in the grey zones at both blue lines. Too many turnovers led to too many odd-man rushes by the Flames, including the two third period goals that sealed the victory for Liberty.

The ugly scene at the end of the game doesn't deserve comment, other than to say that it spoiled what had been an entertaining game, especially for the hometown fans.

Here's hoping the Icers rebound this afternoon just as they did against Delaware.

As everyone knows now, the Icers will play Neumann U. at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia on January 4. Director of Hockey Operations Bill Downey joined me during last night's first intermission.

Bill gave an honest assessment of the Icers' first period performance before talking about the outdoor game.

Hello, Neumann!

2011-12-08T20:43:00.006-05:00

The long-awaited news was delivered to us via Twitter this afternoon when Barb and I were about an hour outside of Lynchburg, VA.

Another of the "worst kept secrets" in college hockey became official today - Penn State will play NCAA Div. III Neumann U. as part of the NHL Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia.

The #1 Icers will meet the 15th-ranked Knights at the home of the Phillies on Wednesday, January 4 at 8:00pm. The contest is part of the Winter Classic week.

Tickets are $10 and can be ordered online. Be sure to use PSU as the promo code.

Neumann is currently 5-3-0 heading into this weekend's series with Morrisville. The Icers are 13-1-0 as they ready for a tough weekend series against the Liberty Flames.

Ironically, the Knights and the Flames rosters are filled with foreign talent. Both squads are loaded with Canadians and each team has a player from Ukraine.

The center piece of the Winter Classic week is the meeting of the Flyers and Rangers on January 2. The Flyers and Rangers alumni will "battle" on New Years Eve day, and the third-ever AHL outdoor game, featuring the Adirondack Phantoms and Hershey Bears, will take place on January 6.

Thanks to the dedication of Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko for spearheading the effort that will see us in Philly in the new year.

As Penn State becomes a Division I Hockey school, what better way to make a statement than to compete on the largest stage in the State of Pennsylvania when they face off against Neumann University at Citizens Bank Park.

There are a tremendous number of Penn State alumni living in the Greater Philadelphia Region who are looking forward to this game. We are thrilled to host this game as part of a week-long celebration of hockey in Philadelphia. It will be great for the City and great for the school. We’re really looking forward to welcoming Penn State Division I hockey to Philadelphia.

Coach Guy Gadowsky knows a little about playing outdoors, and what this will mean to the team.

Many of my fondest memories of growing up playing hockey come from playing outdoors. There is something really special about the feel of the air and the sound of the ice.

The Penn State hockey family is extremely grateful to Comcast-Spectacor President Peter Luukko for the opportunity to participate in this once-in-a-lifetime event. It will be an unforgettable experience for our entire team.

I know that I have great memories of playing on frozen ponds and the outdoor rinks in suburban Toronto. Guy hails from Edmonton - we can only hope it's not quite as cold in Philly as it gets in northern Alberta!

Bill Downey gets credit for his behind-the-scenes work, along with former teammate and Wells Fargo Center assistant manager Joe Sheridan. Billy is expected to join me during Friday's first intermission to talk about the plans.

Here's a look at the initial preparations for putting down the ice surface at CBP. Picture yourself sitting in the stands watching the Icers. Meanwhile, I'll try to picture where the Executive Producer and I will be.

Liberty Looms

2011-12-05T19:42:00.003-05:00

The laughing is over after the weekend romps over Rutgers. The Icers were all business at today's practice as they began to get ready for the final weekend of action in the first semester.

Guy Gadowsky will take the team south of the Mason-Dixon Line to take on the eighth-ranked Liberty Flames on Friday and Saturday.

Head coach Kirk Handy has guided the Flames to the ACHA National Tournament seven times, including a second place national finish in 2006, since taking over as the bench boss in 2000. The Ontario native recruits heavily north of the border, with 13 Canadians on this year's roster.

As I always say, they may attend a Christian school, but the Flames don't turn the other cheek on the ice. It's a given that any team that plays Liberty can expect a tough, physical battle for sixty minutes.

The Flames are 13-5-1-2 on the season, including a 4-3 shootout loss to Arizona State at the Showcase, a 3-2 loss at Oklahoma and a pair of wins at Central Oklahoma.

The "seventh man" at the LaHaye Ice Center has helped the Flames to a 9-4-0-1 record, with Liberty outscoring the opposition 76-40. It's safe to say that the student body likes to vent some steam at Liberty games. They are as raucous as Gang Green at the Bird Arena.

I caught up with Coach Guy after today's practice, and also chatted with Tim Carr. Tim notched his second win and first shutout in Saturday's 9-0 win over the Scarlet Knights.

It was good to see Taylor Holstrom in full gear. Taylor has been cleared to practice with no contact. He told me afterwards that he hopes to be ready to return to the lineup in January.

I'd be remiss as a broadcaster if I didn't tip my cap to the Liberty video crew for their outstanding productions. Take a look at the highlight packages produced by their student broadcasters. Excellent work!

Rutgers Romp

2011-12-04T11:13:00.012-05:00

With no disrespect to Rutgers coach Andy Gojdycz, his team and Rutgers fans, this weekend's games with the Scarlet Knights were a foregone conclusion by about 7:15 on Friday night.

Dan Meisleman's power play goal at 2:32 of the first period on Friday opened the floodgates as the Icers scored 22 times in the 13-2 and 9-0 victories.

The Scarlet Knights simply had no answer for the speed and depth of the Icers.

The stats tell the tale:

The Icers outshot Rutgers by a combined 104-32
16 players (including P.J. Musico recorded points on Friday
15 players recorded points on Saturday
A combined 3 for 10 on the power play and 7 for 7 on the penalty kill

As Guy Gadowsky told me in Saturday's pregame interview, the games were not about padding the stats. He thought the Icers owned neutral territory on Friday. They did an even better job on Saturday.

Coach Guy highlighted the strong play of Nate Jensen and Michael Longo on Friday.

The buzz phrase of the day in hockey is "playing a 200-foot game." The line of Longo, Mike McDonagh and Tim Acker owned the ice every time they were out there.

Chris Cerutti also had a great weekend, notching his second and third goals of the season on Saturday. Chris is getting back to 100% after suffering the knee injury on the first day of tryouts. As he said following Saturday's win:

The first couple weeks back were tough to fight through. I took the brace off recently and it's been feeling a lot better.

Perhaps the only blemish on the weekend was the short-handed goal by Matt McDonald, who is far and away the best player on the Rutgers roster and is also one of the best in Division 1. Ironically, McDonald also scored a shorty against the Icers in last season's finale.

Saturday's second period was less than a thing of beauty, with lots of whistles and sloppy play. Perhaps that was a factor of Friday's result and the one-sided play in the first period. However, the Icers got over the lethargy in the final twenty minutes to put a bookend on the strong play in the first twenty.

The Icers will wrap up the first semester next weekend, with a tough road trip to Liberty University and the eight-ranked Flames. Kirk Handy's team has not played since taking two from Central Oklahoma in Edmond on November 18-19. The Flames will tune up for the Icers by hosting Div. II Virginia Tech on Monday night.

Both Sides Now

2011-11-23T15:27:00.004-05:00

With no games for the Icers this weekend, this is a chance for me on this day before Thanksgiving to look back at last weekend's home-and-home series with Delaware.

Friday's 4-3 loss at the Rust Arena was frustrating for the team, frustrating for Barb and I -- and certainly frustrating for you the fans. The technical gremlins that popped up again exacerbated the night as the team tried but was unable to maintain its unbeaten streak.

Saturday proved that the sun will come up again, as the guys wrapped up the lengthy rivalry with Delaware (barring a tournament showdown in March) with a solid 5-1 victory. Barb put it best from our viewpoint when she said "It's much nicer being at home", which allowed us to give everyone a flawless broadcast.

The highlight of my weekend (other than the problem-free Saturday) was the chance to talk with two guys who have been a part of most of the 101 meetings between the Icers and Blue Hens.

Former Icers John O'Connor and Josh Brandwene have been on both sides of the fence, giving each of them a unique perspective on what has made the rivalry so great. Of course, Josh is back in the fold as the coach of the Lady Icers and the man entrusted with building the varsity program to a national championship contender.

Now, if we could only get Jocko back onto our side of the fence!

Barb and I would like to wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving. We will be spending a quiet day at home, but our thoughts will be with our families, our friends and co-workers, and all of you in the Icers family.

We have said it so many times, but it bears repeating ---- we value your friendship above all.

May your table be bountiful, but I hope that it doesn't include this "delicacy" delivered via email by JoeBa on Thanksgiving 2009.

Iron City, Isaly's chipped ham, and pierogi.
Yum, yum!

Pass the Pepto Bismol, please!

Rebound

2011-11-20T09:43:00.009-05:00

That's more like it.
.....Icers hockey Dad

That was the sentiment as Icers fans filed out of the Greenberg Ice Pavilion following Saturday's bounce-back performance by the Icers.

The 5-1 victory over #2 Delaware erased the bad taste of Friday's 4-3 defeat by the Blue Hens at the Rust Arena. With the win, the Icers head into the Thanksgiving break at 11-1. Delaware lost in regulation time for the first time this season. The Blue Hens' record is now 15-1-1.

The Icers were motivated after getting outplayed on the Olympic ice surface in Newark. Kurt Collins' post-game comment said it best.

It stinks to lose, but you learn a lot and sometimes it takes a loss to wake you up.

The Icers dominated despite a slow start, outshooting the Blue Hens 47-25. P.J. Musico was solid in goal, recording his fifth win of the season.

S.J. Broadt was equally solid in the Delaware net, despite giving up five goals. Broadt made several sensational saves, including the highway robbery of Justin Kirchhevel in the first period that had the crowd on its feet, your humble game-caller screaming GOAL and Rodney Martin firing up the goal horn and Zombie Nation (albeit briefly).

As for the pucks that DID find the back of the net, freshman Tim Acker notched his first two as an Icer, Mike McDonagh recorded his second power play goal of the season, while Bryce Johnson and George Saad rounded out the scoring.

Whether or not the 101st meeting between the Icers and Fightin' Blue Hens turns out to be the final time they meet, it will be remembered as a classic. It was a battle between two well-coached and well-disciplined squads. The game featured everything you want to see and none of what you don't want to see.

There was the aforementioned goaltending, fast skating, quick passing, great end-to-end action, solid body checking.....and virtually no post-whistle scrums. The couple of gatherings that did occur quickly dissipated with none of the usual stuff that we see all too often in ACHA games.

I think that it's safe to say that the fans of both teams hope to see a rematch in Cleveland on March 7, 2012.

Showdown Weekend

2011-11-16T10:56:00.007-05:00

Right off the top, let's put aside all the hype about a potential national championship game preview. I know I brought it up, but I also said there is a lot of hockey to be played before the national tournament.

Having said that, this weekend's home and home series between the Icers and the Delaware Blue Hens is going to be a classic.

It is a shame that these two rivals will only meet twice in this final season in the long history between the two programs. Earlier in the season, I rated the Icers - Ohio rivalry as the best in ACHA history. I'd have to rank the Icers and Hens right up there as well.

These games will be the 100th and 101st between the two programs. Since 1990, the two teams have met 71 times in regular season and tournament action. While the Icers have dominated the series with a record of 80-16-3-0, the Hens in the past few seasons have given the Icers more than they can handle.

Since the 2007-08 season the record stands at 12-7 for the Icers, including two ESCHL conference championship victories (2008 and 2009) and last season's conference semi-final loss. The teams went 2-2 in the regular season in 2010-11, with splits in each team's barn.

The Hens have won eleven straight, and their only loss was a 4-3 overtime decision against Arizona State a the ACHA Showcase. Last weekend, they traveled to Lynchburg, VA and took two from Liberty by scores of 3-0 and 4-2.

Delaware is a veteran and well balanced team. Head coach M. F. Schurman has eight players with double-digits in points, led by monster sophomore Christian Tasker. The 6'2" 225-pound Tasker has 8 goals and 11 assists in 14 games, and can be an immovable object in front of the opponent's net.

At the other end, junior S. J. Broadt has seen the bulk of the action between the pipes for Delaware. He is 11-1 with a 1.97 goals against average and a 93% save percentage.

As I said earlier, this weekend should be a dandy, and a real palate cleanser after last Friday's ugliness.

On Monday I talked with Mike McDonagh, Brandon Russo and Coach Guy. Some of Mike's comments were drowned out by the guys as they headed to the locker room.

An Imperfect Ten

2011-11-13T19:25:00.004-05:00

It wasn't pretty, but the Penn State Icers maintained their unbeaten record (10-0) with Friday's 7-0 whitewash of the West Chester Golden Rams.

Unfortunately, this one deteriorated into an old-style, penalty filled ACHA game. It's been a few years since the penalty side of my scorebook came close to being filled.

After just three minors called in the first period, it went steadily downhill in the final forty minutes. A total of twenty-two penalties were called in the final two periods.

The Icers went 4 for 9 on the power play, while holding West Chester off the board in their three power play opportunities. To top it off, Mike McDonagh scored a highlight reel short-handed goal.

Brandon Russo made his first appearance as an Icer and made quite an impression.

Russo sprang Taylor Holstrom on a breakaway for his sixth of the season to make it 2-0. Brandon made it 6-0 in the third with a blast from just inside the blue line.

With West Chester in the rear view mirror, the Icers now have to focus on this weekend's home-and-home series with the fourth-ranked Delaware Blue Hens (14-1). M. F. Schurman's team has won eleven in a row since dropping a 4-3 decision to Arizona State at the ACHA Showcase on October 8.

A new ranking will be released on Friday, so it's not inconceivable that by the time the puck is dropped at the Rust Arena this could be a series between the top two teams in the ACHA.

There are some out there that think this weekend could be a preview of the national championship game. That may be a possibility, but there is a lot of hockey to be played between now and March.

West Chester Up Next

2011-11-09T09:54:00.003-05:00

The Penn State Icers enjoyed a well deserved day off on Monday after winning both weekend games with a come-from-behind 5-4 victory over NCAA D-III Fredonia State on Saturday night and a 5-1 decision over Pitt on Sunday afternoon.

However, there's no resting on their laurels for the undefeated and top-ranked Icers. They will host West Chester on Friday night in their only game this weekend. The Golden Rams make their final visit to Hockey Valley fresh off a sweep of the injury-riddled Rhode Island Rams.

The #23 Golden Rams improved their record to 9 wins and 3 losses by fleecing the 13th-ranked Rams 3-2 and 3-1. It's the first time West Chester has swept Rhody at the Ice Line since October of 2008. That season, both West Chester and Penn State were eliminated in the semifinals of the National Tournament at the Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio.

As reported in the West Chester student paper, Steve Meade scored his team-leading 11th goal in the Friday win, while senior captain Tom Scocozza scored both nights, just his second and third of the season.

Head coach Shawn Dorsey knows what his team is going to have to do on Friday if they hope to hand the Icers their first loss of the season:

They very well may be the best ACHA team ever. If we're going to play with them, we have to play hard and smart and stick to the game plan.

That game plan will include clogging up the shooting lanes and trying to frustrate the Icers with some physical play, especially away from the puck.

I spoke with freshman Jake Friedman and Coach Guy following Tuesday's practice.

During the Illinois weekend, I said Jake was "snakebit" after several missed scoring opportunities. Since the games on the Big Pond he's put three in the net, including the big second period tally on Saturday that keyed the three-goal comeback against Fredonia State.

Jake also chipped in a with assists on Bryce Johnson's two first period goals on Sunday, giving him 8 points on the season.

Winning Weekend

2011-11-07T23:05:00.007-05:00

This past weekend had the potential to be a difficult weekend for the Icers.

The opponents in the rare Saturday - Sunday games could have derailed the winning streak - for two different reasons. On Saturday, the Icers faced what could be their toughest opponent of the fall semester in NCAA Div. III Fredonia State. On Sunday, they could have faced one of those so-called "trap" games against the Pitt Panthers.

Saturday's battle against the Blue Devils was just that - a battle. The Icers rallied from a two goal deficit, scoring three straight to win by a 5-4 margin.

Justin Kirchhevel led the way with a pair of goals, while Jake Friedman, Steve Edgeworth and George Saad brought the Icers the victory.

Matt Madrazo overcame a shaky start and was outstanding in the final period. Matt stopped 28 shots to record his fourth win in four starts.

Bryce Johnson on Sunday matched Kirchhevel's performance with two first period goals as the Icers avoided an emotional letdown against the Panthers.

Kurt Collins, Dom Morrone and Forrest Dell added singles as the Icers outshot Pitt 55-17 enroute to a 5-1 victory.

P. J. Musico picked up the win, but was denied his shutout bid when Brandon Pratt scored at 8:12 of the third period.

Dell had a strong weekend, playing Saturday alongside Brian Dolan on the blue line and then moving on Sunday to center a line with Dan Meiselman and Michael Longo.

Next up for the Icers is the West Chester Golden Rams, Friday night at 7pm. West Chester makes its final visit to Hockey Valley fresh off a sweep of the injury-riddled Rhode Island Rams.

The highlight video from Saturday omits the first period goals due to a corrupt recording file.

As Rodney Martin put it - better late than never!

Columbus & College Hockey

2011-11-03T14:30:00.003-04:00

This weekend's Friday - Saturday game schedule for the Icers has given me the chance to hit the road once again.

This time, it's Columbus, Ohio and tonight's game between my Toronto Maple Leafs and the Columbus Blue Jackets. Icers dad Greg Kirstein was kind to arrange media credentials that gave me the opportunity to attend the morning skates for both clubs.

Most of the Leafs skipped the morning session after Wednesday night's wild 5-3 win in New Jersey. However, I was able to speak with rookie and former Wisconsin Badger Jake Gardiner.

Jake talked about Penn State, the Big Ten Conference, what fans can expect when the Nittany Lions play at Wisconsin, and his high school playing days with Nate Jensen.

Pittsburgh native R.J. Umberger and former RPI goalie Allen York were in the Blue Jackets locker room. R.J. talked about how Penn State will influence the growth of hockey in Pennsylvania and Ohio, while York talked about the big school/small school issue as well as his path from his home in Alberta to college hockey in Troy, NY.

Allen's comment about being able to mature physically while at RPI matches what Ryan Miller said to me when I spoke with him in Buffalo on the day that Terry Pegula was introduced as the new owner of the Sabres.

In what can best be called a "target rich environment", I was able to get additional comments from a couple of hockey experts.

Former NHLer, Notre Dame player and coach and current Leafs VP of Hockey Operations Dave Poulin and Blue Jackets TV analyst, Ohio State player and Miami of Ohio head coach Bill Davidge also gave me a few minutes and their thoughts on Penn State joining the varsity and what it means to the future of college hockey.

Long Weekend

2011-11-01T17:02:00.006-04:00

A long weekend for most people is welcome. For the Penn State Icers - not so much.

The team enjoyed a successful weekend on the ice, sweeping a pair of games in their last trip to the Boss Arena at the University of Rhode Island. Then Mother Nature turned a 7-hour bus ride into a nearly 24-hour marathon.

First to the positives - a 6-2 victory on Friday, followed by a 4-2 nailbiter on Saturday.

As Coach Guy says, he's more satisfied with Saturday's play than what he saw on Friday night. I was impressed by the penalty killing both nights.

The team gave up one power play goal on a dozen chances. That included a perfect 7-for-7 on Saturday, when the Icers had to deal with a pair of two-man advantages for the Rams, along with Nate Jensen's 5-minute major for a check from behind.

Chris Cerutti returned to the lineup, and notched his first goal of the season and the game-winner on Friday with a power-play marker in the 2nd period.

After skating as the extra forward on Friday, Chris slid into Tommy Olcyzk's spot on Saturday and did not look out of place alongside Taylor Holstrom and Justin Kirchhevel.

The wins were the upside of the weekend - the bus ride home surely was the downside - right into the teeth of the wicked Nor'easter that pounded New England and much of eastern and central Pennsylvania.

The combination of impassable roads and mechanical problems meant that the guys didn't get back to State College until late on Sunday afternoon.

Paul Daley put it best with this tweet:

By all accounts, everyone tried to make lemonade out of lemons. Having said that, Barb and I were thankful we weren't with them!

With another road trip in the book the Icers are preparing for what might be their toughest test of the first semester. The Fredonia State Blue Devils, a perennial NCAA Div. III powerhouse, will be at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion on Saturday night.

Head coach Jeff Meredith, in his 24th year at the helm, brings a big, veteran team to Hockey Valley. Last season, the Blue Devils advanced to the SUNYAC championship game.

Game time Saturday is 7:00pm. The Icers will wrap up the weekend with a rare Sunday matinee as the Pitt Panthers come in for a 1:00pm faceoff.

A Kurt Response

2011-10-26T15:16:00.003-04:00

For the second week in a row the Penn State Icers' opponent rebounded from a Friday shellacking to give the Icers a much tougher test on Saturday.

Just like the Fighting Illini the week prior, the Ohio Bobcats fell behind early on Friday as Eric Steinour scored just 17 seconds after the opening faceoff as the Icers cruised to a 7-1 victory.

On Saturday, Bobcats coach Dan Morris adjusted his game plan and for the first time this season the Icers fell behind the opposition. Brett Agnew's first period power play goal and stifling defensive zone play kept OU on top until the 2:47 mark of the third period.

That's when Kurt Collins went to work.

Collins scored short-handed to tie it up, opening the door as the Icers rallied to win 5-3. Kurt added a power-play goal and another shortie with OU goalie Fedor Dushkin on the bench for the extra attacker, while Steven Edgeworth and Tommy Olczyk chipped in with singles.

It was a great weekend for the line of Collins (3 goals & 3 assists), Steinour (2 goals & 2 assists) and George Saad (1 goal & 2 assists).

This weekend, the Icers make their final visit to the Brad Boss Arena in South Kingston, Rhode Island. The tenth-ranked URI Rams return home after being swept by #5 Delaware, the first back-to-back losses for the Rams in 45 games.

Just like Dan Morris, URI coach Joe Augustine has an injury-riddled roster. Only nine of his players have played all ten games and Augustine was forced to dress nine freshmen in Friday's loss at the Rust Arena.

Freshman Tim Carr will get his first start in goal for the Icers in Friday's game, with Matt Madrazo scheduled to start on Saturday.

Speaking of coach Mo - Dan was kind enough to drop by during the first intermission of Saturday's game to talk about the OU-Icers rivalry from the Ohio perspective. We also talked about the friendships that have developed despite the fierce on-ice battles.

While I might not miss climbing up the scaffolding at the Bird Arena, I will miss those friendships in the upcoming years.

The Stroke of a Pen

2011-10-24T20:17:00.007-04:00

And with that, the end of varsity hockey in the Deep South.

Last month, I wrote about the grassroots effort to save the University of Alabama-Huntsville hockey program in the face of looming budget cuts across the UA system.

Despite the best efforts of the Save the Chargers group and local officials and business owners in Huntsville, Interim Chancellor Malcolm Portera today killed the only Division 1 hockey program south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

My thin involvement with the Chargers came in March of 2007, when I called the game for Notre Dame as UAH took the #2 Irish to double overtime in the NCAA Regional in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

I saw the passion in the players and the passion in the Chargers fans. As few as they were, they were the seventh man for their beloved Chargers that night.

That passion came to the fore in the past few months as they tried to keep the program alive. Sadly, Dr. Portera would have none of it and just like that, the Chargers will join the likes of Wayne State, Findlay, Iona and Fairfield on the scrap heap of college hockey programs.

I am truly sad for the UAH faithful and truly disgusted with how this has happened. There are dozens upon dozens of blog posts and forum threads expressing the same sentiments.

Nashville Predators' blogger Paul McCann does not mask his contempt for Portera.

...rest assured, there is one person to blame for this, and that is Interim Chancellor Malcom Portera. Dr. Portera ignored the commitments to fund the program, he ignored the commitments to market the program, he ignored the community support that was overwhelming in its determination to maintain UAH Hockey as a Division I sport. He carried through with the agenda he brought into the position when he came to work in Huntsville earlier this year.

A new Chancellor takes over at the end of this week. As of Friday, Dr. Portera can slink back off to whatever part of Alabama he came from and pass off a university that, quite frankly, is worse than when he found it… a thirty year tradition of hockey gone with the stroke of a pen. Congratulations Doctor… I hope you are happy with the decision you made, I hope you are pleased you negatively impacted the lives of these fine student athletes. I hope you can rest well knowing that you ripped out a big piece of not just the UAH community, but the entire Huntsville area with one uninformed and ill-reasoned decision.