Joe Battista in his latest weekly column at StateCollege.com wrote of receiving a phone call from colleague R.J. Gimbl while he was in St. Paul for the Frozen Four.
John was the starting goaltender on the Icers' 1984 national championship team.
He finished his career with a record of 42-19-2, the best record for any Penn State netminder to that time, and was inducted into the Icers Hall of Fame in 1996.
John is grateful for what he learned during his time at Penn State, both on and off the ice.
(R.J.) asked me if I was sitting down and then told me of an amazing gift from a former teammate of mine for the new hockey endowment. It was from John Davis and his wife, and it was a gift from the heart.Naturally, everyone wanted to know more -- now we know more:
Intercollegiate Athletics announced today a leadership gift from John N. and Karen M. Davis to the Penn State Ice Campaign. The family's gift will endow a full position scholarship for a goaltender as well as the naming gift for the men's hockey head coach's office. The office will be named the "Joseph M. Battista Head Coach's Office" in honor of former Icer head coach and current Associate Athletic Director for Ice Hockey Operations Joe Battista.John played for the Icers from 1981-85. Despite having Joe playing "defense" in front of him during in his freshman season, Davis still managed to capture Rookie of the Year honors.
He finished his career with a record of 42-19-2, the best record for any Penn State netminder to that time, and was inducted into the Icers Hall of Fame in 1996.
John is grateful for what he learned during his time at Penn State, both on and off the ice.
"I decided to come to Penn State because of the opportunity to continue to play ice hockey as well as get a great engineering education. Not only playing on the Penn State hockey team, but also being a part of running the organization as president of the club in 1984-85 was a big driver in helping me get to where I am today.In addition, John hopes that his fellow Icers alumni feel the same as he does.
The hockey club had some tremendous leaders while I was playing, from a great role model for me my freshman year in Joe Battista, to the president in my junior year, Sue Sullivan, who was the first female president of the hockey club. The Penn State hockey organization has always been about winning in the classroom, on the ice and in life."
"I hope this gift is an inspiration to all my fellow teammates, as well as those that came before and after me. I hope they can look back and see all of what Penn State has done for them and leave a legacy by supporting the Penn State varsity hockey team and the Penn State Ice Campaign,"To John and Karen, on behalf of the Icers family, thank you for your generosity. We look forward to seeing you on opening night at the Pegula Ice Arena, if not sooner.
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