First Star

The final Icers Blue - White game is in the history book, so now it's on to the real season. Friday's home opener against Lebanon Valley College marks the beginning of the 41st and final season of Icers hockey (unless the varsity maintains the moniker).

The Blue squad, coached by former Icer Rick O'Brien, rallied from a 3-1 first period deficit and scored four in the second to win the contest 5-3.

I dropped by practice this afternoon and caught up with the game's first star, sophomore Justin Kirchhevel.

Before we began, I got a hint of how the team is coming together. I won't say who, but one of the freshmen came out into the corridor and started chirping at Justin, all in good fun.

Don't forget that Friday's game will get underway at 7:00pm. We'll be online around 6:45pm, so we hope that you'll be able to join us.

Here's the video, minus the chirping. Wouldn't you know that You Tube put us behind bars!

Wake Up Call

I spent part of a rainy Saturday in Happy Valley mulling over whether or not I should post this blog entry.

I have decided to write this not as the play-by-play announcer for the Icers, but as a fan of the game that I have loved and played for more than fifty years.

By now, you may have heard about the incident in Friday night's NHL pre-season game between the Edmonton Oilers and Minnesota Wild involving Oilers rookie Taylor Fedun and the Wild's Eric Nystrom.

The pair were racing for the puck on a potential icing call. The video shows Nystrom trying to reach for the puck to negate the icing and his stick appears to get tangled in Fedun's skate.

As a result, Fedun crashed into the end boards, shattering the femur in his right leg.

The sickening incident involves two former NCAA players. The Edmonton-born Fedun played four outstanding seasons under Guy Gadowsky's tutelage at Princeton, and appeared to have a good chance of sticking with the Oilers.

More importantly perhaps, Taylor was an 'A' student studying mechanical and aerospace engineering.

Nystrom was captain of the Michigan Wolverines in his senior season in 2004-05. Drafted 10th overall by Calgary in the 2002 NHL Draft, he plays a gritty, hard-nosed style of hockey just like his dad Bob did during his career with the New York Islanders.

Today, Fedun's NHL dreams and his leg are shattered, while Nystrom is sick about the injury. He told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's Michaeal Russo after visiting Fedun in his hospital room on Saturday:

..no matter how many times I say sorry, he'll still be in the spot that he is. It doesn't feel good to know that you're involved in something that hurt someone so seriously. But he really appreciated me stopping by, and I really appreciated him being so understanding.

The social media world erupted - especially Twitter - forcing Nystrom to defend himself against those trying to crucify him in the online world.



By most reports Nystrom will not be suspended by the NHL, which would be the right decision. However, the bottom line is that this entire incident could possibly have never happened if the NHL had previously instituted a no-touch icing rule.

I will admit right now that when the NCAA and ACHA adopted the hybrid icing rule I was not convinced that it was the right thing to do. I've seen the error of my thinking and now wholly support the rule. Why those in charge of the NHL don't see it that way is beyond me.

Fedun's career-threatening injury has reignited the debate. One of the most vocal proponents of the no-touch icing rule has been Don Cherry. "Grapes" has been railing against the current rule for years on his "Coach's Corner" segment on Hockey Night in Canada.

Ironically, this segment from March, 2008 has Cherry upset about a similar injury suffered by then-Wild defenseman Kurtis Foster.

In March, 2010, while commenting on a one-game suspension issued to Colorado forward Darcy Tucker when he tripped LA's Matt Greene, Grapes was at his blunt best:

That's sad when the [NHL] won't do anything about it. When somebody gets killed, they'll do something about it.

God forbid that it ever comes to that.

Blue White Recap

Friday's Blue - White game at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion provided the fans in attendance and those watching online a mixed bag, both from the players and with our production. There were some flashes of what you'll see as the season progresses, along with some areas that are still a work in progress.

The Blue team rallied from a 3-1 first period deficit to skate to a 5-3 victory over Team White. Both squads suffered from short benches, including the Blues' coaching staff.

With Guy Gadowsky on a recruiting trip in Alberta, three former Icers players were selected as honorary coaches. However, former player and coach Mark Horgas was absent, leaving Rick O'Brien (Rich's dad) to go one-on-one against Cliff Graziano.

The game was played in two 30-minute periods (there's no halves in hockey) with 27 of the minutes in each period played in running time.

Josh Daley (Freshman - Pittsburgh, PA) staked the Whites to an early lead with a goalmouth goal, but Tim Acker (Freshman - Apex, NC) knotted the score just over two minutes later when he banged home a rebound at the other end of the ice.

Later in the period, Taylor Holstrom (Soph. - Yorba Linda, CA) rifled a wrist shot from the faceoff circle to make it 2-1 Whites.

Three Pennsylvania boys combined to give the Whites a 3-1 lead when Eric Steinour (Junior - Carlisle, PA) redirected a nifty pass from George Saad (Junior - Gibsonia, PA).

The play began when Dan Loucks (Senior - Collegeville, PA) fed Saad the puck in the Whites' end. George chipped the puck past the Blues defenseman at the White blue line, setting up a 2-on-1 break.

After the game Coach O'Brien wouldn't divulge what he told his players during the intermission. Whatever it was worked as the Blues scored four unanswered goals in the second period to secure the victory.

Defenseman Nate Jensen (Soph. - Shorewood, Minn.) joined the rush and knocked in a loose puck to narrow the gap to 3-2. Midway through the frame Nick Seravalli (Senior - Ivyland, PA) tied it up with a shot from the slot.

Justin Kirchhevel (Soph. Brookings, SD) put the game away for the Blues, scoring a pair of goals in a three minute span. The first came on a rebound, while the second was a nifty wraparound goal that had goalie Matt Madrazo (Soph. Sea Cliff, NY) going the wrong way.

On the production side, I updated our video software over the summer and tried out some new settings last night. Unfortunately, that led to the choppy video in the first period. The change of settings during the intermission helped and even let the viewers see the redesigned scoreboard/clock graphic. I appreciate the positive comments about the graphic from at least one of the online viewers.

The software update also gives us the option of having a replay module; however, the processor in my laptop apparently isn't fast enough to allow the replay to "record" at a speed that makes it usable.

The gremlins even hit PA announcer (and Icers webmaster) Rodney Martin. Someone changed a number of settings on the audio mixer in his "office" between the penalty boxes, resulting in a poor quality audio feed to our side of the ice.

We'll get to work during the upcoming week to correct the technical issues before next Friday's season opener against Lebanon Valley College.

Finally, thanks to Hockey Operations Director Bill Downey for joining me during the second period and providing his insight into the team and the upcoming season.

And congratulations to the Lady Icers, who followed the Icers last night with a 6-1 drubbing of Buffalo in their home opener.

Old Time Hockey

Thanks to the research of my good friends Lou Prato and Kyle Rossi, we all know that hockey in Happy Valley has been around for nearly a century.

Now we have more proof thanks to Greg Petrick, father of Icers senior Dan Petrick.

Greg sent these photos to Joe Battista and has graciously allowed me to post them here. As Greg said:

My Dad took these in 1948 or 49. He was a member of Phi Gam right across from the IST building. It looks like the rink was built in the front yard of the fraternity based on what I can tell from two of the pictures. Not sure of the rink location of the picture with the single skater.

These photos bring back memories of playing pond hockey in my younger days.





Speaking of pond hockey, the NHL on Monday finally made it official, formally announcing the 2012 NHL Winter Classic will be played at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philly.

I caught up with Hockey Operations Director Bill Downey following Tuesday's practice to talk about the upcoming season, including that January 4th date with D-III Neumann U. that may - or may not - be a part of the Winter Classic festivities.

Countdown to Contact

I sense the boys are getting antsy. After more than a month of tryouts and practices, the Icers are ready to hit someone not wearing the lion on their sweater.

Unfortunately, they'll have to wait for another week and a half before kicking off the 41st and final season of Icers hockey. The curtain raiser at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion against Lebanon Valley College is set for Friday, October 7 at 7:00pm.

Notice the time change for the Friday night game - and get used to it. The move from the traditional 9:05 start is part of the transition to the varsity program.

In the meantime, the guys will get the chance to test their skills under game conditions in the annual Blue/White game on Friday night. The team will play two 25 minute periods, with the faceoff scheduled for 6:30pm. The intrasquad game sets the table for the Lady Icers home opener against Buffalo that gets underway at 9:15pm.

The coaching staff will be out of town scouting potential future Penn State stars, so Coach Gadowsky has reached out to Icers alums to man the benches. Mark Horgas (player from 1975-77 and head coach in 1979-80) will team up with Rick O'Brien (1978-79) to take on Cliff Graziano (1991-95).

All three are thrilled to be a part of the event:

Horgas: It was truly an honor to have Coach Gadowsky invite me...I have been very impressed with the entire coaching staff and administration.

O'Brien: I had to read the email a couple times to realize that Coach Gadowsky was really asking for assistance. I think it's great that Coach is reaching out to the Icer alumni to have them involved. I personally welcome the opportunity to get on the bench with the guys; I know the returning players and am really looking forward to meeting the new team members.

Graziano: I was excited, but most of all I was honored. Penn State has always held a special place in my heart and to still be involved 15+ years after I graduated is awesome. It's nice to see that the new regime of Guy Gadowsky and his staff is keeping the Icer alumni involved. To me it shows not only that he understands the tradition of the hockey program, but of what Penn State is all about.

Hmmm...two on one, huh? Form your own conclusions about that! (tongue planted firmly in cheek)

Speaking of Rick O'Brien, he'll be coaching against his son Rich. They are one of only two father and son combos in Icers history (Joe Zitarelli Sr. & Jr. is the other).

Rick has plans on shutting Rich down. Rich denies the rumor that he's asked for a no-trade clause, but he's looking forward to the game and the upcoming season.

Reminiscing

We are less than a week away from the annual Blue - White game on Friday. Seems like an appropriate time for the final installment of my interview with Joe Battista.

As I said to Joe, much to his chagrin, this is the 41st season of Icers hockey, and he has been a part of the program for more than half of those years!

While Roy Scott, Larry Hendry and others were the ground breakers that brought hockey back to Happy Valley, everyone knows it is JoeBa who has become the face - and the heart and soul - of Penn State hockey.

Joe pays tribute to those pioneers as he looks back with emotion on four decades of Icers hockey and the Icers family.

Nuts and Bolts

Part two of my interview with Joe Battista is here for you.

In this segment, Joe talks about the progress toward the eventual ground breaking for the Pegula Ice Arena and the infrastructure surrounding the arena.

Don't forget - the annual Blue - White game is next Friday. We'll be online at 6:15 pm from the broadcast booth at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion.