I’m going to be honest.
I still haven’t wrapped my head around yesterday. I think it’s going to take some time to truly appreciate what seeing a hockey rink inside of Beaver Stadium felt like and looked like.
I tried to sum some of my thoughts up here but in sort-of-new SSSWS fashion, I want to reach into the toolbelt of the football season content plan and share some of the other thoughts. It’s time for the first-ever outdoor hockey version of Did You Notice:
• I think the obvious place to start is that it worked! Everything worked. Was it perfect? No. (And we will explore that in a few bullet points from now.) But it was pretty darn close to perfect.
After all, Penn State played a men’s ice hockey game inside of Beaver Stadium. All 60 minutes plus overtime. That was the goal. That was accomplished.
And I think this will have massive implications on the proof of concept for any future NHL outdoor games. You can host events when it’s 16 degrees inside of the stadium. You can park cars. You can do all of those things that seemingly were reasons not to have a big sporting event that wasn’t football inside of Beaver Stadium. That event and the attention it brought was too hard to ignore and the league will defintiely take notice.
• Largely speaking, the ice held up. By my count, there were four unexpected delays with the ice, including one right before puck drop. But given the challenges Ice Rink Events, the company that built the ice, faced with the extreme cold of the last week this was expected. I have to imagine this was one of the coldest outdoor games ever played on this scale. And with NHL tech, it’s possible to think that it would go even more smoothly in the future.
• The snow from earlier in the week really added to the experience and the visuals. Obviously that was not a Pat Kraft decision to make it snow but I’m glad Penn State did not clear it off of the field and instead let it wrap the rink. It created for stunning visuals on social media and on the clips from the television broadcast.
• There were no logos on the ice. None whatsoever. There was no center ice logo featuring Penn State’s chipmunk emblem or advertisements that usually sit in the four corners of the neutral zone inside Pegula Ice Arena – or any other rink for that matter. Earlier in the week, I felt like this was a miss by Penn State. Those images of the ice would be everywhere, particularly the aerial shots. However, after checking in with a few people, I’m told that there were some concerns over a dark logo reacting with the sun on the ice. And when I thought about it a bit more, when Penn State’s football team takes the field at Beaver Stadium, there is no midfield logo. It was a subtle nod to that, whether it was intentional or not.
• Speaking of subtle nods, Penn State wore blue on Saturday as it unveiled its newest throwback uniform for the game. Usually in college hockey, the home team wears white but again, matching with the football team this way was a great touch. I will say the women’s team’s jerseys were my favorite — in part because they used the tennis ball font.
• It’s still hard to articulate the atmosphere inside of the stadium. It was a true cross between a hockey game with occasional oohs and ahhs but also moments of the noise that being a part of a football stadium can bring. This was my second outdoor game inside of a football stadium and it’s such a unique mix. I think this above all will be what I remember most. Just the feeling of being in a normal place with such an unusual (complimentary) event taking place. If you found yourself looking away from the ice, your natural instinct was to believe you were at a football game, before you snapped your head back to see an ice rink.
• But damn was it cold.
• The gameday presentation was also a unique mix of hockey and football. For the most part, it followed how games progress inside Pegula Ice Arena. The biggest difference was that instead of the pep band, the entire Blue Band played on Saturday. One small gripe with the pregame band performance? They should have played the alma mater. I know it’s not traditionally played at hockey games prior to puck drop but I think it would have been emotional and loud.
• Before we go any further, I want to say that Penn State’s gameday experience mostly crushed it. This was the first time and they hit a home run – (wait now we are really mixing up the sports.)
The flames when the team took the field to the shots of them coming out of the tunnel will be lasting images. I’m interested to see if the flames stick around for football season as well. PA address announcer Rodney Martin, who also presides over football games, was on his A-game.
There was a great mixture of band music and rink anthems. The “Cold As Ice” bit took me a minute but was a great choice and gag. The powdered fireworks created for great visuals as well.
In general it felt more refreshing than the football experience. Hopefully some of that refresh carries into the 2026 football season.
• But I think Penn State underestimated what it could have done with the event. I think it could have had bespoke videos for this game, not just the usual ones that play at Pegula. I think it could have invested in more resources when it came to really creating something beyond just the usual hockey experience. They did some of it with things like the pom-poms in the student section but imagine SNOIL on ice. I think even having the band line the tunnel in a similar fashion to how it does for football games would have added more.
There was also one element missing from every game at Pegula: Blue Hair Guy. Imagine if they found him in the crowd yesterday and had him mic’d up to lead a “We Are.” These are minor, nitpicky things. I recognize that. And not having them didn’t jeopardize the experience. But having them would have made it all the more greater.
• I also think Penn State underestimated what it could have done for this event – in that it could have opened up all of Beaver Stadium. I’m sure it would have been tough logistically but it feels like this was at best a once-in-a-decade event. It could have pushed the event even harder in terms of marketing and I think seeing the fact that the entire lower bowl was essentially full proved that the demand was there. I’m sure the weather potentially scared some people away but I think if/when Penn State does this again, they can get set the all-time college hockey attendance record.
• The Roar Zone took a page out of Nittanyville’s playbook and created banners for the student section. If you know me, you know the banners are the thing I love about the gameday experience inside Beaver Stadium the most. It’s those types of elements that completed the synergy between the collision of hockey and football that I was both satisfied by and wanted more of.
• The picture of Gavin McKenna from above might be the great sports photograph the school has produced. Even with Penn State’s loss, it will be the lasting image of Saturday. Penn State social media intern Giovanna Lee took the photo and it will no doubt win awards.
Hang it in the Louvre!! 🏒🖼️ #WeAre #HockeyValley pic.twitter.com/gyjoAzmFsL
— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) January 31, 2026
• McKenna Mania continues to reach new levels. His jersey was everywhere yesterday. Barstool’s Spittin’ Chiclets, which McKenna has a NIL merchandise deal with, was in town and also handled the intermission updates for BTN.
• Some of that merch along with the Homefield merchandise was available for purchase inside the new sports bubble located behind Jeffrey Field. This was a great use of this space and I hope that Penn State continues to use it for other pregame festivities. However, I do think, again, Penn State underestimated the demand. There was a small amount of merch available. We checked it out around 10:30 a.m. and most of it was gone by the time I was able to grab a hat.
• Our crew got to the tailgate lots early on Saturday as we were set up by 8:30 a.m. so we did not experience some of the stories I’ve heard about getting up Porter Road to park. I also heard some people got in to the game a little late because of that and jammed lines at the gates. With Gate D closed because of the ice lines and likely lighter staff, I’m not too surprised. This is something that would need to be worked out should Penn State host another game. I will say however, some of this is not learning your lesson, people.
• Thanks to friend of the podcast Gramps (IYKYK), we scored seats in the Mt. Nittany Club. It’s a little narrow up there on the concourse with that many people inside to warm up but the seats there provided great views.
• The clip has gone viral on social media but Penn State offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser and offensive line coach Ryan Clanton were spotted crushing beers after a goal on the jumbotron as well. Shoutout to Penn State for letting its guard down a bit in terms of seriousness. That seems to be showing between that moment and some of the other videos created recently.
• The Nittany Lion was up to some shenanigans yesterday. I caught him throwing snowballs at a security guard, attempting to steal one of the carts from the field and building several snowmen.
• Someone snuck their way into the north end zone’s upper level and began the siren call of twirling their shirt. However they were promptly asked to leave.
• Penn State was selling the branded cans of Bud Light that were just released recently. It’s wild to think how we’ve gone from no alcohol to themed and branded beer in a matter of two years.
• So, why was the NHL not involved in making this game happen? Well, for starters, the stadium renovation is going on and Penn State wouldn’t be able to do without those premium seats. Additionally, this came together in a relatively fast fashion. The league develops its outdoor game events years in advance. Penn State didn’t even have Gavin McKenna on its roster 10 months ago. That’s why no game was paired with the college game.
• There is one other reason why the NHL didn’t have a game at Beaver Stadium this weekend, which is why I’m writing to you on an airplane somewhere over southern Georgia. My Tampa Bay Lightning are taking on the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium – home to two Penn State Outback Bowl wins. To say this is the greatest hockey weekend of my life is an understatement.
What did you notice? What’s the best part of the gameday experience? What’s the worst part? Shoot me a note at darian@stuffsomerssays.com and we might chat about it on this week’s podcast.
