It was all anyone heard about. It was all anybody could talk about. It was all anyone could think about.
Just how loud was that building going to get?
In the weeks leading up to the opening of Pegula Ice Arena, the word “raucous” was thrown around more than a Guy Gadowsky team puts shots on net.
In the air that October night was a lot of eagerness and a tiny bit of anxiousness.
At moments in the pregame, the student section which was “built steepest to code” – another phrase used ad nauseam in the weeks leading up to the building’s opening – was quite loud and boisterous.
Yet many were waiting, anticipating that first goal.
There was a nervous energy coming from those inside the new $90 million dollar facility in the first moments of that hockey game. Even those on press row could feel it.
When was it going to happen? When was the roof going to go flying off?
And about three minutes into the first period, Taylor Holstrom found Nate Jensen at the point, where the defenseman launched a shot from the point that lasered its way behind Army’s Rob Tadazak.
The goal horn went off. The student section erupted with the rest of the 6,370 in attendance. The anxiousness went away, and with it came confirmation. This place is that loud.
Yet the noise level was one of two promises offered by Penn State hockey’s leaders.
The second was that that building was going to fundamentally change hockey in the Keystone State forever.
And that it has.
Ten years after Pegula Ice Arena opened its doors, Penn State hockey has grown to heights that many only ever dreamed about. This was what Terry Pegula wanted. This was Joe Battista’s dream. And now this is Hockey Valley.
It was and is another promise kept.
For so many that cared about Penn State’s Icers, the dream was a Division I program – and a barn that didn’t have yellow lights. Yet it always felt like just that – a dream.
And when it was announced that Penn State alumnus Terry Pegula would provide that dream, it almost felt too good to be true. Penn State was finally getting an NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey team. That’s what Pegula Ice Arena would provide.
But what Pegula Ice Arena has really done is electrified so many that didn’t know about hockey, particularly at the collegiate level.
Tickets for Penn State’s men’s program rival only wrestling in terms of toughness to acquire and the atmosphere that the Roar Zone – the name of the steep student section – provides still leaves your ears ringing upon exit.
Largely thanks to a floundering basketball program during much of the last 10 years, the case can be made that hockey is Penn State’s No. 2 sport in terms of popularity.
And the teams inside of it have delighted fans and, for the most part, achieved what they’re supposed to.
Gadowsky’s squad has a conference tournament title and a conference regular season title to its name. It’s had three trips to the NCAA Tournament since Pegula opened and likely would have had another if it were not for COVID derailing a very talented 2020 team.
It’s grown every year and last season was one goal away from reaching its first Frozen Four – one of two high-water marks still not yet achieved. Gadowsky has now made it the expectation that his teams should reach the tournament – regardless of how stacked the rest of the Big Ten is – every year.
Meanwhile, Penn State women’s hockey – which got off to a rocky start due to off-the-ice issues with its first coach in Josh Brandwene – has finally pointed its ship in the right direction. It has won two CHA titles and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time under now fifth-year head coach Jeff Kampersal.
Even if Penn State hockey ruined college hockey for the rest of the country, Pegula is still the place to be on mostly Friday and Saturday nights.
Penn State’s had memorable wins against conference foes against deep Michigan and Minnesota teams. And of course, there have been even crazier nights like the time Ohio State threw a broom onto the ice after sweeping the Nittany Lions.
Hockey Valley’s home is everything we thought and then some.
The NHL has used it several times for preseason games and the university has used it for showcases, graduations and more, too.
On a local level, youth hockey is still doing well in State College with tons of classes and leagues on its auxiliary rink. The arena also has played host to de facto state championship games between Flyers and Penguins Cup winners at the high school level.
The arena has brought more attention than any other non-football Penn State sports facility and still remains a highlight for anyone walking around campus for the first time. Walk by at any point and people will marvel at the facility, planting their face against the glass facade that looks out toward Mount Nittany, trying to get a look inside.
All of it serves as a promise that the arena would put hockey on the map in Happy Valley.
It has but the promise of tomorrow is still lingering as well.
Penn State is still looking for that first trip to the Frozen Four on both the men’s and women’s side. The arrow appears to be pointing up for Penn State’s women’s team and if history is any indication, anything can happen with the men’s team.
And sure, it’d be nice to see a generational talent come through, particularly for Gadowsky’s team, in the way James Franklin is looking – and hopefully found – that quarterback that will push him over the edge.
But Pegula Ice Arena wasn’t built in a day. We still don’t know the full effects of its impact yet. Maybe that talent is out there after getting his or her first taste of hockey thanks to what is still one of the nicest college arenas in the country.
For now, though, much like we all waited for that first goal on opening night, we can continue and wait – while we know even bigger things are coming for Penn State hockey.
