No matter what happens in the semifinal round of the Spengler Cup on Tuesday, the opportunity represents another victory for Penn State hockey — and this one on an international stage.
Coach Guy Gadowsky leads the U.S. Collegiate Selects team competing in the historic hockey tournament in Davos, Switzerland, and five Penn State players are on the roster. They’re members of the first group of NCAA players to compete in the event that was first contested in 1923 and ranks as the world’s oldest club tournament.
The tournament was conceived after World War I as a way for hostile nations to rediscover mutual understanding through athletic competition. It was contested outdoors until 1979, has been cancelled three times — 1939, 1940 for World War II and 1949 at the start of the Cold War — and for the past 35 years has generally only included Team Canada as a representative from North America. (The AHL’s Rochester Americans participated in 1996 and 2013).
The tournament’s consistency and quality have amplified its prestige through the decades.
The presence of the NCAA players this year was seen by some as an oddity or maybe by others as an olive branch — a chance for the plucky young squad of all-stars from the United States to measure themselves against club teams with years of experience and success in some of Europe’s top leagues.
Thanks to a 1-1 record and strong goal differential in group play, the Collegiate Selects reached the semifinals of this week’s six-team tournament. They face Czech club powerhouse HC Sparta Praha, which has participated in the Spengler Cup 11 times and won twice, during a game that begins at 9:10 a.m. Tuesday.
This tournament resonates far beyond Hockey Valley, and it’s the latest in an ever-growing list of accomplishments for Penn State.
The program’s short, significant history includes many milestones and moments. These are just some that stand out for me …
• it’s first game and victory at Pegula Ice Arena (Oct. 11, 2012, a 4-1 decision over Army);
• it’s first No. 1 national ranking (Jan. 16, 2017);
• back-to-back double overtime victories against Minnesota and Wisconsin to earn the program’s first Big Ten Tournament championship (2017);
• the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth and victory (March 25, 2017, a 10-3 romp over Union);
• four consecutive victories against Minnesota to end the regular season and start the conference tournament (Feb. 23-March 3, 2018);
• a nine-goal outburst in a home victory against Notre Dame (Dec. 8, 2018);
• a 6-4 victory over North Dakota in a decidedly not-neutral-site game in Nashville (Oct. 30, 2021); and
• of course, last season’s lousy start and torrid finish that included winning the regional in Allentown with victories over Maine and UConn to reach the program’s first Frozen Four.
Thanks to those, and many more, it’s easy to argue Penn State has become a hockey school.
Penn State’s consistency and quality have amplified its prestige, too.
It’s easy for me to tell, and I’m not even a hockey guy.
Even without decades of tradition, sellout crowds have flocked to Pegula Ice Arena and Penn State’s investment in hockey has paid dividends. It was well-positioned even before this year’s roster was bolstered with the addition of several Canadian Hockey League standouts — notably likely NHL first-round draft pick Gavin McKenna and Jackson Smith, who’s already a first round selection.
The five players in Switzerland are highly accomplished as well. Alphabetically, that’s Charlie Cerrato, Matt DiMarsico, Aiden Fink, Mac Gadowsky and JJ Wiebusch. All of them have contributed in meaningful ways through the first two games in Switzerland, and they’re five of Penn State’s nine top points producers through the first half of the season.
What they’re doing in Switzerland, alongside other college standouts, only adds to Penn State’s compelling success story. It’s easy for me to tell, because I’m a story guy.
U.S. Collegiate Selects vs. HC Sparta Praha has a hint of Lake Placid 1980 to it, but only a slight hint. It’s an underdog story, but it’s also a story of accomplishment and persistence, and of talent and tenacity.
For the assists Fink has produced in Cup play, and the goals DiMarsico has scored, there’s also been the attitude and grit brought by Cerrato, Gadowsky and Wiebusch. Their performance has helped expose the culture and DNA of Penn State hockey to an even wider audience.
Their work, as well as that of the coach, has helped positively position the blue-and-white program far beyond Hockey Valley.
What lies ahead for them will not be easy — in Switzerland or when their season resumes — but it could lead to another few milestones or moments.
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