Defenseman Kerr set to play for season opener

It was the best news possible for the Penn State hockey team — not only is Kevin Kerr not badly injured from an extremely scary hit on Sunday, but coach Guy Gadowsky also expects Kerr to be on the ice for the season opener.

“He’s going to play,” Gadowsky said at his weekly media session at Pegula Ice Arena on Tuesday afternoon. “We’re happy to see that.”

The Nittany Lions play their season opener at 7 p.m. Thursday, hosting No. 16 St. Lawrence.

In Sunday’s exhibition game against Queens University, the sophomore defenseman was taken down by Slater Doggett in the corner and slid hard into the boards. Doggett was ejected from the game, while Kerr stayed lying on the ice for a couple minutes before being helped to the bench and not putting any weight on his left leg.

But appearances were deceiving, and the team will have perhaps its best two-way defenseman.

“I’m happy, I think the whole team is happy, probably Penn State as a campus is happy,” said fellow defenseman Vince Pedrie. “We need him. He’s a big part of our team, a big part of our D-corps. We’re not the same team without him.”

With the game Sunday already lopsided in the 8-0 Penn State win, the hit came in the third period as both men were skating at high speed into the corner. A fight briefly broke out between the teams seconds later, and Doggett was showered with boos and curses from the Penn State fans as he was escorted from the ice.

“It’s tough to watch,” Pedrie said of the play. “As a player, I don’t think I could’ve hit somebody like that.”

Peyton’s place

Peyton Jones will get the start in the net Thursday, and it will be the first time he will see the arena at full capacity, especially the “Roar Zone” student section. The freshman made his campus visit during the summer and has not yet seen an official Nittany Lion home game.

The arena was less than half full Sunday, when Jones started and played just over 30 minutes before giving way to Chris Funke in the shutout.

“I’ve never seen the full atmosphere,” Jones said. “Definitely excited to see it Thursday.”

He will try to keep the emotions in check when it’s time for the opening faceoff.

“Before the opening puck drop, you’re looking around, the atmosphere, everyone going crazy,” Jones said. “When the puck drops I kind of keep it between the boards.”

On the line Gadowsky said he expects much of the same lineup Thursday as he had Sunday, including the line combinations and defensive pairs.

“We played who we played on Sunday,” Gadowsky said, “based on what we thought was going to happen Thursday.”

That included veterans Zach Saar and Darien Hamilton as healthy scratches.

Also, with a dozen newcomers on the roster, it means it’s hard to avoid having an all-freshman line. That was the case for Brandon Biro, Lima Folkes and Nate Sucese, who were in on two goals, and Gadowsky likes the combination.

“We’re going to have a young line regardless what we do,” Gadowsky said. “It just (happens) they fit together. We understand there might be some growing pains, but at the same time we’re pretty optimistic the strengths they do have.”

Big Ten tourney on campus

The Big Ten announced earlier in the year the end-of-season conference tournament will move to campus arenas starting with the 2017-18 season. The tournament had been held in NHL buildings in St. Paul, Minn., in 2014 and this past spring, and in Detroit in 2015 and at the end of this season.

Gadowsky said the Big Ten coaches had a big say and were “all agreed” on the move and are looking forward to the change.

“Can you imagine having a playoff game here?” Gadowsky asked. “It’ll be nuts.”

Scheid signs

Former Nittany Lion Eric Scheid signed with the Florida Everblades of the ECHL on Monday. Scheid tallied 13 goals and 15 assists last season for Penn State, then played three games with the Portland Pirates of the AHL.

This story was originally published October 4, 2016 at 8:06 PM with the headline "Defenseman Kerr set to play for season opener."