Penn State men’s hockey tickets in high demand after incredible offseason
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Penn State hockey tickets sold rapidly following a high-profile offseason.
- Recruits like Gavin McKenna and Jackson Smith helped spike fan demand in 2025.
- Ticket resale prices surged, with Michigan game standing room only tickets listing for over $90.
Penn State men’s hockey has slowly been reaching elite status as a program, and as the Nittany Lions have been building to that, the attendance in Pegula Ice Arena has reflected it.
Last season, Penn State set attendance records two separate times, with the first coming against Ohio State in January. Then, 6,604 fans were packed into the stands, but just a month later, 6,606 attended Notre Dame’s visit to Hockey Valley, breaking the record again. The Nittany Lions ended the season with the eighth highest total attendance in college hockey.
With projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft Gavin McKenna now suiting up in the blue and white, it’s no surprise tickets to see the Nittany Lions are selling out faster than ever.
Student tickets went on sale at 7 a.m. Thursday, and like every year, they sold out lightning fast. The team’s official X account posted at 7:56 a.m. that season tickets for the Roar Zone were officially gone.
On Friday, tickets for individual games went on sale to the general public at 2 p.m. and largely sold out at face value within minutes,, although the program has not confirmed. Outside of standing room only tickets, not much was available later Friday afternoon.
The Nittany Lion Club members and season ticket holders got first access to single-game tickets at 10 a.m., and it was even tough for those with the early access to secure seats to some of the most coveted games on the schedule.
People online are already reselling their tickets, but the prices are much higher than the original ones. For example, a standing room only ticket for a matchup against Michigan on Nov. 14 is currently being sold for over $90.
While demand for hockey tickets are often high considering how much the State College community loves and cares about the program, no one has ever seen anything like this, and it’s potentially all because of one goal scored by Matt DiMarsico.
When DiMarsico found the back of the net in overtime to defeat UConn and send Penn State to its first-ever Frozen Four, dominos began to fall for the Nittany Lions. Hobey Baker top 10 finalist Mac Gadowsky — the son of head coach Guy Gadowsky — announced he was transferring to Penn State just six days after the squad lost to Boston University.
From there, it only got better for the Nittany Lions. Five-star Luke Misa, who was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the fifth round in 2024, committed to the program in May, before defenseman Jackson Smith pledged in June.
Smith was the most prolific recruit Penn State had ever gotten on board at the time, and he soon after became the program’s first-ever first round draft pick, as the Columbus Blue Jackets selected him at pick No. 14 during the 2025 NHL Entry Draft. But somewhat unexpectedly, Smith would end up being overshadowed in the Nittany Lions’ recruiting class.
On July 8, Gavin McKenna announced his commitment to Penn State on ESPN. He was the most sought-after recruit in college hockey history, and him landing in Hockey Valley put the program firmly on the map.
Now, everyone wants to catch a game at Pegula Ice Arena to watch McKenna’s generational talent and what is probably the best team Penn State has ever put on the ice. The ticket sales have reflected that, and it is almost a given the attendance record will once again be broken soon enough.
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 7:12 PM.