Penn State men’s hockey home opener about much more than Gavin McKenna’s Pegula debut
The already adored hockey standout and the energetic student section officially meet Thursday night when the Penn State men’s hockey team opens its first two-game home series of the season.
It’ll be about more than Gavin McKenna and the Roar Zone at Pegula Ice Arena, though.
Much more.
Nine members of the team will be skating for the first time on home ice, and before the puck drops for the first game Penn State will reveal its banner from last season’s Frozen Four.
Plus, it’ll be the first time back home for the productive core of players who drove Penn State to last season’s success. That includes the line of Matt DiMarsico, Charlie Cerrato and JJ Wiebusch, who combined for six goals and eight assists in last weekend’s season-opening series at Arizona State.
Two Hobey Baker Award finalists from last season will be in blue and white, too.
That’s Aiden Fink, the team’s leading returning scorer and a preseason first-team all-Big Ten selection, and Mac Gadowsky, the defenseman whose father coaches the team and who has seen and participated in games at the arena before but never for the home team. He transferred to Penn State this season after playing the previous two at Army. He was a first-team all-Big Ten selection as well.
Not able to be there in person? (All the team’s home games are sold out, though the resale market offers many options.) That’s OK, because the game will air on the Big Ten Network.
So, it’s much more than one player and the Roar Zone. And while a good portion of the team will experience a home game for the first time, it’s exciting for those who’ve done it before, too.
“There’s always energy at home,” DiMarsico said. “When you come out for warmups and you get into the tunnel you can hear the crowd. It’s exciting, and fun.”
Coach Guy Gadowsky never misses a chance to tout the atmosphere inside the arena, and after two games on the road when he thought the team had fun while learning to play together and working to rally for victories, he’s excited about the possibilities for this series.
“This group has a really good time together,” he said. “It’s early, but they’re getting along and having fun. Who wouldn’t want more of that?”
In fact, he’d take much more.
No. 4 Penn State (2-0) vs. Clarkson (0-1)
Series: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, 7 p.m. Friday
Audio/Radio: 93.7 FM, GoPSUsports.com
Streaming/TV: Big Ten Network (Thursday)
Notable: Penn State leads the all-time series, 4-1. Penn State’s only loss was a 2-1 decision at Clarkson in 2017. … Clarkson, which won 24 games last season, dropped its season opener, a 3-1 decision to Canisius, last Friday. … Charlie Cerrato was named B1G Hockey First Star of the Week after recording two goals and four assists in the two games against Arizona State. … These two games are the first of a six-game nonconference homestand for the Nittany Lions. Next up are LIU (Oct. 17-18) and Stonehill (Oct. 24-25).
