Penn State made the “Frozen Four”, the final four for NCAA hockey. The tournament was in St. Louis April 10-12. I went with about 10 friends (plus a few thousand “PSU hockey friends”, to the Thursday April 10th semi-final game vs Boston University.
This was the first time the team made it this far in the NCAA championships, and despite a semifinal loss to hockey powerhouse BU, a real cause for celebration.
This event was the culmination of a long history and dedication from a ton of people.
I played hockey at Penn State from 1991 - 1995. It was a great experience for me.
At the time, Penn State was a “club” program, meaning we were not part of the NCAA and had no scholarships. The skill level was similar to NCAA Division 3, a perfect fit for me coming out of high school. The level of seriousness with which the program was operated was on par with the best programs around, at any level.
It wasn’t until the 2012-13 season that the ice hockey program finally made the jump from club status to NCAA Division 1, with a major $100m+ gift from the Pegula family as the catalyzing force. It “only” took another 13 years to make the Frozen Four.
For posterity, I’ll share how I found Penn State, an unusual choice for an Ohio kid.
As a junior in high school, I attended a USA Hockey camp for the Midwest Region at Tom-O-Shanter Arena in Toledo, Ohio (I am surprised I remember that fact). This was a big deal for me and my peers. The kids that “made the cut” would be sent to a subsequent National USA Hockey camp in Minnesota. This Minnesota camp was for the best players across the US, and was a real coup for those that made it.
I did not make the cut. Further, I was surprised to see some kids I thought (knew?) I was better than get invite to Minnesota. Needless to say, I was very disappointed.
An option for the kids not selected was to attend a regional USA Hockey camp at Penn State. The summer between my junior and senior years, I went to this weeklong hockey camp at PSU. It was a blast.
Fast forward to the end of my senior year in high school. I wasn’t ready to stop playing hockey, and knew I wanted the sport to be part of my college experience. I had been admitted to a few schools that I liked, but wouldn’t be able to play hockey as I was not an NCAA D1 caliber player (ie. OSU, Miami, OH). I had also been admitted to some schools where I could play hockey (NCAA D3 schools like Canisius, St. Bonaventure), but I didn’t really like the school atmospheres as they were too small.
I was done with my HS hockey season and was playing HS baseball. I didn’t have any high conviction post-graduation plans. I had an opportunity in May of that year to attend a hockey camp in Chicago where, in theory, you could be “seen” by scouts. My baseball coach effectively told me that if I went to the camp and missed baseball, I was done playing for the team.
I decided to go to the camp and effectively ended my baseball career. In Chicago I met Joe Battista, the PSU hockey coach who I remembered from the summer camp. He was great, the school was a fit, and I recalled having a great time at the PSU camp. He asked me to apply to the school (it was May, already very late in the process). I applied and was quickly rejected. He asked me to re-apply and for me to indicate a willingness to attend PSU summer school. I re-applied, was accepted, and left for school in mid-June, about a month after I met Coach Battista in Chicago.
Joe ended up being a great coach & friend. He & Penn State hockey have both had a big positive impact on my life.
…and it all started with a devastating rejection as a junior in high school.
