Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

[cagney]

I'll check with ICA media people - they have the videos from last weekend.
I'll upload tonight's game but you might not want to see it.

Buff State took it to PSU from the opening faceoff and greed off their crowd. The Lions were undisciplined and need a dramatic change tomorrow night.

Thanks a lot, Steve. I was able to watch last night's game live (until the feed went out in the third). I really appreciate the great work you do.

It's too early to draw any real conclusions about the team but last night's game was a real disappointment. The refs weren't great but I felt it was a factor that both teams had to deal with and Penn State just weren't able to make their special teams play work. Tonight against RIT could certainly be a rough one if they don't refocus themselves, but it'll be a good test playing their strongest competition yet after losing to a team I'd imagine they felt they'd beat. Perhaps the loss will even work in their favor as it could motivate them to work even harder tonight.

 

[Osorojo]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

I think the two NHL teams in the state hurts them, most hockey fans would have already picked one of those to follow, thus leaving college as the red-headed stepkid.

Neighboring New York has three NHL teams, or would have if they were playing. Still, N.Y. enjoys strong fan support for a lot more DI/III college hockey teams than seems to be present in P.A..

 

[cagney]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

Penn State beats RIT 3-2 in a real nail biter. George Saad took a terrible penalty with around 5 minutes left that resulted in a 5 minute powerplay. RIT was pressing big time to get an even up goal and pulled their goalie with 1:25 to go in the effort. Musico was great in goal and the PK did it's job resulting in the upset win. This looked like a completely different team than the one that played last night and hopefully we'll see more play like that as the season continues (minus the horrible penalties at the worst possible time though, please).

 

[Red Cows]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

Penn State beats RIT 3-2 in a real nail biter. George Saad took a terrible penalty with around 5 minutes left that resulted in a 5 minute powerplay. RIT was pressing big time to get an even up goal and pulled their goalie with 1:25 to go in the effort. Musico was great in goal and the PK did it's job resulting in the upset win. This looked like a completely different team than the one that played last night and hopefully we'll see more play like that as the season continues (minus the horrible penalties at the worst possible time though, please).

O.K., Penn State officially had a horseshoe up their you-know-what tonight.

Anybody remember the last time their team took a major penalty at the 4:13 minute mark of the third period? When does THAT ever happen? Like maybe, never?

I have no idea how RIT got 4:13 of power play, around 90 seconds of it 6-on-4, and didn't score.

They should skulk off back to Rochester in utter embarrassment.

There probably aren't many of those coupons in the book, Lion fan.

 

[RITProf]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

They should skulk off back to Rochester in utter embarrassment.

Well that explains it ... the Tigers actually didn't "show up" for the game!! Many of us suspected as much.

(Hint: The game was in Rochester.)

Can't say I'm proud of the Tigers, but a win is a win ... congrats to Penn State and good luck with the rest of your inaugural season in D1.

 

[justlookin']

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

I listened to my team last night and watched the RIT game. Solid effort from PState, good hustle and some good skill players in the lineup...Probably going to hit some bumps in the road but I'm impressed with where your team is already. Congrats on a nice win in front of a huge crowd.

 

[cagney]

O.K., Penn State officially had a horseshoe up their you-know-what tonight.

Anybody remember the last time their team took a major penalty at the 4:13 minute mark of the third period? When does THAT ever happen? Like maybe, never?

I have no idea how RIT got 4:13 of power play, around 90 seconds of it 6-on-4, and didn't score.

They should skulk off back to Rochester in utter embarrassment.

There probably aren't many of those coupons in the book, Lion fan.

It's certainly not something you see every day.

Still, I'm not going to chalk the victory up to divine intervention. I actually think this game was as much an instance of Penn State playing their best game yet as it is an instance of RIT playing badly. Special teams, which have been a real weak point for Penn State thus far in the season, essentially won the game for them last night as the game winner was scored on the power play and the penalty kill did exactly what they needed to do in the last 4 minutes. That's some very crucial progress considering what everyone was thinking after Friday night.

If Penn State can play the way they did last night for the rest of the season they should have more success than failure. They've been quite inconsistent thus far, which has to be expected given all the new faces, who are nearly all "rookies" at this level. Odds are there'll be more growing pains but at least the team and it's fans can go into any given game with some confidence in winning now. That's the position any team needs to be in to have success.

 

[SteveP]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

Wow, lots of wailing and gnashing of teeth over on the RIT thread!

As I posted there, it was a great gut-check win for the guys, especially after the Friday night clunker in Buffalo.

I thought the atmosphere at Blue Cross was great and a good indication of what to expect a year from now in Pegula.

RIT had their whole band on hand, rather than there pep band of 25 or so members. They had the joint jumping all night, especially their loud student section.

Hmmm, I wonder if the entire Blue Band could perform the Floating Lion on the ice on opening night next October? Something like this

<iframe width="480" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hPM6swWfBxk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Red Cows]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

Beside being cool, in general, the best thing about this video is the Viagra ad on the dasher boards being right next to the "PokerStars" ad. An "unintended" funny, perhaps? I wonder if anybody really thought about that when they stuck those up there?

The "Viagra PokerStars" sounds like it might be a team from the long lost reaches of the Northwest Territories, somewhere.

They must really be hosers.

 

[SteveP]

Beside being cool, in general, the best thing about this video is the Viagra ad on the dasher boards being right next to the "PokerStars" ad. An "unintended" funny, perhaps? I wonder if anybody really thought about that when they stuck those up there?

The "Viagra PokerStars" sounds like it might be a team from the long lost reaches of the Northwest Territories, somewhere.

They must really be hosers.

Nice catch there Cows

The boys are getting the hang of this D-1 thing with a solid 5-0 shutout at West Point. Five different players scored, PJ Musico had 34 saves for the first shutout of the NCAA era.

 

[sideshowbob]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

Well, I know they have not been facing the better teams in Division I (except RIT), but I've been pretty surprised by the results in this young season. Yet another win on the road tonight, beating Sacred Heart 6-3.

 

[SteveP]

Well, I know they have not been facing the better teams in Division I (except RIT), but I've been pretty surprised by the results in this young season. Yet another win on the road tonight, beating Sacred Heart 6-3.

It was an ugly win but a win nonetheless. You're right that the wins have not been against powerhouse teams, even RIT, but they have been good confidence builders.

 

[NoRebound]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

The truth is a little harder to get at and is a combination of several factors.

1) Teams schedule three and four years in advance thus there isn't much room for the new kid on the block initially.
2) Playing in a 1,350 seat rink doesn't do much to generate revenue.
3) The future of the team is in a conference that doesn't exist yet.

The first year schedule is a combination of people who like the idea of another major school playing D-1 hockey and wanting to help (Vermont in Philly, two games in Pittsburgh), future opponents willing to lend a hand (Wisconsin & Michigan State) and a bunch of other schools within driving distance who could squeez Penn State in. The ACHA games fill parts of the schedule that couldn't be filled otherwise and also are a tip of the cap to past rivals.

The one problem with college hockey in PA is that most of our fan base hasn't been exposed to much of it. They are hockey fans but come from Pittsburgh, Philly, Wilkes Barre, Johnstown, Hershey and Erie where the game is played on a different level. You aren't going to find many PSU fans here because frankly they don't know USCHO.com and CollegeHockeynews.com exists yet. They know they game very well because they have been exposed to it via some of the greatest players to ever lace 'em up. As the program grows they will learn the college game and already show VERY storng signs of embracing the program.

As for the kids not being properly exposed to the "right" level of play by the schedule, I am not buying that. These kids are learning to be a team and build a program while being able to learn about both winning and losing. Next year might be rough, but one step at a time.

 

[SteveP]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

The truth is a little harder to get at and is a combination of several factors.

1) Teams schedule three and four years in advance thus there isn't much room for the new kid on the block initially.
2) Playing in a 1,350 seat rink doesn't do much to generate revenue.
3) The future of the team is in a conference that doesn't exist yet.

The first year schedule is a combination of people who like the idea of another major school playing D-1 hockey and wanting to help (Vermont in Philly, two games in Pittsburgh), future opponents willing to lend a hand (Wisconsin & Michigan State) and a bunch of other schools within driving distance who could squeez Penn State in. The ACHA games fill parts of the schedule that couldn't be filled otherwise and also are a tip of the cap to past rivals.

The one problem with college hockey in PA is that most of our fan base hasn't been exposed to much of it. They are hockey fans but come from Pittsburgh, Philly, Wilkes Barre, Johnstown, Hershey and Erie where the game is played on a different level. You aren't going to find many PSU fans here because frankly they don't know USCHO.com and CollegeHockeynews.com exists yet. They know they game very well because they have been exposed to it via some of the greatest players to ever lace 'em up. As the program grows they will learn the college game and already show VERY storng signs of embracing the program.

As for the kids not being properly exposed to the "right" level of play by the schedule, I am not buying that. These kids are learning to be a team and build a program while being able to learn about both winning and losing. Next year might be rough, but one step at a time.

Welcome aboard -- and thanks for an excellent first post!

All great points, especially the lack of knowledge of this forum and others that deal with NCAA hockey. I know I'm mentioning USCHO on every broadcast in an effort to bring PSU fans here (we need the backup!)

It's always said that Penn State "travels well." Over 5000 in Wilkes Barre for AIC, a healthy smattering of blue in the sea of orange at Rochester and a good Nittany Lions contingent at Army is an good indication of how solid the fan base for hockey already is, thanks to the success of the Icers over the decades.

Just found out our game at Fredonia has been rescheduled from tomorrow night to December 11. Good - I wasn't looking forward to a bus ride in the midst of this storm.

 

[cagney]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

With the injury to Mark Yanis, does anyone have an opinion as to what the composition of the defense should be going forward?

Given it's going to be a number of months before he returns, I'd prefer they try and put together three solid pairings with what they've got rather than concentrating the best guys into two strong pairings. The simplest way to do that would be to plug O'Brien or Dolan into Yanis' spot with Juha. I felt Dolan really struggled in his one game this year and O'Brien brings a physical game which might work well in filling Yanis' spot, so I'd probably place him there to start. The games against Air Force this weekend will likely be a real test for whatever option the coaching staff goes with but I hope they don't end up having to shorten the bench or double shift anyone too often.

Also, I doubt I'm alone in my disappointment with Taylor Holstrom's play. IMO, he's one of the more offensively skilled guys on the team so it'd be nice for them to find a way to get him going. Is anyone else curious to see how he'd mesh with Bailey? Gardiner has been solid but I don't feel he has as much offensive skill as Holstrom and with a very tough two weeks coming up, I'd keep that option in mind if the offense drys up. I might be jumping the gun a bit with this line of thought but it'd be interesting to hear others thoughts about it.

 

[4four4]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

The truth is a little harder to get at and is a combination of several factors.

1) Teams schedule three and four years in advance thus there isn't much room for the new kid on the block initially.
2) Playing in a 1,350 seat rink doesn't do much to generate revenue.
3) The future of the team is in a conference that doesn't exist yet.

The first year schedule is a combination of people who like the idea of another major school playing D-1 hockey and wanting to help (Vermont in Philly, two games in Pittsburgh), future opponents willing to lend a hand (Wisconsin & Michigan State) and a bunch of other schools within driving distance who could squeez Penn State in. The ACHA games fill parts of the schedule that couldn't be filled otherwise and also are a tip of the cap to past rivals.

The one problem with college hockey in PA is that most of our fan base hasn't been exposed to much of it. They are hockey fans but come from Pittsburgh, Philly, Wilkes Barre, Johnstown, Hershey and Erie where the game is played on a different level. You aren't going to find many PSU fans here because frankly they don't know USCHO.com and CollegeHockeynews.com exists yet. They know they game very well because they have been exposed to it via some of the greatest players to ever lace 'em up. As the program grows they will learn the college game and already show VERY storng signs of embracing the program.

As for the kids not being properly exposed to the "right" level of play by the schedule, I am not buying that. These kids are learning to be a team and build a program while being able to learn about both winning and losing. Next year might be rough, but one step at a time.

PSU might not even win one game.

 

[NoRebound]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

O'Brien most likely the next guy up. Don't be surprised if this is a juggling act through the rest of the month before someone takes hold of the position.

 

[NoRebound]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

So far this experiment is working much better than expected. Would be STUNNED if Penn State goes 0 for the Big Ten next year.

 

[Pirateasaurus]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

So far this experiment is working much better than expected. Would be STUNNED if Penn State goes 0 for the Big Ten next year.

Me too. PSU won't be good, but a team would have to be monumentally bad for something like that to happen. Hockey is a game of bounces and every team has their night eventually.

 

[SteveP]

Re: Penn State 2012-2013: Welcome to D1

Coach Serratore with the post-game press conference of the year.

"Need a good quote?"

"Uh, no coach, I'm good!"

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/mVk99lxZaLA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>