UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State men's and women's hockey coaches Guy Gadowsky and Josh Brandwene are counting down the days until they kick off Division I competition in the fall.

Last week, both Gadowsky and Brandwene shared updates with the fans and alums about the progress of their programs and the construction of Pegula Ice Arena on the Coaches Caravan.  Gadowsky joined the Caravan for all six stops during week three, while Brandwene spoke in Pittsburgh and Buffalo.

Take a look at a video feature from the Coaches Caravan on Penn State Hockey.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Friday was a special day for the future of Penn State Hockey.

A crowd of more than 300 gathered in Happy Valley to celebrate the official groundbreaking of Pegula Ice Arena.  Construction of the 6,000-seat home of the Penn State men's and women's ice hockey teams is well underway with the foundation being laid near the corner of University Drive and Curtin Road.

GoPSUsports.com talked with several key participants in the groundbreaking ceremony, including donor Terry Pegula, acting athletic director Dave Joyner, associate athletic director for ice arena and hockey development Joe Battista, and head hockey coaches Josh Brandwene (women) and Guy Gadowsky (men).

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Pegula Ice Arena will not open until September of 2013, but if you close your eyes and open them up inside the CAVE model of the future home of Penn State Hockey at the Applied Research Laboratory on the west side of campus you would think it was open now.

The hockey head coaches and a few staff members recently received an incredible first-hand look at Pegula Ice Arena inside the Applied Research Lab 3D Stereoscopic Model.  Women's hockey head coach Josh Brandwene summed up the detailed model of Pegula Ice Arena best.

"In a word - awesome," Brandwene said.  "It makes you realize what a first class facility this going to be at Penn State."

With aid of a wireless controller, the interactive model enabled the coaches and staff to virtually move throughout the arena.  From the ice and benches to the concourse and suites, the CAVE model inside the Synthetic Environment Applications Laboratory (SEA Lab) takes onlookers through a 1:1 scale tour of the facility.  All four walls and the floor provide a virtual experience of Pegula Ice Arena unlike anywhere else in the world.

Tim Shaw, Head of the SEA Lab, Vaughn Whisker, Research Associate at the SEA Lab, and the SEA Lab staff worked with Mortenson Construction and Crawford Architects to build an exact 1:1 model of the 6,000-seat home of Penn State Hockey before it is constructed.

Men's hockey head coach Guy Gadowsky was impressed from the moment he stepped into the CAVE model.

"It is awesome," Coach Gadowsky said.  "It is so cool being able to go through the arena.  It gives you a great idea about what Pegula Ice Arena is going to be like.  I just wish it were here right now.  It is going to be beautiful."

One of the trademark features that stood out in the Pegula Ice Arena model was the student section.  The steep architectural design in the 1,000-seat student section will put Penn State students on top of the goalie at one end of the ice.

Take a look inside Pegula Ice Arena CAVE model.

With superb weather in Happy Valley this spring, construction of Pegula Ice Arena at the corner of University Drive and Curtin Road is progressing on schedule for completion in September of 2013.  The men's and women's hockey teams will begin varsity competition during the 2012-'13 season.


Pegula Ice Arena CAVE Model Photos:

Men's head coach Guy Gadowsky, director of operations Bill Downey, and Vaughn Whisker from the SEA Lab.

Pegula Ice Arena.

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The corner of Curtin Road and University Drive is a hub of construction activity as the preliminary steps are ongoing for the new home of Penn State Hockey.

Excavation work at the site of Pegula Ice Arena, the 6,000-seat home of the men's and women's ice hockey teams, began in early February.  The 200,000-square foot state-of-the-art facility is scheduled for completion in September of 2013.

As part of the site excavation for Pegula Ice Arena, underground blasting began on Monday.  Blasts will take place between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. and 2 and 3 p.m. from Monday-Friday each day for the next six weeks.  Depending on the location of each blast, traffic along University Drive is stopped during blasting efforts.  The blasting is necessary to make way for the arena's foundation.

Mortenson Construction is operating the project on the east side of the University Park campus.  Pegula Ice Arena is one of three Penn State projects the Golden Valley, Minn. based company has been awarded.  The group also built the new lacrosse facility, Penn State Lacrosse Field, next to the Multisport Building.  Additionally, Mortenson will work on the Intramural Building renovation project, which is scheduled for completion September of 2013.

Men's hockey head coach Guy Gadowsky and women's hockey head coach Josh Brandwene are excited about the progress at the future home of Pegula Ice Arena.

"We're really excited about what's going in there," Coach Gadowsky said.  "The Pegulas do things right and so does Penn State, and it's a great marriage.  This arena is going to be awesome.  I think it will be one of the premiere facilities in NCAA hockey."

"It's just tangible evidence of where we're going as a hockey program," Coach Brandwene said.  "To see a change every day and know there's great work being done by great people is very exciting. Everything that this wonderful facility will do for the Penn State community, the Centre County region and State College is going to be great."

Take a brief look at the construction progress at the site of Pegula Ice Arena.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State men's hockey team is prepping for a rare opportunity to play outdoors as part of the Winter Classic Festivities.

Penn State, competing in its final season at the club level, will take on NCAA DIII Neumann University at Citizens Bank Park - home of the Philadelphia Phillies - at 8 p.m. on Jan. 4.

The ACHA Penn State squad is 14-2 in its final season at the club level before transitioning to NCAA status next season.

GoPSUsports.com caught up with head coach Guy Gadowsky for his thoughts on playing outdoors and some of his outdoor experience as a player.

By Kelsey Detweiler, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - This time last year, the Penn State women's ice hockey program had just been added as the 31st sport that Intercollegiate Athletics had to offer. Now, the same team officially has a league to call its home.

College Hockey America Commissioner Robert DeGregorio announced the addition of the Nittany Lions to the CHA on Tuesday afternoon. Penn State joins as the fifth team in the league, alongside Mercyhurst, Niagara, Robert Morris and Syracuse. The team will officially begin play as a member of this recognized conference in the 2012-2013 season.

DeGregorio noted that he was more than happy to accommodate the Nittany Lions' interest in the CHA.

"We are looking forward to this great relationship, an addition of Penn State to our league, and we feel that it is only going to help make not only College Hockey America, but Penn State's hockey program stronger," said DeGregorio.

Over the past year, the staff and support at Penn State Athletics has been working hard to gear up for the addition of both men's and women's ice hockey as another varsity sport on campus at University Park. Penn State Director of Athletics Tim Curley said that he is especially proud of the work that has been done to advance the newest team at the University, and he is excited to hit the ground running.

"It has been an exciting year for Penn State Ice Hockey and this is one more step towards trying to put our complete program together," said Curley. "We think we've found a great home for our women's ice hockey program and look forward to being competitive in the league and being good members and look forward to the future."

Penn State women's ice hockey head coach Josh Brandwene was also present at the announcement event on Tuesday, and he was equally optimistic about his team's acceptance into a well-known hockey league.

"It's a number of great institutions and great hockey programs that we are going to have the opportunity to compete with right from day one," said Brandwene. "We are very excited about that because we see that absolutely as a net positive and something that's really going to accelerate the growth and development of our program both in the short term and in the long term."

Brandwene was added to the Penn State family in May of this year, and in less than four months with the program he has come to realize that representing the Nittany Lion name means more than meets the eye. He said that by entering into the CHA, his women's ice hockey program and a Penn State affiliation seem even more appealing.

"The message as people come on our campus and experience what Penn State has to offer from an academic perspective and the total student-athlete experience," said Brandwene. "This just adds another dimension and another layer to the experience because the type of student-athlete we are attracting deserves to compete at the highest level possible on day one."

The commissioner said that he hopes to add at least one more team to the CHA, rounding out the league at an even number of six teams to make their group eligible for an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament. Penn State will play each conference opponent four times in a season, and will also have the opportunity to compete in postseason action.

Penn State Athletics and the CHA expressed great enthusiasm for the Nittany Lions and their official entrance into the league. DeGregorio noted that he already has high expectations for Brandwene and his future team.

"A little side bar for Josh [Brandwene], in going back to my meeting with the President, when I was here and wanted to know how long I thought it would be for you to gain success in the league," said DeGregorio. "I think I told him seventh or eighth game into the first season you should be right in first place. No pressure, Josh."

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - GoPSUsports.com continues the women's ice hockey staff interviews today with assistant coach Gina Kearns.

Kearns comes to Penn State from Neumann University where she served as assistant coach for the Knights for the past two seasons.

A 2009 Boston University grad, Kearns majored in health and rehabilitation sciences, but was most recognized for her outstanding contributions to the women's hockey program. With 52 goals and 50 assists, Kearns became the all-time leading scorer and was the first player in program history to score over 50 goals, totaling more than 100 points. She is the only athlete to serve three years as captain in school history.

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - GoPSUsports.com will introduce the women's ice hockey staff during the next couple days.

Associate head coach Maurice "Mo" Stroemel has held multiple positions in the Penn State ice hockey program for the past 17 seasons, most recently serving as head coach of the Lady Icers for the past four seasons. He coached the team to a record of 37-57-3, with highlights including a fifth place finish at the 2009-'10 ACHA women's division national tournament and a fourth place finish at the 2010-'11 Eastern Collegiate Women's Hockey League Final Four.

Stroemel has also served as an assistant coach with the ACHA Division II men's club team, head coach of the Division II program and assistant coach for the ACHA Division I Penn State Icers. The Division I Icers went to the national championship all three seasons Stroemel served as assistant coach. He also guided the Division II program to the ACHA Division II national tournament four times as head coach. His overall career coaching record amounts to 168-119-14.  

Stroemel has been awarded the ACHA Division II Northeast Region Coach of the Year twice and is a certified level three USA hockey coach.

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Josh Brandwene was named Penn State women's ice hockey's first head coach on May 31.

GoPSUsports.com talked with Coach Brandwene during his first day in Happy Valley.  We caught up with him again to see how the first few months on the job have been going.  Take a look at a Penn State hockey update with Coach Brandwene.

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - GoPSUsports.com continues to introduce the Nittany Lion ice hockey staff today.

An All-American as an Icer, Director of Hockey Operations Bill Downey most recently filled the same role for the men's and women's programs at Harvard University.  A former professional hockey player and coach, Downey joined the Harvard staff in September of 2010 after two years as an assistant coach with the Icers.  Downey was also an assistant coach for the Reading Royals of the East Coast Hockey League during the 2007-08 season. 

As a professional player, Downey spent parts of four seasons in the ECHL playing for the Johnstown Chiefs, Wheeling Nailers and Reading Royals. He was invited to the 2004-05 Pittsburgh Penguins training camp and also attended the training camp of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the Penguins' American Hockey League affiliate.

Meet Director of Hockey Operations Bill Downey.

Meet Assistant Coach Keith Fisher

Meet Assistant Coach Matt Lindsay

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