It’s Showtime!
All the waiting is just about over.
The building is open. The Ice is hard and fast. The dasher board ads are in place. The main scoreboard video is ready to dazzle the crowd, and the pep band is ready to rock the house.
Every seat is sold and all standing room only tickets are gone.
When the first Penn State goal is scored fans will be treated to a “goal horn” that will make you leap out of your seat.
Over 80 media credentials have been issued and the Big Ten Network is preparing for the first broadcast from the building.
The Subway Cafe, all 6 concessions stands, and our incredible full production kitchen are ready to serve the fans.
The Hockey Valley Team Shop is ready to sell hockey jerseys, T-shirts, hats, and assorted other hockey merchandise.
Most importantly Coach Gadowsky, his assistant coaches and the team are chomping at the bit to hit the ice and play a real game and to welcome our fans to “Hockey Valley”!
The official dedication will take place Friday and Terry and Kim Pegula will be on hand to drop the ceremonial first puck.
The color guard will lead Sergeant Bob Timney onto the ice to sing the inspirational version of the National Anthem that he has done for the NHL, MLB, and NFL.
All the anticipation that has been building since the transformational gift by the Pegula’s on September 17, 2010 is about to become reality.
In full disclosure, we didn’t officially know who our opponent would be until we got the call from Army’s Athletic Director Tuesday at Noon announcing they had finally been given the green light to play from the Department of Defense.
Alumni representing every era of Penn State Hockey will be present including 93 year old John Dufford who played on the original 1940 varsity team; members of the 1971-72 team who resurrected hockey on campus; coaches and members of ACHA National Championship teams from 1984,1990, 1998 and 2000-2003 and every team in between.
They will all be featured along with plenty of history and fun facts about Penn State Hockey on the four interactive touch screen TV’s and at the two story high “Legacy Wall” in the south west corridor.
The brand new hockey exhibit will be featured at the All Sports Museum at Beaver Stadium as well.
The Pegula Ice Arena is magnificent and it was completed on-time and on-budget thanks to “Team Pegula” members who worked diligently for the past 3 years.
Behind the scenes, the Pegula Ice Arena staff has been working 24-7 to get the building ready and while the general public will never see most of them, I certainly can’t thank them enough for all their hard work.
With a brand new $91 million facility and our first ever NCAA Varsity hockey game, there will be the inevitable minor glitches and growing pains.
Bear with us but also give us feedback so we can provide fans with the best in-game experience possible.
You may want to get there early to avoid the homecoming parade traffic. For general parking, we recommend coming north on University Drive and turning right onto Dauer Road just before the BJC.
All the waiting is over. The arena is ready. The team is ready. It’s time to drop the puck and open a new era in “Hockey Valley”.
It’s showtime!!
