Articles
Guides and background written for supporters — the game, the building, the program and the club's own work.
Why we write these
Two kinds of people show up at our table on the concourse. The first has been coming to Penn State hockey games since the Icers played at Greenberg and wants to know when the next bus trip is. The second has never seen a hockey game in their life, came because a friend had a spare ticket, and has just watched twenty minutes of something they enjoyed without understanding any of it.
These articles are written mostly for the second group, and partly for volunteers. They cover what a game night at Pegula Ice Arena actually involves, how to follow a sport that moves faster than the eye does, how to read the statistics afterwards, and how a small supporters' organisation keeps itself running from one season to the next. None of them requires any previous knowledge, and none of them takes longer to read than an intermission.
Alongside them, the history of the program and the two club-era pages preserved on this site cover where Penn State hockey came from — which, for a program whose first varsity season was 2012–13, is a longer story than most people expect.
All articles
A Fan's Guide to Game Day at Pegula Ice Arena
When to arrive, where to stand, and what happens between the whistles on a home Friday night in Hockey Valley.
Read the articleFrom the Icers to Hockey Valley: How Penn State Hockey Grew Up
Fifty years of club hockey, one transformative gift, and a program that reached the Frozen Four in 2025.
Read the articleWhat a Hockey Booster Club Actually Does
Less glamour than people expect, more spreadsheets — and a surprisingly direct effect on what a season feels like.
Read the articleIce Hockey for the First-Time Spectator
Offside, icing, the power play, and the single habit that makes the game legible to a new viewer.
Read the articleHow to Read a Hockey Box Score
Which numbers in a hockey summary mean something, which ones mislead, and how to read a period-by-period line.
Read the articleVolunteering 101: Running the Membership Table
Two bins, a float, and six questions you will be asked forty times. A practical shift guide.
Read the articleThe Basket Raffle: Anatomy of a Small Fundraiser That Works
One good basket, a five-dollar ticket, and a season of selling. Why the oldest fundraiser in the book still outperforms clever ones.
Read the articleFollowing the Nittany Lions on the Road: A Supporter's Primer
Choosing the right away game, the case for the bus, and the etiquette of being an away fan in somebody else's building.
Read the article