In October of 2013, on the sprawling campus of Penn State University, a brand new ice rink was opened. This was the signal of a new generation of hockey in Happy Valley and the state of Pennsylvania as a whole. The brand new Pegula Ice Arena was named for current Buffalo Bills and Sabres owner Terry Pegula whose $100 million donation helped to fund the arena that is now home to the Nittany Lions hockey programs. Prior to the new arena, Penn State had been a powerhouse in college club hockey but Pegula’s donation propelled the program to new heights as it is now a NCAA Division I hockey school that consistently sees success in the NCAA Tournament.

What better place than the Pegula Ice Arena for Team Pennsylvania, the team made up of 10U boys who will represent the Keystone State at the Brick Invitational Tournament this summer, to hold a practice session?

The growth of hockey in the state of Pennsylvania has been tremendous as evidenced by the emergence of Team Pennsylvania and the success of the Penn State program. Team Pennsylvania gathered in State College for another practice session before the squad heads north once again for a tournament in Toronto.

The North American Spring Showcase features over 300 teams each year at various venues around Toronto, Ontario. This year’s festivities will begin on June 2nd and Team PA will be one of the teams competing. It will be the second tournament in Toronto that Team Pennsylvania will attend as they prepare for the Brick Invitational in early July.

The goal of the weekend in State College was to prepare for the Spring Showcase but also to continue to develop as a team before the Brick Tournament. With four practices in two days, the members of Team Pennsylvania certainly got used to each other if only for that one weekend. The difficult task of assembling a team comprised of players from all over the state (not to mention a handful of imports) is put to the test when it comes to attempting to create a practice schedule that allows the team to gel while also accommodating everyone’s schedules. Holding a practice in the middle of the state allowed all members of the team to be present as they continue to develop chemistry on the ice and friendships off it.  

With the Brick Invitational on the horizon, the Spring Showcase will serve as a preview of how far this group of players have come since they met for the first time just over a month ago. Good luck to Team PA as they head to Toronto once again!