Nov. 19, 2015
By Maria Canales, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" The Penn State men's hockey team traveled to the last frontier on Wednesday as it prepares to take on Alaska Anchorage on Friday and Saturday.
They key to their success this weekend? That's logistics.
Traveling more than 4,000 miles with a party of greater than 25 people is no small task. In addition to transporting people, moving all the equipment, including several dozen sticks and pairs of skates, becomes a logistical feat that only a few people can accomplish.
The planning is the responsibility of several members of the men's hockey staff including Director of Operations Bill Downey, head athletic trainer Justin Rogers, and head equipment manager Adam Sheehan. The trio, along with other various members of the staff, began planning the logistics behind the trip in late spring.
"You start budgeting the season before," said Downey. "It's not that much different than any other road game, but we're flying commercial so we had to figure out where we were going to take off from."
For Downey, having Alaska Anchorage on the schedule is an opportunity he and the coaching staff are looking forward to.
"The scheduling of the games date back a couple of years," said Downey. "So that was something Coach Gadowsky and I discussed a little while back and we saw it as a way to play two games on Alaskan soil."
If a college team agrees to travel to Alaska to play games, the contests do not count against the NCAA season limit of 34. Essentially, Penn State gains two extra games by traveling up North.
"It's nice for the guys [to experience Alaska], but it also allowed us to schedule two more home games," said Downey.
As part of the agreement, Alaska Anchorage will travel to State College during the 2016-17 season to play two games at Pegula Ice Arena.
As for moving equipment to Anchorage, the team decided to switch up the logistics from their trip last season to Alaska Fairbanks.
"We actually shipped a bunch of stuff ahead of time last year that met us in Fairbanks," said Downey. "This year we've decided we didn't really need as much on the road, at least for this trip so we've gone away from shipping anything ahead of time and rather we're going to take in bags with us."
Although the logistics behind the trip are handled and the excitement amongst the team is overwhelming, there is a small hole in the roster that this trip was meant for. Casey Bailey, who left the team last spring to pursuit a career in the NHL, was part of the reason behind Penn State's trip to Anchorage.
Hailing from Anchorage, Bailey and his family always had the difficulty of distance between them when it came to watching their son play college hockey. This trip was meant as an opportunity for them to finally see their son play on their home turf.
"I think it's a great experience for the guys regardless," said head coach Guy Gadowsky. "But certainly a part of going up to Anchorage after going to Fairbanks last year was for the Baileys."
Despite their missing piece, the Nittany Lions are excited to experience a new place and a new opponent.
"I think it'll be really fun," said freshman Chase Berger. "The travel will be challenging, but I know a couple guys who are from there and I just imagine a big block of ice, so it'll just be interesting to see what Alaska is."
Another member of the team however will be visiting his old stomping grounds. Senior Eric Scheid played for Alaska Anchorage during the 2011-12 season before transferring to Penn State.
"It'll be weird for sure," said Scheid. "…Unfortunately my freshman class I went there with, they graduated last year but it'll still be cool to see some people I know up there…"
Penn State will face off against Alaska Anchorage on Friday and Saturday night, with both puck drops set for 11 p.m. ET.