Dec. 4, 2015
By Jack Milewski, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The game of hockey is played on a sheet of ice that is less than one inch thick. This ice is chilled to 16 degrees Fahrenheit for optimal play and performance for the athletes. Needless to say, the various components that make up hockey lend the sport to be known of as more of a northern commodity. The south does not boast the number of teams, youth leagues, athletes, fans, you name it. Northern States are simply better known for all these things when it comes to the sport of hockey. However, for Hannah Bramm of the Penn State Nittany Lions, her sport, even in the sunny state of Florida, was always hockey.
Bramm was born in 1994 in Tampa, Florida. Her start in the sport of hockey was possibly more an accident than anything else. Bramm says that her brother was watching Olympic figure skating one day and he got the idea to try it out for himself. Bramm joined with him but she said the figure skating aspect didn't last long.
"We kind of tried to copy what we saw on TV," said Bramm. "That lasted for about two weeks and then after that it turned into hockey and didn't change."
Bramm started her hockey career down in Florida, playing as a "mites" or a young kid on some youth teams. Despite the fact that Florida may not be known for its hockey prowess, Bramm still excelled in everything she did on the ice. One of the biggest impacts hockey wise, for Bramm and Florida in general, was the Tampa Bay Lightning. After their Stanley Cup victory in 2004, the sport of hockey suddenly had a new relevance in the state of Florida.
"Oh yea the Lightning definitely had an impact on me and I think they are still making an impact," said Bramm. "I went to a game over Thanksgiving break and the place was sold out and very energetic."
Bramm was a season ticket holder as a kid and because of that was able to attend many Lightning games, something she also said contributed to her love of hockey.
"I was always going to games as a kid," said Bramm. "Watching [The Lightning] just made you want to play more. You could also kind of tell in the community that the [Stanley Cup] win made a difference because there were more kids in Lightning jerseys and just more buzz around Tampa as a whole."
Even though the buzz from the Lightning win certainly spurned a hockey movement in Florida, Bramm still moved north to continue her hockey career. She attended boarding school at the North American Hockey Academy where she played with fellow Nittany Lion Shannon Yoxheimer. After graduation Bramm went to Minnesota-Duluth to start her collegiate career.
"Well there aren't really any well-known hockey colleges in Florida," said Bramm. "So that was my main reason to choose Duluth and move north because of the fact that there are better hockey programs, so that made the decision to leave home a lot easier."
After spending her first two collegiate seasons at Minnesota-Duluth, Bramm transferred to Penn State to once again rejoin Yoxheimer.
"When I made the move from Duluth I was just looking for a good school to go to and one that had a competitive hockey team," said Bramm. "I already knew Shannon on the team so my first visit was just kind of to see how everything worked here, but right when I got on campus I knew that I had to come to Penn State."
Now in her second season as a Nittany Lion, Bramm may be finding her grove as she has tallied goals in the past two games, giving her three on the season.
"It's definitely nice to have the puck start to go in for me," said Bramm. "But I think that in general we've just been able to score more goals as a team over the past couple weeks."
"Hannah is a hard-working, complete player. She's gifted offensively, kills penalties, blocks shots, and is a physical presence for us. I'm grateful for her dedication to our program," said Penn State head coach Josh Brandwene.
Bramm is tied for fifth on the team in scoring, but just like the Nittany Lions as a whole have started to get the bounces, Bramm has as well.
The team will face off against Syracuse this coming Friday, December 4th. Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. in Syracuse N.Y.