Feb. 4, 2016
By Jack Milewski, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Every game down the stretch of a season is important. For the Penn State women's hockey team, their last six regular season games come against conference foes, making them even more meaningful with CHA Playoffs are right around the corner. While the weekend series against Syracuse is an important league weekend, the games hold added meaning for other reasons as well.
For Penn State, the game on Friday is the annual "faculty and staff appreciation" game, that honors the commitment and the service of the faculty and staffers who aid the Penn State women's hockey team. All faculty and staff receive special deals on tickets if they choose to attend. For the team, it is a great chance to give back to all of the workers behind the scenes. According to Shannon Yoxheimer, it is something the team always looks forward to each year.
"I think that without faculty and staff we really couldn't be a team," said Yoxheimer. "You know you really need all the faculty and staff because they do a lot of small things that go unnoticed and so it's a really good night to just recognize all the hard work that they put in."
From the equipment managers to the workers at Pegula, the entire process is a total team effort. As Yoxheimer said, the team wouldn't be able to do what they have the ability to do without all the aid of the faculty and staff. Head coach Josh Brandwene agreed with what Yoxheimer had to say and added that the excellence of the faculty is university wide and doesn't just start or end with the women's hockey team.
"This is a great community," said Brandwene. "When you talk about one team in Penn State athletics, that's not just the 31 sports but it's the entire community. It's the faculty and their amazing support for our student athletes. It's the staff and all they do to support Penn State and its mission; it's tremendous that we get the opportunity to play for all of them."
For Penn State, the weekend festivities do not end with the faculty and staff game. The following afternoon on Saturday, the Nittany Lions will take part in the Skate for the Cure game. All fans who wear pink to that game will receive free admission and also receive the opportunity to skate with the team post-game. Not only that, but just the opportunity for the Penn State team to skate in support of breast cancer research is a huge honor according to Bella Sutton.
"It's really an honor to give back," said Sutton. "The pink game is a huge game for us just to be able to show our support in the way that we can and being able to play for everyone effected is really cool just to be a part of.
Brandwene echoed Sutton's sentiment and added that the game on Saturday, though obviously important in the standings, is more than just a normal hockey game due to the cause that they will be playing for.
"That just transcends the game," said Brandwene. "What we do, we work really hard at, but nothing is more important than health. To have the opportunity to support cancer research and the opportunity to help find a cure for this horrible disease is just a reminder of the bigger picture and how grateful we have to be for our health."
Penn State's action packed weekend will begin at 7pm on Friday against the Syracuse Orange. Saturday will be the Skate for the Cure game with puck drop at 2:30 p.m.