Sept. 27, 2016
By Maria Canales, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – When the doors to Pegula Ice Arena opened at 5:30 p.m. Monday afternoon, a sea of hockey jerseys rushed through the doors at Gate B. The students of Hockey Valley were eager to watch the first NHL exhibition game in the history of Pegula Ice Arena.
The two teams facing off, the Buffalo Sabres and the Minnesota Wild, were both playing in their opening game of their 2016 preseason. Fans of all kinds were excited for the opportunity to witness NHL hockey on campus. The local community was quick to embrace Penn State hockey's transition to Division I, producing consistent sell out games at Pegula. Additionally, the student body has become one of the most feared student sections in the country. It was no surprise that fans were looking forward to watching two high-caliber teams face off against one another.
Kara Walters, a junior, State College native and Roar Zone executive board member was excited for the exhibition.
"I think it's awesome how people were so excited to come out and watch these two teams," Walters said. "It says a lot about how the State College community has embraced hockey."
Fellow Roar Zone executive board member, junior Abby Bower, explained that she was most excited to show off what the Roar Zone has to offer.
"It's really incredible, especially since we've only been a Division I team for a couple of years now," Bower said. "To think that NHL teams wanted to come to a college arena because of the atmosphere we bring is awesome."
The Roar Zone prepared for this game a little bit differently than regular Penn State games, namely by tweaking their chants and the posters that usually adorn the glass in front of the student section. The main sign on the glass in front of the Roar Zone read, "Thank you Terry and Kim Pegula," a reference to the generous pair who donated the majority of the money to build Pegula Ice Arena, and who are the current owners of the Sabres. Both Terry and Kim Pegula were in attendance for the game.
On the ice, the players had their own experiences, the vast majority at Pegula Ice Arena for the first time.
Supported by the energy from the fans in attendance, the Sabres kept the Wild on their toes, but a goal with five seconds left in the third period edged Minnesota past Buffalo, 2-1.
Sabres forward Zemgus Girgensons praised Pegula Ice Arena and the atmosphere of the game, crediting the fans with making the team feel like they were playing in front of a home crowd.
"It was awesome, the facility is unbelievable," Girgensons said. "The locker room and everything were nice and the fans were loud. It was definitely fun to play here."
Goaltender Anders Nilsson agreed the enthusiasm in the arena was phenomenal. While goaltenders of visiting teams are often the point of ridicule from the enthusiastic student section, for this game the student section kept their cheers positive for both teams.
"Everyone said it was going to be a nice facility but it exceeded all my expectations," Nilsson said.
Prior to arriving in Happy Valley, Buffalo Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma expressed familiarity with the Arena, that he also described as first class, in a conference call earlier this week. Bylsma had already coached kids' teams on both the main ice and the community rink in the past.
"We wanted to go to Penn State to be that first game," Bylsma said. "We were hoping to get this opportunity to bring the NHL and bring Terry Pegula's Buffalo Sabres to be the first game at Penn State.
Penn State men's hockey returns to Pegula Ice Arena on Sunday Oct. 2 for an exhibition game against Queen's (Ontario) at 1 p.m.