June 19, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State and the Pegula Ice Arena will host their second National Hockey League pre-season game, with the Buffalo Sabres and the reigning two-time Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins slated to clash in Hockey Valley on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at 7 p.m.
"The opportunity to once again host the Buffalo Sabres at Pegula Ice Arena and bring the NHL back to Hockey Valley is tremendously exciting," commented Assistant Athletic Director Michael Cross. "Both the Sabres and Penn State learned numerous things from each other during last year's event and building upon the relationships that were established around this game last year will add value for both organizations."
The Sabres are owned by Terry Pegula, who joined with his wife, Kim, to donate $102 million to Penn State to fund the state-of-the-art Pegula Ice Arena and establish an NCAA Division I men's hockey program in 2010. Penn State launched men's and women's varsity hockey programs in 2012-13 and moved into the spectacular Pegula Ice Arena for the 2013-14 season.
Last September the Sabres dropped a thrilling 2-1 contest to the Minnesota Wild as Jason Zucker fired home a one-timer on the power-play with just 4.6 seconds remaining in the third period to seal the victory. Zucker finished the 2016-17 season as Minnesota's sixth leading scorer with 47 points on 22 goals and 25 assists in 79 games. Zemgus Girgensons opened the scoring in the contest with Buffalo's lone tally at 16:25 of the first period.
"After the success of last year's game at Pegula Ice Arena, it was a natural fit to return for a second game," said Sabres President Russ Brandon. "Our team and staff were impressed by the facilities and we're looking forward to the atmosphere the Penn State fans will bring to the game."
"The crowd at Penn State last year was awesome for our game against Minnesota. The facility is first class and the fans really gave us a great welcome onto the campus," added Buffalo Sabres captain Brian Gionta.
Tickets for the game will range from $25-80. A map of Pegula Ice Arena with the ticket prices by section for the NHL pre-season game can be found here and ticket timelines are below. There will be a fee for event parking, with the parking details to be announced at a later date.
Ticket procedures for Sabres-Penguins pre-season game are as follows:
- Hockey season ticket holders who renewed their tickets for the 2017-18 season will have the right-of-first-refusal for their ticket locations, up to the number of season tickets purchased for the 2017-18 campaign. The right-of-first-refusal period will begin June 27 and run through July 10.
- The pre-sale for Nittany Lion Club members and men's hockey season ticket holders for the NHL pre-season matchup will run from July 27 through July 30. Season ticket holders who want to purchase additional tickets (8 ticket limit) can do so during the pre-sale.
- Tickets for the Sabres-Penguins contest will go on sale to the general public on August 1, subject to availability.
- Penn State student tickets for the NHL pre-season game will go on- sale in mid-August, and will cost $25. Students will be able to purchase tickets through their Student Account Manager.
Fans interested in receiving ticket notifications about the Sabre-Penguins pre-season game can sign-up here.