A year ago, senior forward Ture Linden and graduate student forward Ashton Calder played Division I collegiate hockey in different sweaters.
Fast forward to Friday, Oct. 7, 2022, when the duo of veteran transfers skated on the ice in their first game for the Nittany Lions.
It was their first experience playing in front of a packed house at Pegula Ice Arena representing Penn State.
Calder came away from the first series scoring a goal in each game, while Linden had two assists in the first game before tacking on two more assists while adding his first goal as a Nittany Lion in the series finale helping to finish the sweep of Canisius.
For head coach Guy Gadowsky, this was the first opportunity to see how the two would perform with their teammates and combining for seven points in the series sweep over Canisius did not disappoint.
"We weren't bringing in anybody who was just a really good player that didn't fit our culture and weren't going to bring anybody just to fit our culture that wasn't a really good player," Gadowsky said.
Gadowsky was thrilled with the points they put up and the faceoffs that Linden, especially, was able to win for the Nittany Lions.
Linden and Calder are some of the newer players in the locker room, but they feel they have spent years with this hockey team.
"It's weird," Calder said. "I feel like I've known these guys forever." "They did a really good job of bringing us new guys in not just us older transfers, but the younger guys as well."
The excitement of these two high-level veterans goes beyond the coaching staff, but their linemates are also excited to play with them.
Senior forward Kevin Wall is happy that the two bring years of experience to Hockey Valley.
"They bring in a ton of leadership and knowledge from around the game that really helps us," Wall said. "It [also] helps our freshmen to learn from guys like that."
After coming off a five-point weekend, sophomore forward Ryan Kirwan was named the B1G Third Star of the Week. Kirwan credits this honor to his linemates', Linden and Wall, contribution to play.
"Ture and Kevin are two amazing players," Kirwan said. "They're two guys that I look up to, and I can't speak enough as to how much they've helped me."
Linden and Calder are excited to be a part of the Penn State men's hockey culture, and they believe much more is coming in the future.
Linden, from four seasons at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, was thrilled to play in Pegula Ice Arena's atmosphere.
"The Roar Zone obviously is pretty cool," Linden said. "I got to celebrate over there a couple of times with my teammates and that was pretty special because you see it on TV or in videos and once you feel their energy over there, it's special."
Linden is not the only one excited about having the Roar Zone's energy behind his team, as former University of North Dakota Fighting Hawk, Calder could not believe the atmosphere that Penn State students create.
"The Roar Zone was so cool," Calder said. "They're loud throughout the whole game. It seemed like they never stopped. They're never really quiet I thought they were great."
The Nittany Lions understand that the work is not done after starting the season with two wins at home.
Penn State's season is just underway, and so is the preparation and chemistry building that goes into a successful team.
"As the year goes on, hopefully we'll be able to find each other more and more based on chemistry and knowing where each other is going to be on the ice," Linden said.
The Nittany Lions will be back in action Thursday, October 13, against Mercyhurst with a 7 p.m. puck drop at Pegula Ice Arena.
