Penn State officially became “Hockey Valley” on Friday night, as the doors opened for Penn State Men’s Ice Hockey’s first practice as a varsity Division-1 team.

Students filed in to the Greenberg Ice Pavilion after the Homecoming Parade and Pep Rally and took to the ice for some practice shots of their own. The players walked around the rink, handing out pizza and taking pictures with the fans.

Around midnight, the team got on the ice, and Coach Guy Gadowsky was hooked up to a microphone. While practice was going on, he answered questions from the crowd and lightheartedly encouraged his players.

When asked what the biggest challenge will be this year, Gadowsky said that bringing fans is always tough. He encouraged the crowd to show up on gameday, and made it clear that the team feeds off of their energy.

After about an hour, practice ended and the fans were invited to skate with the team as well as take pictures with them and Coach Gadowsky.

The first game is Friday, October 12th against American International at 7:30pm.