This Friday, the Penn State men’s hockey team will take on a formidable opponent in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Nittany Lions’ home opener. To help provide a true home-arena advantage, the game has been declared a student whiteout by the Roar Zone, which will bring an atmosphere unlike any other to the Pegula Ice Arena.

Looking @ the 7 day forecast for the Roar Zone, it appears full whiteout conditions are in effect for Friday evening pic.twitter.com/lLQ7bXu1hc

— The Roar Zone (@TheRoarZone) October 13, 2015

On any given night, Pegula is rocking out with fans and students in the Roar Zone, and the antics, music, and screaming continuously rattle opponents. Opponents facing a whited-out Roar Zone typically don’t fare too well against the Nittany Lions. Just ask the Wisconsin Badgers, who only scored two goals against the Nittany Lions’ five goals last year, in a game accompanied by the incredibly original banner, “Tonight We Feast On Badger.”

The Irish are coming off a strong season last year, where they made it to the Hockey East Tournament quarterfinals. The Penn State-Notre Dame rivalry is one nearly all Penn Staters are familiar with. Often times you find people in Pennsylvania who proudly support one of the two teams. An age-old debate that crosses generations, the Penn State-Notre Dame rivalry has been built up by years of smack talk from fans and incredible games from the teams. The Nittany Lions and Fighting Irish will build up this rivalry even further this weekend with a two-game series in Happy Valley.

About the Author

Tim Reams

Tim Reams is a senior majoring in labor employment relations.