One of Penn State hockey’s student managers was missing from a top-10 showdown against Minnesota in Pegula tonight. But he was right across the street.

During any other home series, Will Bensur is behind the scenes working on video and coding for the team (for the uninitiated, Penn State hockey’s video game is extremely strong) — this weekend’s an exception for him. Bensur is dancing in THON, and by the end of the weekend he’ll have stood for 46 hours in an effort to end pediatric cancer.

“I’ve been involved with THON ever since I was a freshman, then I was THON chair for my fraternity [Sigma Chi] and I really saw how special it was,” he said. “I thought dancing would be a great way to end my senior year.”

Things are going as planned for him, with no curveballs so far save for the Joe Jonas appearance. His DRCM changed the time on his phone and that’s helped him stay sane. He said the feeling of dancing in THON is surreal. “It’s a really special experience, even walking through the tunnel on the way in sent chills down my spine.”

Though being on his feet for so long isn’t easy, he knows what he’s doing matters.

“I know at the end of the day it’s so worth it. To be able to look back and say I did this for the cause is really special,” he said. “Definitely a good reason to miss a series.”