Penn State hockey made a stunning announcement of football-themed “White Rush” uniforms during the White Out at Beaver Stadium Saturday. Guy Gadowsky’s program will look a lot like James Franklin’s when it takes the ice against Notre Dame on February 1.

For those of you who missed it, this video was played on the Beaver Stadium jumbotrons during a media timeout in the first quarter of the Nittany Lions’ 28-21 victory over Michigan:

“The most photogenic and frenzied show of unity, a symbolic showing of spirit and togetherness.”

HOCKEY VALLEY
WHITE RUSH
𝟮.𝟭.𝟮𝟬 pic.twitter.com/3Vq6uafgNl

— Penn State Men’s Hockey (@PennStateMHKY) October 20, 2019

The uniforms were designed very similarly to the all-whites that Penn State football wears on the road, but they also aren’t a straight rip-off of them. The sleeves of the hockey team’s new jerseys feature blue and gray stripes at the elbow and thicker blue and gray stripes on the socks. Additionally, the pants feature an even thicker blue stripe that isn’t featured on the football program’s game-worn pants, and the Big Ten’s logo was placed on the back collar of the new hockey uniforms.

Two of our staffers decided to weigh in with their thoughts on Penn State hockey’s newest set of unis.

Mikey Mandarino: Absolutely.

I was completely stunned when I first saw Penn State hockey’s new threads on the Beaver Stadium jumbotrons, but I instantly fell in love with them for a number of reasons.

First of all, these uniforms are bold. Guy Gadowsky’s program has typically been conservative when it comes to its uniforms. A pair of gray alternate uniforms (one of which is significantly better than the other) was pretty adventurous looks for the Nittany Lions, but this takes it to a whole new level. Putting jersey numbers on the front of hockey jerseys is frowned upon in some hockey circles, but being bold and changing things up is the only way to grow your brand. Penn State absolutely nailed this look from that standpoint.

Another bold part of these uniforms is the white gloves. Penn State has never worn white gloves, and hockey teams didn’t really utilize that color scheme on its mitts until the expansion Vegas Golden Knights debuted in the NHL two years ago. More teams, including the Buffalo Sabres and the university of Michigan, have rocked white gloves in recent years. They might be flashy, but they look good.

Second, there’s a welcome sense of self-awareness with these jerseys. Hockey has been my favorite sport since I was five years old, but even I’m not delusional enough to think it’s the most popular or well-known sport at Penn State. Football obviously holds those distinctions, and the fact that the hockey program tried to bring awareness to itself with a beautifully-executed tribute to that is just awesome. Penn State isn’t obviously just a “football school,” but the sport is a pretty big freakin’ deal here in Happy Valley — as evidenced by Gadowsky’s quote about Pegula Ice Arena being a smaller version of Beaver Stadium.

Although this design was clearly inspired by the football program, it also wasn’t a straight cut-and-paste of the Nittany Lions’ away uniforms. The sleeves and socks’ blue and gray stripes along with the thick blue stripe on the pants make the uniforms Penn State hockey’s own.

The Nittany Lions absolutely killed it with these new uniforms, and I’m already counting down the days until they debut on February 1.

Anthony Fiset: Not So Fast My Friend…

I’m sorry, Mikey. I know how much you love to yell about how nice these jerseys are, but I just can’t say that I feel the same way.

First of all, let me say that I really appreciate what Penn State hockey is doing with these jerseys. I’m glad that some team finally decided to take James Franklin’s advice and wear white for its White Out — even if he refuses to.

Granted, the hockey team traditionally wears white at home, but the addition of the white pants and gloves is a stunning look. I also love the two-toned striping on the sleeves and socks because, as we all know, two-toned stripes are better than one.

I really can’t wait to see the whole uniform come together with a White Out crowd in Pegula Ice Arena.

With that said, I just can’t get over the numbers on the front of the jersey. Plainly, putting large block numbers on the front of a hockey jersey is a sin.

Hockey sweaters are some of the few jerseys on which teams can emblazon their name and/or logo extra large, right smack in the middle, and this just looks too — generic.

Again, I appreciate the outside-the-box design concept, and I’m very grateful that this isn’t another boring gray alternate — no offense to the grays. However, just like how every player doesn’t need to get compared to Saquon Barkley, every team doesn’t need to look like the football team.

I think there are a lot of better options for the front of the all-white alternates that the designers failed to consider or downright ignored in favor of boring numbers.

For instance, Penn State could have gone with a color-flipped chipmunk logo with a white background and blue accents. That would have tied all of the iconic elements of the jersey together and made it pop. Plus, if you want to talk about taking risks, flipping the chipmunk logo around would have had the alumni talking for weeks.

Hell, I would have rather seen the Nittany Lions pay homage to the vintage Penn State Icers’ jerseys with some simple block font across the chest. This would have perfectly completed the otherwise classic jersey look, and they could have updated the design by writing “Nittany Lions” instead. To take the jerseys to the next level, Penn State could have made the font white with a blue outline to keep the crisp, White Rush aesthetic in tact.

Most importantly, it wouldn’t have been hockey sacrilege.

I love the all-white look. I just wish the designers leaned into what makes Penn State hockey great rather than trying to remind us that Penn State will always be a football school. For that, these jerseys leave a lot to be desired.