A bombshell was dropped on the college sports world last Friday when Penn State revealed plans to host an outdoor hockey game at Beaver Stadium for the first time in history on January 31, 2026.

𝐻𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑊𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝐵𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑑𝑒.

𝟎𝟏.𝟑𝟏.𝟐𝟔

Hockey Valley Beaver Stadium

https://t.co/PrM94Ai04N#WeAre pic.twitter.com/lirxG9vpcW

— Penn State Athletics (@GoPSUsports) August 29, 2025

The game will feature Penn State men’s hockey facing off against Michigan State in a Big Ten battle between two leading contenders to win the national championship, as well as the women’s hockey team squaring off with Robert Morris in an AHA affair.

While Beaver Stadium is currently in the process of a four-year renovation plan that was paused for the start of the 2025 football season, capacity remains at over 106,000, the second-largest venue in the United States. The stadium is capable of hosting winter events after hosting a College Football Playoff game last season with no large issues, but it remains to be seen what the plan is for Beaver Stadium for this game.

But just how much bigger in comparison can this be than your run-of-the-mill hockey game? We’re used to large attendance figures in football, but this is special for hockey. Let’s break down the numbers.

Largest Hockey Game Ever: 104,173 At Michigan Stadium

On December 11, 2010, Michigan and Michigan State squared off in “The Big Chill at the Big House” and nearly sold out the largest stadium in North America, breaking the record for the most attended hockey game in the history of the sport. Beaver Stadium technically has enough seats to break this record, but it’s hard to say if they will.

The attendance for this game is going to depend on whether they hold off the resumption of renovations after the game (a potential two-month delay depending on the football team’s postseason fate) or resume it and close off thousands of seats. Even without the question of renovation, it’s going to be hard to get 105,000 people out to the middle of Pennsylvania for a regular-season college hockey game on a frigid January day.

Let’s say they can still get in the ballpark of 75,000 for the game. That’ll put Beaver Stadium’s hockey debut firmly in the top ten all-time. If they can get 80,000? They’ll exceed the 2024 NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium for fifth all-time.

Largest Women’s Hockey Game Ever: 55,031 At Camp Randall Stadium

On February 6, 2010, Wisconsin and Bemidji State played a hockey doubleheader in front of over 55,000 fans at the Camp Randall Hockey Classic, which featured both schools’ men’s and women’s hockey teams. It broke a record set a month earlier at Frozen Fenway by nearly 17,000 for the highest attended women’s hockey game.

This record is doable. With the men’s and women’s teams presumably playing a doubleheader, their attendance totals will be the same. With all the excitement around the men’s team, the women’s team will benefit from the added exposure and will likely break the record for the most spectators at a women’s hockey game.

Largest Penn State Hockey Game: 25,709 At Wrigley Field

On January 3, a then-spiraling Penn State men’s hockey team took the ice at the home of the Chicago Cubs and lost in a shootout against Notre Dame at the “Frozen Confines” event. In a way, this could be seen as a turning point for the team, which officially logged a tie due to the NCAA’s overtime rules. Two days later, they beat Notre Dame on the road and began their torrid second half en route to the Frozen Four.

It’s safe to say they’ll break this record too.

Population of the Yukon Territories: 47,111

Gavin McKenna, the projected No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, will be the most popular player in college hockey next season. His high-profile recruitment came down to the two teams squaring off at Beaver Stadium in January, adding further fuel to what’s sure to be the biggest regular season college hockey game in a long time.

McKenna hails from Whitehorse, the capital city of the Yukon Territories. While not technically a province of Canada, it’s commonly referred to as one unknowingly. Nevertheless, you could fly out every single person from the Yukon Territories to Happy Valley that night and still have half the stadium empty. In fact, if you combine Yukon with the neighboring Northwest Territories, Beaver Stadium could still hold the combined population of 92,353.

So, it’s safe to say that it’ll be the biggest environment that college hockey’s next phenomenon will encounter in his young career.

A Full Season of Pegula Ice Arena Attendance: 111,231

Pegula is always rocking for the Nittany Lions. Now, imagine taking all 18 home games from last year and putting them in the same stadium.

Beaver Stadium can almost hold them all. Of course, renovations will likely knock down the attendance as we said, but when nearly an entire season’s worth of home attendance can fit in Beaver, you get a good idea of how awesome this could be.