It’s almost that time, folks.

Hockey will be played at Beaver Stadium for the first time ever this week, beginning with the club hockey team on Thursday night, followed by the women’s team on Friday afternoon. It all leads up to the most highly anticipated regular-season game in Penn State men’s hockey history, when they host No. 2 Michigan State in front of tens of thousands of fans at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Ahead of a weekend that will see the eyes of the hockey world turn to Hockey Valley, head coach Guy Gadowsky and select players met with the media on Tuesday afternoon.

On The Beaver Stadium Game Concept

It’s no secret that hockey fans have dreamed of using one of the biggest venues in college sports as a special venue for the hockey team. As someone who’s been around since the club hockey days, Gadowsky is excited to finally scratch it off his bucket list as a coach.

“‘When are you guys going to play a hockey game [at Beaver Stadium]’, that was one of the most common questions that I’ve had over the past 15 years,” Gadowsky said when asked about the long road to get to this point. “How it really came to be was [Assistant Athletic Director] Vinnie James just asked me in the summer, ‘Hey, what do you think?’ and, of course, I said it would be unbelievable.”

“I didn’t think they would ever pull it off this quickly for this year, I just didn’t think it was possible…I’m blown away they’re pulling this off.”

Gadowsky would go on to thank James, Pat Kraft, and the entire community for making this possible, even shouting out the EMS, fire, and police departments.

Captain Dane Dowiak and Mac Gadowsky also talked about what it meant to play in this game, recalling their recruiting visits and dreaming of playing there.

“When you come to Penn State, you come on that visit and see that stadium, everyone kind of questions, ‘Hey, what are the chances this is going to happen?'” Dowiak said. “The fact that we’re lucky enough to be able to do it this year is really special.”

“You come on that visit and see Beaver, and you think, ‘Oh, it would be pretty cool to be able to play there.'” Mac Gadowsky said. “When they told us here that was the first time any of the guys ever believed that that dream would be coming true, being able to play there.”

On The Team’s Recent Injuries

Penn State was brutally shorthanded in the team’s sweep over Notre Dame earlier this month, playing two skaters short in the series finale due to injuries to several key skaters. They got good news when they took the ice in Madison last Friday, as forward Shea Van Olm and defenseman Mac Gadowsky returned to the lineup and got through the weekend.

But while they’ve returned, defenseman Casey Aman remains day-to-day, and the team will be without star forward Charlie Cerrato for the remainder of the regular season. Losing Cerrato, who left the January 9 win over Minnesota with an undisclosed injury, is a big blow to the team’s center depth.

“Chuck, he’s a heck of a player,” Dowiak said. “But now every single guy, we have that ‘next man up’ mentality, whether it’s winning faceoffs, going to the dirty areas, winning puck battles…As a forward unit, we got to rely on each other.”

Gadowsky is hopeful that Cerrato will be able to return in the postseason. The Big Ten Tournament will begin on March 11.

On Micah Parsons

Penn State football legend and NFL All-Pro Micah Parsons was on hand in Madison, Wisconsin, to root on the Nittany Lions on Saturday, and his exploits were all over social media. After meeting with the team before the game, he was back in the locker room after the comeback victory, breaking “THOR’s Hammer” in the process.

Micah Parsons was getting the Penn State Hockey team SO HYPED last night that he accidentally broke their hammer.

(Via @PennStateMHKY pic.twitter.com/tzk4sXBMXv

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) January 25, 2026

Gadowsky and Dowiak glowed when Parsons was brought up, and how cool it was for the Green Bay Packers star to be supporting the hockey team.

“It was so cool to meet him,” Gadowsky said. “He’s such an amazing Penn Stater and, obviously, he’s Micah Parsons. But, boy, does he love Penn State, and the words he said to our team were awesome, his message was awesome.”

Gadowsky also said that THOR’s Hammer, which is awarded to a standout performer after each victory, is all fixed up.

“It was great,” he said about Parsons’ postgame involvement. “It was awesome, it was fun, it was perfect. [THOR’s Hammer] It’s fixed, it’s not the first time, but it was the best time.”

“That was pretty cool,” Dowiak said about it. “I remember coming on my visit seeing Micah Parsons on the field, and with the player he’s turned into, it’s really cool to see.”

“At the end of the day, he’s just a Penn Stater at heart, and I thought that was the coolest thing. He said throughout the success throughout his career, there was no place like Penn State, wearing the blue and white.”

On Staying Focused

If you were only paying attention to what the media has said about what’s coming up this weekend for the men’s hockey team, you might completely miss that this is, in fact, a two-game series.

On Friday night, the series opener will be played at Pegula Ice Arena in a game that counts equally in the standings. Despite the attention on Saturday’s spectacle, the team understands it must remain focused and take it one game at a time.

“We’re worried about Friday night,” said Guy Gadowsky. “I know it’s a very, very special occasion and we’re grateful to have the opportunity on Saturday, but we have a game that’s equally important.”

“I think it just comes down to the group in the locker room,” Mac Gadowsky said. “It’s a series. It’s not one game, and we have to remind ourselves of that. They’re the No. 2 team in the country, and we’re focused on getting all six points this weekend.”

Another thing that was brought up in relation to Friday’s series opener is the goaltending platoon. Both Josh Fleming and Kevin Reidler played outstandingly in the sweep of Wisconsin, and the split appears to still be on. But will the coaching staff start Reidler on Saturday at Beaver Stadium, as they have the last few weeks, or will it be Fleming, who was featured in the promotional video?

“Good question,” he said when asked about the goaltending plans for the weekend. “I thought of that too. We have not discussed it yet.”

On The Beaver Stadium Ice & Conditions

The team has not yet tested the ice at Beaver Stadium, which will host three games in a span of three days. According to Guy Gadowsky, the plan is to get out there on Wednesday.

“Any time you’re trying out new ice, you go out and see, you know, how lively the boards are,” Mac Gadowsky said. “It’s huge to spend a little time getting to know the rink a little bit.”

The outdoor game will also bring a unique element with the frigid weather in State College. The early forecast has a slim possibility of snow with a wind chill in the single digits. However, most of the team played in last year’s Frozen Confines game at Wrigley Field, so they believe they’re prepared.

“In warmups, you just put some stuff on, more than you think you need, and as you get hot, you just take it off,” Dowiak said. “I think once the adrenaline’s going, I don’t think the weather will be a problem.”

On The Sweep In Wisconsin

The sweep in Wisconsin was historic for several reasons. For one, it extended the team’s Big Ten winning streak to a program-record seven games, while it was also the first pure sweep of a top-five team in program history. Getting a full six points on the road in the Big Ten is never easy, and they’re not taking it for granted.

One of the big things that came out of Saturday’s sweep-clinching victory was the fight in the final minute and ensuing jeering from the Nittany Lions towards the Wisconsin student section, the Crease Creatures. As someone who was directly in the middle of the scuffle, Dowiak downplayed the incident, attributing it to being caught up in the moment.

“I don’t waste my time on it,” he said when asked about it. “Fans like to chirp at us, they say a lot of things, and you know, emotions kind of get the best of you at the end of a sweep. Sweeping in the Big Ten doesn’t come around often, and we were just giving back what they gave us.”

On The Potential Atmosphere This Weekend

It’s no secret that this will be, by far, the most fans that any of these players have ever played in front of. Over 65,000 tickets have been sold for the game on Saturday, a massive number that represents 10 times the capacity of Pegula Ice Arena.

Everyone is excited about what the environment will look like, including Dowiak, who was asked about what he wants to see carried over from football’s gameday traditions.

“I think the starting lineups when we first walk out, hopefully they play the same song, the ‘We Are’ chant. I think we’re all just excited to finally walk out of that tunnel and see the Penn State community and what they can do.”

On Hitting Their Stride

Seven straight conference victories don’t happen every day. Even last season, when they went on their memorable second-half run to the Frozen Four, the Nittany Lions weren’t quite able to do that.

The next two weeks feature two blockbuster battles with the top two teams in the country, including a trip to visit a near-unanimous No. 1 Michigan next weekend. Do the Nittany Lions think they’re hitting their stride? The captain thinks so.

“100 percent,” said Dowiak. “I really like where everyone’s head is right now. Everybody’s pulling the rope the same way.”

“It gives us a lot of confidence going in, especially this weekend against a really good team, that if we play our game, we’ll find success.”