By Mike 05.31.11 at 8:28 pm  Josh Brandwene Penn State announced today that former Icer and ACHA Hall of Fame inductee Josh Brandwene will be the first head coach of its Division I Women’s Hockey team. But yeah, who is he, exactly?
He most recently was the head coach of the girls’ ice hockey team (2008-10) at Kingswood Oxford School in West Hartford, Conn. Brandwene was then asked to re-build the Kingswood Oxford boys’ ice hockey team, serving as head coach in 2010-11.
Brandwene’s previous coaching experiences included a stint as the assistant coach of the Team USA men’s ice hockey team at the 2003 World University Games as well as the head coach of the men’s ice hockey teams at ACHA power Delaware and top New England prep program Northfield Mount Hermon (MA) School.
I’m not going to make any sort of analysis, but so far, the powers in charge of building a Penn State Division I hockey program have done a well, particularly making this process as smooth as possible. Unlike the basketball clusterf’ck, the coaching hires for hockey seem to fall in line with where Penn State can and should strive to reach. But that’s what you get when at least a few people at the university actually care about building a successful athletic program.
Welcome back, Josh.
By Mike 05.27.11 at 10:00 pm  Scott Balboni Despite what has otherwise been shown lately by this athletic department, some teams at Penn State are in fact well-run. Case in point, the transition to Division I hockey.
Today, Penn State Icers head coach Scott Balboni resigned his position, to make way for incoming varsity hockey head coach Guy Gadowsky and assistants Keith Fisher and Matt Lindsay.
The move accommodates the accelerated time frame for the transition to NCAA Division I status in 2012-13. Coach Gadowsky and assistant coaches Keith Fisher and Matt Lindsay are on campus and have begun preparing to coach the Icers next season. Gadowsky and his staff have the challenge of leading the transition to play in the proposed Big Ten Hockey Conference by 2013-14 in the new Pegula Ice Arena, a full year earlier than originally planned.
Thank You Terry reminds us what Balboni accomplished with the Icers:
Balboni’s accomplishments also include the first three ESCHL regular season and tournament championships in 2008, 2009 and 2010. He served as Joe Battista’s assistant in two separate stints, from 1997-1999 and 2002-2006, a run that includes the 1998 and 2003 ACHA national championships.
Though this move wreaks of Penn State pushing Balboni out to make way for Gadowsky, it’s the right move regardless of how it happened. It’s not like Penn State is making Balboni leave in the middle of a season or even just before the season starts. This is a good time for the transition, with Gadowsky able to guide the program from one level to the next.
It makes you wonder, though, how this is the same athletic department that controls the men’s basketball team.
By Mike 03.21.11 at 4:54 pm
Thanks to Penn State, the Big Ten finally has the tools to form what should be a powerful college hockey conference:
The Big Ten Conference today announced the intention to recommend the establishment of men’s ice hockey as an official conference sport, with The Pennsylvania State University one of the six institutions that would compete for the 2013-14 academic year.
Penn State is establishing NCAA Division I men’s and women’s hockey programs, with the first season of competition set for 2012-13. The Nittany Lions would join Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin in vying for the Big Ten men’s ice hockey championship. Big Ten rules allow for a conference championship when six institutions sponsor a program in any given sport.
If I knew more about the inner working of college hockey, I’d surely have much more for you on this. But I do appreciate the benefit this will offer the Big Ten conference and Penn State.
While we’re at it, does anyone out there interested in blogging PSU/BigTen hockey? Shoot me an email.
For some more on Penn State and the Big Ten re:Hockey, check this stuff out:
Slow States
MGoBlog
The Daily Gopher
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By Mike 02.15.11 at 9:19 pm
Paul and Nancy Silvis of State College pledged $1 million to building the Penn State Division I hockey program. Normally, a million-dollar contribution to a college sports team would be very big news. Well, normally, that million-dollar donation doesn’t come on the heels of a near-100-million-dollar donation.
Mo’ money comin’ up:
The main lobby of the Pegula Ice Arena will be named after the Paul and Nancy Silvis family. The couple will also co-chair the Penn State Ice Campaign Committee, which will help to raise an additional $10 million to complement the gift from the Pegulas for the ice arena and ice hockey program endowments.
Can’t say much else, particularly since any personal feelings on this matter teeter too close to bringing politics and such into sports, which I vehemently oppose doing. So, we should just enjoy that PSU hockey is getting some more love.
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By Mike 01.23.11 at 11:00 am This has to have been one of the biggest surprises we’ve heard in a long time, right?
Penn State’s Board of Trustees today approved the name of the University’s future state-of-the-art, multi-purpose arena – “Pegula Ice Arena”- after donors Terrence M. and Kim Pegula. In mid-September, the University announced the Pegulas’ $88 million gift, the largest private gift in Penn State’s history, which was intended to fund the arena as well as help to establish an NCAA Division I men’s hockey program.
Okay, so what did we expect, Penn State to just forgo a press release just because everyone and their mother knew the arena would be named after the Pegulas? Of course not. I just can’t imagine there aren’t a few smirks floating around as these puppies roll off the keyboard and out to the press.
Still, hockey will be big at Penn State. It’s a good move by Penn State, regardless of your opinions on one entity basically buying an entire athletic program for the school. Obviously, Penn State wasn’t going to say, “eh, no thanks.” So we should be grateful that what has long been considered a potential hotbed for college hockey will finally get the chance to roar.
The arena will be completed and opened in 2013, and should play host to much more than college hockey, including what many anticipate to be a perfect location for Pens-Flyers rumbles.
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By Mike 08.27.10 at 9:00 am
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The parking lot near the Shields Building,
across from the BJC is the most likely place
for Penn State’s new hockey arena. (Image: PSU Map) |
After hearing a rumor this week, I decided to check it out. (What’s this? Actual reporting?) So I asked around, and it seems that Penn State is looking at building a hockey arena near or in the Shields Building parking lot, across from the Bryce Jordan Center.
With all the hype around football season, it’s not unexpected that the hockey situation has flown pretty far under the radar. But after years of winning club titles, Penn State will finally make the jump to D-I hockey. The Icers have been one of the most successful teams at Penn State, but because of the level at which they play, they’re not paid any attention.
We’ll try to keep up on this story best we can here at LBU.
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