Former Penn State Nittany Lion has historic NHL debut

Brandon Biro, who played with the Penn State hockey team from 2016-2022, made his name known to hockey fans across the country on Wednesday night. The former Nittany Lion was playing in just his second NHL game, he scored twice for the Buffalo Sabres in front of a national television audience on TNT. 

Former Penn State hockey star breaks through on a big stage

The first goal came halfway through the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center. The goal was assisted by well-known stars Tage Thompson and Jordan Greenway. The goal was scored by one of the more notable goaltenders in the NHL, Carter Hart. The second one came late in the third into an empty net to seal the win for the Sabres.

This was a well-deserved night for Brandon Biro. Since leaving Penn State three years ago, he has made a name for himself in the American Hockey League, the NHL’s minor league. In his two seasons with the Rochester Americans, he has scored a combined 28 goals and put up 92 points. Anyone who followed his career in Hockey Valley is hardly surprised by his success. Among all-time Nittany Lions, he is tied for tenth in goals scored, third in assists, and fifth in points. He was an integral part of a run from 2016 to 2020 that saw a Big Ten tournament and conference title and multiple NCAA tournament appearances for the Nittany Lion program. 

Biro is only the third Nittany Lion alumni to score a goal in the NHL. The first was Casey Bailey, who scored a goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 11, 2015. Brett Muray, also of the Sabres, became the second when he scored on November 29, 2021. He is the first to score twice in a single game.

This is a major milestone for the Penn State hockey program, whose recruiting has been affected by a lack of NHL success. While the program has been as dominant on the ice as you’d expect for a program only 11 years old, they have struggled to land elite recruits at times. Even elite recruits from the state of Pennsylvania have chosen to play for programs with a more established NHL pipeline, even conference rivals. While we have seen the tide slowly start to shift, sustained NHL success from even just a player or two would go a long way in helping the Nittany Lions program for years to come. 

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