Penn State hockey joins military academies in first Capital Hockey Classic

Penn State hockey will have an opportunity to grow its national footprint with the first game of the 2024-25 schedule announced on Wednesday. The Nittany Lions will join the United States Military Academy West Point and the United States Naval Academy in the inaugural Capital Hockey Classic in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, December 12.

Who is participating in the Capital Hockey Classic?

The Capital Hockey Classic is part of a packed weekend in the D.C. area, headlined by the Army-Navy football game at Commanders Field on Saturday, December 14.

The first game in the doubleheader event will be between the Army and Navy club hockey teams. Penn State hockey will then headline the nightcap as the Nittany Lions take on Army’s D1 program.

Penn State hockey will take on Army for the second consecutive season after a thrilling 7-6 comeback victory at Pegula Ice Arena last season. The Nittany Lions are 4-0-0 against the Black Knights all-time.

“It’s truly an honor to be a part of the first-ever Capital Hockey Classic. The Army-Navy football game is a yearly spectacle, and to add a hockey component to this special weekend is an awesome opportunity,” head coach Guy Gadowsky said in Wednesday’s announcement.

Penn State will look to lean on alumni support

© John Mersits / USA TODAY NETWORK

Penn State has a history of great fan attendance in every major city up and down the East Coast. No matter the sport, Penn State alumni in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., always bring great crowds. Head coach Guy Gadowsky called on the extensive Penn State alumni network to come out and support the team during the special weekend.

“I’m excited we will be able to spread our Hockey Valley community to the DMV area, an area we haven’t been to in our short history but one with a large alumni base,” Gadowsky said. “We know there will be a lot of Blue and White support in D.C.! We Are!”

This isn’t the first time that a Penn State team will play a neutral site game in the D.C. area. In 2010, the Nittany Lions football program played the Indiana Hoosiers at FedEx Field. While the game was technically Indiana getting paid to move it to a neutral site, the crowd made it a Penn State home game.

Penn State hockey already has a history of playing neutral site locations in major cities. The Nittany Lions have participated multiple times in the Philadelphia faceoff against teams such as Vermont and Princeton. The program also made the trip to Nashville in 2021, where it upset No. 6 North Dakota 6-4 in the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game.

Penn State has also traveled to nearby Allentown for the NCAA Tournament, where a regional will again be held this season.

These types of games are massive for the still-young program. Gadowsky is looking to continue expanding the influence of Penn State hockey along the East Coast. A growing brand needs neutral-site games such as this to gain exposure for future recruiting. There isn’t a single team south of Pennsylvania that has an NCAA D1 hockey team.

That means that games like this in the DMV could give Penn State hockey a leg up on any potential top recruits from the area. With hockey growing more popular in the South, this could be the next step for the Nittany Lions to reach that next level and finally break through for a Frozen Four.

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