Over the weekend, Penn State hosted Michigan State at Beaver Stadium for an outdoor hockey game. This event has been long in discussion, and had been stymied many times due to the poor “winterization” of Beaver Stadium. Luckily, the powers that be realized the aging stadium needed some upgrades, and is in the process of turning Beaver Stadium into a state of the art venue, capable of hosting events beyond November.

And let me tell you, this could be the start of something really special.

For starters, yes, Penn State did indeed succumb to the Spartans by the score of 5-4 in overtime, as recapped by Colin.

And yes, it was achingly cold outside, with the ice suffering repeated damage that required mid-game repair stoppages.

But man, what an electric event it was.

I braved the cold to attend this historic event, and watched as 75,000 others did the same as well, making this the second-highest attended college hockey game of all time.

It was a hybrid of a hockey game you’d see at Pegula, with all of its intimate chants and shouts, with the big game atmosphere of Beaver Stadium. Fireworks, the Blue Band, cheerleaders, appearances by Matt Campbell and Abdul Carter. Just an absolute blast to attend.

I also have to figure that this was as close to a “worst case scenario” as this event could have. First, mountains of snow had to be cleared in the week leading up to the event. Second, the temperatures were so cold that the ice was literally cracking apart. Third, and this may be self-inflicted, but it appeared that both traffic control and gatekeeping were not as on point as they typically are for a football game, though the scuttlebutt is that that has to do with using a different company for this event than normally handles those operations.

Even with those stumbling blocks, and in the middle of a stadium renovation, the atmosphere was electric, and Penn Staters far and wide came to witness history. I managed to watch the game and keep all of my fingers and toes intact, so I’ll call that a win.

With some lessons learned, and with a fully renovated stadium, I think outdoor hockey can – and will – return to Beaver Stadium in the future. Besides Penn State hockey, how fun would it be for the Penguins and Flyers to play a cross-state game in State College? Sign me up.

Here’s hoping that next time the wind chills aren’t in the single (or negative) digits, yeah?