Penn State men’s hockey will face Army on Dec. 12 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C., the program announced on Wednesday morning.
The Capital Hockey Classic, run by Monumental Sports & Entertainment, will feature a college hockey doubleheader. Taking place two days before the annual Army-Navy football game just outside of D.C., the first game of the event will feature a clash between the military academies’ club hockey teams. The Nittany Lions and Army’s Division I program will then face off in the day’s second game.
Ticketing information will be made available at a later date.
The Nittany Lions have something of a special relationship with the Army program, having faced the Black Knights for the first game at Pegula Ice Arena in 2013. This game will mark the third meeting between the programs over the past four seasons.
In other hockey news, Penn State is still awaiting official word that the Big Ten intends to continue with plans for the majority of the conference to take part in games at Wrigley Field following the NHL’s Winter Classic. The Winter Classic is scheduled for New Year’s Eve and will pit the Chicago Blackhawks against the St. Louis Blues. If that were to take place, it would mark the second notable neutral site game this season for the Nittany Lions.
A game at the Winter Classic would mark the second time Penn State has played an outdoor contest. The first came in 2012 at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, where the Nittany Lions lost to Neumann 6-3. In terms of neutral site games of note, this would join a noteworthy list, Penn State having played at Madison Square Garden, Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
As for playing at Beaver Stadium, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft is excited about the prospect as the athletic department undertakes a $700 million renovation of Beaver Stadium.
