Penguins, Sabres to play preseason game at Pegula Ice Arena

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- Penn State's desire to continue bringing preseason hockey to Pegula Ice Arena will bear fruit when the Stanley Cup champion Penguins make the trip to Happy Valley for a Sept. 19 preseason clash against the Buffalo Sabres.

The Sabres, owned by Terry Pegula, whose $102 million donation made the state-of-the-art arena possible as well as the Nittany Lions' jump to Division-I ice hockey, will be making their second appearance in State College in as many years when the puck drops at 7 p.m. on Sept. 19.

“After the success of last year’s game at Pegula Ice Arena, it was a natural fit to return for a second game,” Sabres President Russ Brandon said in a statement. “Our team and staff were impressed by the facilities and we’re looking forward to the atmosphere the Penn State fans will bring to the game.”



The Sabres played the Minnesota Wild last September in the first-ever NHL exhibition game at Pegula Ice Arena and did so in front of a crowd of 4,744. With an arena that seats 6,000 and opened in October of 2013, of course this year's matchup will likely be one that sells out.

While there will be a parking fee that will be announced at a later date, tickets will range from $25-$80 and will go on sale to the general public on Aug, 1, subject to availability.

Penn State's ticket sale procedures for the event are as follows:

• Beginning on June 27 and running through July 10, Penn State hockey season ticket holders who renewed their tickets for the upcoming  season will have the right-of-first-refusal for their ticket locations, up to the number of season tickets purchased for the upcoming season.

• The pre-sale for Nittany Lion Club members and men's hockey season ticket holders will run from July 27-July 30. Season ticket holders who want to purchase more tickets (8-ticket limit) can do so during the pre-sale.

• Student tickets for the game will cost $25 and will go on sale in mid-August.

“The opportunity to once again host the Buffalo Sabres at Pegula Ice Arena and bring the NHL back to Hockey Valley is tremendously exciting,” Penn State Assistant Athletic Director Michael Cross said in a statement. “Both the Sabres and Penn State learned numerous things from each other during last year’s event and building upon the relationships that were established around this game last year will add value for both organizations.”

While bringing the Penguins to State College has long been talked about, typically those discussions have revolved around doing so for a potential Winter Classic in Beaver Stadium. That opportunity could still be years away as Penn State is slated to upgrade Beaver Stadium in the next 5 years which will allow the stadium to be used more than a handful of times per year.

However, expect this event to go over really well in Central Pa. and given the popularity of Penn State men's ice hockey season tickets -- as well as the strong student turnout, many of whom are Penguins fans -- this could be a very tough ticket to come by.