August 6, 2000

Volume I Edition 1

The Nittany Hockey League had its beginning Christmas Eve 1980. An outgrowth of several parent/ youth ice hockey games sponsored by the State College Youth Hockey Association. During these games a number of parents enjoyed themselves so much that they wanted to get together and have pick-up games among themselves. The first opportunity presented itself about 5:00 P.M. Christmas Eve 1980. About 20 adults without any equipment rented the outdoor ice from the University, chose teams and played "shinny" for about an hour. I remember it was snowing, and the puck frequently would burrow under the snow on long passes and become lost altogether. Despite the obstacles, a good time was had by all and several more games were held. The next season the enthusiasm was even greater as Penn State opened the new rink. Waiting for the completion of the rink, the season was delayed. However, in anticipation, Tom Ray, Norm Hutcheson and Bob Hettema reserved the ice time and organized the "players?". Tom Ray took on the task of organizing the teams and recruiting players, while Norm Hutcheson took charge of collecting fees and paying the bills. Bob Hettema was busy coaching the Penn State 'Icers'. The club team that was as close to a Penn State varsity hockey team as could be fielded (iced?). About mid-way through that first season, difficulties in his personal life caused Tom Ray to direct playing and player matters to Ron Weis. While Norm Hutcheson stopped playing in 1982, he continued to handle our finances until 198? In fact his name remains on our checking account to this day, even though he passed away in 1996.
The group from the previous year was joined by the remains of a team representing Piper Aircraft from an erstwhile "industrial" league. The teams were divided based on the color of the jersey a player wore: red, white or blue. Bob Hettema named the teams. The Red Raiders, The White Wizards, and The Blue Flyers. The alliteration suffered in the naming of the blue team in deference to the Piper Aircraft nucleus. Today the Red Raiders, after a year of shifting to maroon and gold wear the black and gold of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Flyers wear the orange and black of the Philadelphia Flyers. The Wizards ordered brand new, numbered and lettered jerseys. After much waiting the jerseys arrived, an through an error by the supplier they became the Wizzards. They chose not to correct the spelling through several new jersey orders. Shortly after these three teams began playing regularly another group of adults was discovered engaging in ice hockey at the rink. This group consisted of individuals from the Geology Department at the University and they were soon invited to join the other three. After some deliberation they accepted. They joined as the Geohabs, a play on their geology background and the famous nickname of the Montreal Canadiens, and so they remain. Those first years were played without referees. The "offended" team would get the puck behind its own goal line and could skate free with out checking until the puck reached center ice. Fouls and penalties were assessed by the honor system. A single referee system was introduced in 1984 and the two referee system was begun in 1986. All with marginal degrees of success. A referee-in-chief was added in 1988. In 1985 the league was approached by a club team from Lock Haven University concerning the possibility of joining the League for the months of February and March. For the sake of adding variety to the schedule their proposal was accepted. This arrangement was continued through the 1988-89 season. Because the five team league created the situation where one team would only have a single game some weekends the decision was made to expand to a six team league for the 1989-90 season. The sixth team, formed around a core of players from the Harrisburg area, wear grey and black, and are known as the Wolves. Also, Lock Haven expanded its participation from two to six and one half months.
The league became affiliated with the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States for the first time in 1989. It was comprised of approximately 100 individuals, ranging in age from 18 to 55 years with the average age being 30 years. We are fortunate to have several women who participate, in fact there have been women participating every year since the league began. Our players, most of whom live in the Centre Region, also have come from Harrisburg, Altoona, Martinsburg, Williamsport, Huntington and Lock Haven.
Following are rosters of the teams going back to 1981. the information was reconstructed from a variety of old documents and is incomplete. Anyone who can offer any additions or corrections is requested to do so.

In the fall of 1991, a proposal was brought forth that the NHL and the Penn State Intermural Programs purchase a scoreboard, sharing the cost 50/50. This was accomplished on October 20, 1991 and the rink proceeded to have it installed by the University's Department of Physical Plant.

In 1990 the seventh team to join the league was an expansion team comprised of a core of 'graduates from the rinks adult "learn to play ice hockey" class. Initially thought of as a way to replace those players who moved out of the area, we found the supply of new players out stripped the loss from the existing ranks. This new team chose the blue jerseys of the St. Louis Blues, and initially called themselves "The Pterodactyls". However, either because they could not spell pterodactyls, or they could not fit the letters accross their chests, the name was changed to the "Blues".

The eighth team was added in 1991, also the result of expansion brought on by the demand created by additional new players. This team wore the teal sweaters of the San Jose Sharks, and appropiately were named the "Sharks".

In 1992 the League's Board of Governors chose to again look to expansion as the variety of competition that expansion had generated was seen as a desireable element in keeping interest alive within the program. This time we undertook the task with a little bit of planning. The League rented additional ice slots, recruited participants and conducted Ice hockey instructional classes with the desired outcome of adding two additional teams with players who understood the rules of hockey, were exposed to the concept of 'team play' and had at least the rudiments of skating and hockey playing skills.
At the beginning of the Nittany Hockey League we were almost all beginners, and the addition of new players was easy. After the League had been established for ten years, beginning players did not assimilate as easy. The level of play within the League made it difficult for many new players to fully participate, and there was reluctance on the part of many teams to ameliorate their competitive edge with beginning players. This then, was an effort to bridge these difficulties. with a 'class' of 2? candidates we began.