Winners and Losers of Penn State Hosting Outdoor Game at Beaver Stadium: Puck Drop

The headline was humorous when considering the bigger picture: "Thousands brave the cold at the Senior Bowl." The high temperature in Mobile, Ala., was 36 degrees on Saturday, which combined with winds up to 30 mph made it feel uncharacteristically cold for for the Gulf Cast. Consequently, Hancock Whitney Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 25,450, looked to be about half-full for the annual college football all-star game.

Meanwhile, roughly 1,000 miles to the north in the middle of Pennsylvania, Penn State and Michigan State drew 74,575 fans for the first men's college hockey game in Beaver Stadium. The home of the Nittany Lions football team has a capacity of 106,304, but the high temperature of 18 and single-digit wind chill obviously kept some fans away. Nevertheless, it edged the 2001 Michigan State game for second-biggest attendance for an outdoor college hockey game in U.S. history.

Not only did the hockey game outdraw the recent national championship in college football (67,227 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens), but should top Sunday's NHL outdoor Stadium Series game in Tampa between the Lightning and Boston Bruins as 65,000 are expected to be at Raymond James Stadium.

In that context, there were clearly some winners and losers from what Penn State was calling "Winter Sports Weekend" at "Hockey Valley." Here goes:

Winner: Everyone. The environment was pretty amazing. Beaver Stadium is one of those places college football fans usually have on their bucket list, and this was a chance-of-a-lifetime opportunity regardless of the cold.

"That was the coolest environment I will ever play in my life, no matter if I make the NHL or not," Penn State captain Dane Dowiak said per NHL.com. "That was the coolest thing I've ever seen, ever witnessed, and I just couldn't be prouder to be a Penn Stater and get that opportunity."

... and that from a guy who just lost.

Losers: Fans who couldn't go. Sure Penn State catered to its fan base, and the conference as well. But having the game on the Big Ten Network feels like a wasted opportunity. BTN is the 66th most popular channel on TV, and isn't widely carried outside of the conference's footprint (or there's an added subscription involved). When trying to promote the school and sport with a special event you usually want as many people to see it as possible. Consequently, the Bruins and Lightning will be stealing the outdoor hockey spotlight on ESPN.

Winners: The university. Here's a good example of how Penn State marketing thought of so many details, in addition to devising some really cool-looking unique jerseys for the game, they're auctioning them off to benefit State College Coyotes Sled Hockey. But the school pulling this off so well will likely lead to more opportunities down the road, including with the NHL. When the $700 million stadium renovation is completed the league is interested in having a Penguins-Flyers outdoor game at Beaver Stadium.

Losers: The team. Playing outdoors probably didn't influence the eventual outcome, but regardless the No. 5 Nittany Lions got swept at home and have fallen into third place in the Big Ten behind No. 1 Michigan and No. 2 Michigan State. It's sort of splitting hairs when the first game was a one-goal game until the Spartans scored two empty-net goals, and the outdoor finale was decided in overtime, but the fact remains that the Wolverines are in first with 36 points (13-3 in league play), Michigan State has 35 (12-4) and Penn State 32 (10-6). Jumping past both will be tough, especially since PSU went 0-4 against Michigan State in regular-season play.

Winner: Hockey Valley. Penn State started playing NCAA Division I men's hockey in 2012-13. It built Pegula Ice Arena and was a founding member of the Big Ten Hockey conference in 2013. Last year it played in its first Frozen Four, and for this season added Gavin McKenna, who could be the top player selected in 2026 NHL Draft. Attracting 74,575 fans only solidified its status as a true hockey school. Welcome to puckheads status.

Up close for the OT game winner 👀 @MSU_Hockey x @B1GHockey pic.twitter.com/ovXrVW9gaz
— Big Ten Conference (@bigten) January 31, 2026

For more coverage on the actual game:

• Stramel's Hat Trick, OT Goal Leads MSU Past Penn State Outdoors

• Beaver Stadium Shines for Hockey, but Michigan State Spoils Penn State's Party

Date	Result	Venue	Attendance
Dec. 11, 2010	Michigan 5, Michigan State 0	Michigan Stadium	104,173
Jan. 31, 2026	Michigan State 5, Penn State 4 (OT)	Beaver Stadium	74,575
Oct. 6, 2001	Michigan 3, Michigan State 3 (OT)	Spartan Stadium	74,544
Feb. 6. 2010	Wisconsin 3, Michigan 2	Camp Randall Stadium	55,031
Feb. 17, 2013	Notre Dame 2, Miami (Ohio) 1	Soldier Field	52,051
Feb. 17, 2013	Wisconin 3, Minnesota 2	Soldier Field	52,051
Feb. 18, 2023	Ohio State 4, Michigan 2	FirstEnergy Stadium	45,523

Puck Drop: Sunday, February 1, 2026

• Omaha notched its biggest win of the season by snapping reigning national champion Western Michigan's 10-game winning streak, 4-1. Freshman forward Luke Woodworth finished with a goal and an assist while the defense successfully killed off all five power plays for the No. 3 Broncos. Simon Latkoczy made 25 saves.

• Speaking of winning streaks, No. 19 Michigan Tech ended the 11-game string by No. 15 St. Thomas, 4-3, to get a series split. Elias Jansson notched the game-winner, but three times the Tommies came back from a deficit to pull even. "We just beat a team that's as good as any," Michigan Tech coachBill Muckalt said.

• Andrew Centrella tied the game with 5.5 seconds remaining and Logan Sawyer scored the game-winning goal in overtime as No. 9 Providence rallied for a 3-2 win at NO. 17 Maine to extend its winning streak to seven games. With the win, the Friars (16-7-2 overall, 11-3-1 Hockey East) hold a two-point lead over Boston College (14-8-1, 10-5) in the league standings heading into the final month of the regular season.

Friars didn't hear no bell!

Centrella's third of the season in the dying seconds gets us even and we'll head to OT!https://t.co/9s1UE75aWy x @ESPNPlus https://t.co/ArI8p72Ac9 pic.twitter.com/0XP2Xl6TKP
— PC Men's Hockey (@FriarsHockey) February 1, 2026

• What the Mammoth hope to get out of UMass goaltender Michael Hrabal

Men's College Hockey Saturday Scores

AHA
RIT 3, Mercyhurst 1
Air Force 2, Sacred Heart 0
Canisius 4, Niagara 3 (OT)
Bentley 3, Robert Morris 3 (SO, Robert Morris wins shootout 1-0)

Big Ten
No. 2 Michigan State 5, No. 5 Penn State 4 (OT)
No. 1 Michigan 3, Ohio State 2 (OT)
Minnesota 8, No. 8 Wisconsin 4

CCHA
No. 18 Minnesota State 4, Ferris State 3
Bemidji State 7, Northern Michigan 1
No. 19 Michigan Tech 4, No. 15 St. Thomas 3
No. 16 Augustana 4, Lake Superior 1

ECAC
No. 10 Cornell 4, Brown 2
No. 6 Quinnipiac 3, Clarkson 3 (SO, Clarkson wins shootout 3-2)
No. 14 Dartmouth 3, RPI 1
St. Lawrence 6, Princeton 2
Colgate 6, Yale 3

Hockey East
No. 9 Providence 3, No. 17 Maine 2 (OT)
Merrimack 3, New Hampshire 3 (SO, UNH wins shootout 2-1)

NCHC
Colorado College 4, Arizona State 1
No. 11 Denver, 1, No. 7 Minnesota Duluth 0 (OT)
Miami 3, No. 20 St. Cloud State 1
Omaha 4, No. 3 Western Michigan 1

Non-Conference
Notre Dame 2, Bowling Green 2 (OT)
Long Island at Alaska (n)
Vermont 2, Stonehill 0

Women's College Hockey Saturday Scores

AHA
Lindenwood 5, RIT 1
No. 15 Mercyhurst 6, Delaware 1
No. 4 Penn State 5, Robert Morris 2

ECAC
No. 8 Princeton 6, No. 11 Clarkson 1
St. Lawrence 3, No. 5 Quinnipiac 1
Colgate 3, Dartmouth 2
Harvard 3, No. 12 Cornell 1
Brown 4, Rensselaer 0
No. 10 Yale 5, Union 2

Hockey East
Providence 3, Vermont 2
Boston University 3, Merrimack 1
New Hampshire 3, No. 7 UConn 2 (OT)
No. 6 Northeastern 2, No. 13 Holy Cross 1

NEWHA
Saint Anselm 5, Post 2
Stonehill 4, Assumption 2
Sacred Heart 3, Saint Michael's 1
Long Island 4, Franklin Pierce 3

WCHA
No. 1 Wisconsin 6, No. 3 Minnesota 1
St. Thomas 3, St. Cloud State 2
Bemidji State 2, No. 14 Minnesota State 1
No. 2 Ohio State 3. No. 9 Minnesota Duluth 1

Games between ranked opponents are bolded. All times are local to where the game is being played.

Men's College Hockey Sunday Schedule

Hockey East
Massachusetts at UMass Lowell, NESN, 3:30 p.m. ET

Women's College Hockey Sunday Schedule

Hockey East
Maine at Boston College, 2 p.m. ET

Hockey Quote of the Day

[On his replacement with the Boston Bruins] “There’s your honeysuckle. Now take what part of my salary you like and keep [Frank] Brimsek handy.”
Tiny Thompson to Art Ross

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We'll Leave You With This ...

Yes, the Gophers men's team did complete the sweep against rival No. 8 Wisconsin, thanks in part to this spectacular goal:

WELCOME TO THE BRODIE ZIEMER SHOW pic.twitter.com/8OKSKGywbt
— Spoked Z (@SpokedZ) February 1, 2026