Penn State Unleashes Outdoor Hockey Heat With Killer Sweaters For Beaver Stadium

If you're a fan of outdoor hockey — and what human being isn't — this is about to be a very cool weekend with a double-dose of puck out in the elements at both the NHL and college hockey levels. 

The Lightning and Bruins will play outside at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, but the night before, the Penn State Nittany Lions will host the Michigan State Spartans at a venue that needed to be the backdrop for hockey, and that's Beaver Stadium.

For a lot of people, especially Pennsylvania natives — *raises hand* — the dream outdoor matchup has always been to have the Philadelphia Flyers and the Pittsburgh Penguins play smack-dab in the center of the Keystone State at one of the most iconic stadiums in college football.

That hasn't happened (though they did play a pair of home-and-home outdoor games in 2017 and 2019), so the next best thing is to have the Nittany Lions throw on their skateguards and wander over to Beaver Stadium.

And boy, have they got one clean-looking set of sweaters for the occasion.

But wait, when you see the full get-ups, it's even better.

I'm not a white pants fan. I think it's because when I was a kid, someone showing up in white pants usually meant that they played on multiple travel teams and were about to drop at least a hat trick on you before the first intermission. However, in this case, it works so, so well. Especially with the Nittany Lions' usual striped buckets, which always look stellar.

And that goalie set-up? Sublime.

I'm a sucker for the old-school-style brown pads. 

This is, of course, an exciting Big Ten matchup, with the Nittany Lions second in the standings and the Spartans in third, with both teams trailing the Michigan Wolverines.

On top of that, there's a bonus storyline as Michigan State was the other school that nearly landed the projected No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, Nittany Lions forward Gavin McKenna.