Feb. 3-5, 2020Vol. 120, No. 37

ICED OUTPhoto by Lily LaRegina/Collegian

PSU in trouble after winless weekendGuy Gadowsky seemed defeat-

ed walking into the press room after Saturday’s loss to Notre Dame.

He talked slowly, took his time between questions and didn’t have as much to say as he usu-ally does.

The loud banter and cheers from the Notre Dame players filling the hallway just outside the room made it difficult to articulate the words coming through the coach’s mouth.

The noise didn’t help the mood as the press conference was short and not-so-sweet.

Now, Penn State is in trouble.The team welcomed a Notre

Dame team that was on the brink of having its season ended, but instead they leave Happy Valley with five of six possible Big Ten points. Penn State picked up just one.

If it wasn’t for Connor McMe-namin’s overtime winner last

week against Michigan State, the team would have zero wins since Jan. 11 against Robert Morris.

The last three weeks in Big Ten play have been suboptimal for a team with aspirations of an NCAA title.

After losing in a dreadful 6-0 performance against Michigan at home, the team has since lost in overtime, lost, won in over-time, lost in a shootout and now lost.

Picking up five of 18 possible conference points heading into the final three weeks of the sea-son is a poor strategy for a team with high aspirations, but the team is also helping its oppo-nent in the process.

Notre Dame is now tied for second place in the Big Ten despite a 3-10-3 record since Nov. 24.

Penn State could’ve slammed the door on any hope the Irish

had of making the NCAA tourna-ment, but instead dug them-selves into a hole that puts its own chances in jeopardy.

The stars were aligned on Sat-urday as the Nittany Lions broke Pegula’s attendance record that was set on the open-ing night of the rink. The atmo-sphere was buzzing; the players were visibly excited.

Yet the team did not meet any expectations.

The team began and ended the game extremely below its standard and despite Nikita Pav-lychev’s clutch game-tying goal to get the crowd back into it, the team was caught napping and let the game slip away with under five minutes to play.

The team looked more out of sync this weekend than they have all year.

The defense gave up odd-man rush after odd-man rush and the offense looked hesitant at times

in the offensive zone.Sure, Penn State had several

chances that could have easily turned this game into a win, but this felt like a must-win game from a team that needed the points.

Penn State has had a few questionable losses this year but, at the time, there was no real reason to overreact.

The Nittany Lions lost to Alas-ka Fairbanks: fine, it was early in the year.

The Nittany Lions were shut out by Michigan State: fine, the Spartans have been surprisingly good this year.

The Nittany Lions were shut out 6-0 at home to one of their biggest rivals in Michigan: fine, they’ll just get it together after this week.

There is no more time to make excuses.

The season will be coming to an end soon, and if this team

plays like it did the past few weeks, it doesn’t look like they will be winning much of anything anytime soon.

They need to put together a cohesive final few weeks before they fall hard in the Big Ten standings.

Just eight points separate No. 6 Michigan and No. 1 Penn State in the conference, and it feels like everyone else has been ele-vating their game at this point in the year.

It’s in first place for now, but with most of the league having games at hand, that might not mean much at season’s end.

The Nittany Lions could self-destruct in the coming weeks, with a meaningful series in Columbus next week.

They must figure it out by then.

To email reporter: maj5547@psu.edu.Follow him on Twitter at @maxjordan00.

MY VIEW | MAX JORDAN

Another poor defensive effortBy Dylan Jacobs

The Daily Collegian

Saturday night’s game was a script we’ve seen play out dozens of times before.

In a late-season contest, with plenty on the line, a familiar foe let Penn State down — its defense.

This season, for the most part, has seen plenty of improvement in that area. But in this game, the Nittany Lions took a step back.

Over the course of this season, they got the first part down — re-alizing the problem and trying to fix it.

If Penn State wants to make a run in the NCAA Tournament, it needs to get the second part down — doing it consistently.

The problems on Saturday weren’t really about the scheme. There were issues, but overall, that wasn’t the worst part of it.

It was more about the mental-ity. Nittany Lion defensemen lost puck battles. They were caught flat-footed. Irish forwards blew past them on numerous occa-sions.

According to Guy Gadowsky, they weren’t ready to play.

“I think what [Notre Dame] exploited was individually not be-ing ready for it,” Gadowsky said. “I don’t think it’s a systematic ‘oh if we can do this against them.’ It was individual breakdowns, men-tal breakdowns. Not positional. Just not sharp.”

“If we’re doing what we’re sup-posed to do that won’t happen.”

On the first goal of the game, forward Brandon Biro was in a defenseman’s spot, and on a rolling puck, he didn’t fully skate back, allowing a Notre Dame for-ward to swoop in and score.

Even though he’s not a defen-seman, there are many times where those players jump into the rush, and it’s the forward’s job to get back.

On the second goal, Kris Myl-lari was caught skating backward and easily beaten, setting up a breakaway goal.

The defense played better for the rest of the game, with Paul DeNaples citing better gap con-trol after the first period.

They may have fixed that for most of the way, but the deciding goal was an example of poor gap control.

Alex Stevens and Mason Snell

were caught too far apart, and Graham Slaggert got in alone to get the game-winner.

Giving up three goals — not including the empty netter — is not something that would usu-ally cause someone to smash the panic button.

But at this point, offense comes at a premium, even for a usual explosive offense like Penn State.

The Nittany Lions are averag-ing only 2.17 goals a game over the past six games.

They have tried to improve on defense, while not sacrificing the offense.

But over the past three weeks, they have sacrificed the offense, while not playing complete games defensively.

That’s been the recipe for the past three series, which ended with Penn State going 1-3-2 over that stretch.

The sacrifice of the offense has been prevalent all season, with the Nittany Lions ranking sixth in the country in scoring.

Most teams wouldn’t com-plain about that, but Penn State is used to being at the top. For the Nittany Lions, scoring five goals a game is usually com-monplace, but now they’re not even scoring four.

Sacrificing the offense could and should pay dividends.

The Nittany Lions’ postsea-son failures the past few years are due in large part to the de-fense. Fixing that would make them a more well-rounded team come postseason time.

But if the offense isn’t there, and the defense plays like it did on Saturday, their time in the tournament could be short lived, if they make it at all.

The defense had been taking steps forward, but as Gadowsky put it after the game, the strug-gles were far from expected.

“I was surprised that we were as porous as we were,” Gadowsky said.

To email reporter: dkj5109@psu.edu.Follow him on Twitter at @DylJacobs.

Lindsey Toomer/Collegian

Nikita Pavlychev (13) celebrates after scoring a goal during the game against Notre Dame in Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday, Feb. 1.

Slow start haunts Nittany Lions

By Matthew KnaubThe Daily Collegian

In front of a record crowd at Pegula Ice Arena on Satur-day night, Penn State could not overcome a mediocre start to the game.

The Nittany Lions dug them-selves a 2-0 deficit and never fully recovered, eventually fall-ing to Notre Dame 4-2. With the loss, Penn State has now gone winless in two of its last three series.

The Fighting Irish opened the scoring with a shorthanded goal, Penn State made a bad pass during the power play. Notre Dame forward Cam Morrison capitalized, scooping up the free puck and taking it the distance, unassisted.

The Fighting Irish doubled their lead on another break-away, this time thanks to right wing Cal Burke. The senior beat Penn State goaltender Pey-ton Jones, who received little

defensive support on the play.The goals summed up what

was a rough start for the Nittany Lions, who were forced to retreat into their own zone a lot in the first period. Penn State struggled to sustain any attacking pres-sure, and only created scoring op-portunities off a handful of Notre Dame turnovers.

After about 30 minutes of ane-mic offensive play, Penn State forward Alex Limoges snapped Penn State out of its scoring slumber.

The junior beat Notre Dame goaltender Cale Morris on a one-timer, and the Nittany Lions of-fensive returned to form.

Limoges’ goal and a strong fi-nal few minutes of the second pe-riod, the Nittany Lions came out of the second intermission with more aggression. Penn State’s puck movement became quicker, putting the Notre Dame defense on its heels.

See HOCKEY, Page 5.

Lindsey Toomer/Collegian

Penn State defender Cole Hults (2) skates with the puck during the game against Notre Dame in Pegula Ice Arena on Saturday, Feb. 1.

local The Daily CollegianPage 2 | Feb. 3-5, 2020

Why commonwealth students THONBy Kira MohrThe Daily Collegian

THON’s 46-hour dance mara-thon is an event celebrated throughout the State College community — however, students from Penn State’s 19 common-wealth campuses also contribute to the philanthropy’s push for a cure to end pediatric cancer.

Penn State Berks THON ex-ecutive director Liz Milligan be-gan her THON journey during her sophomore year, and she said she has since risen to her position through countless hours dedicated to the philanthropy.

Though the Penn State Berks campus makes the journey to THON each year, there are events and fundraisers that the campus organizes before its attendance at the main event in February.

Similar to the University Park campus, Penn State Berks Bene-fitting THON puts on events such as badminton tournaments, “Pie in the Face,” date auction, an “In-spire the Night” benefit dinner, and Cuts4Kids, in which a local salon visits campus and gives discounted haircuts, according to Milligan.

Students from across the Berks location are invited to gather at these events, ultimately raising money to boost the THON total displayed at the Bryce Jordan Center.

In addition, the Penn State

Berks THON families play a significant role in dancer selec-tion. The four dancers selected to travel from the commonwealth campus to the THON dance floor undergo a very personal selection process.

“Our selection process for pick-ing our dancers starts out with having the applicants write a one-page paper describing why they THON and what the theme that year means to them. That then goes to an anonymous vote with our general members, our gen-eral members read the essays,”

Milligan (senior-accounting) said via email. “Once the 10 appli-cants are chosen, then we have our families interview the poten-tial dancers and in the end, our families choose our dancers.”

On average, Penn State Berks Benefitting THON has an aver-age of 40-50 members attend weekly meetings, according to Milligan.

Although this number is sig-nificantly smaller than the Uni-versity Park involvement, the members of Penn State Ben-efitting Berks are invested and

passionate in supporting the phi-lanthropy and its goal to find a cure for pediatric cancer.

Penn State Altoona Benefit-ting THON executive director Payton Perry began her THON journey as a freshman at the Al-toona campus, and rose to the role of executive director in her sophomore year.

Penn State Altoona also holds numerous events to raise money for the philanthropy.

The organization hosts events such as a spaghetti dinner, silent auction, car wash, powderpuff

tournament, basketball tourna-ment, pancake breakfast, and canvassing and ribboning trips.

Altoona Benefitting is one of the larger THON organizations from a commonwealth campus.

The group is made up of three executive members, 14 cap-tains and nearly 50 committee members, according to Perry (sophomore-criminal justice).

The Altoona dancer selection differs from that of Berks. This year, members formed a commit-tee made up of one executive and two THON captains that decided which applicants would travel to the 46-hour event.

However, in the coming years, Perry said she hopes to institute a new process that would pro-mote further fairness in dancer selection.

The dancers chosen are com-mitted to the organization and thrilled to make the journey and represent Altoona Benefitting THON, according to Perry.

“Our dancers are preparing themselves by going to the gym and they’ve stopped drinking cof-fee,” Perry said via email.

“Every day, they are mentally preparing by reminding them-selves that they have an amazing opportunity to represent Altoona in THON 2020 and to keep going when it gets tough.”

To email reporter: kjm6453@psu.edu.Follow her on Twitter at @kirajessa.

Collegian file photo

Megan Haines (sophomore-kinesiology), a dancer for Penn State Altoona, gets a hug after reading some dancer mail during mail call on Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014.

Lily LaRegina/Collegian

Genevievre Miller (junior-international politics and African studies) poses in front of Old Main on Thursday, Jan. 30. Miller serves as the UPUA student liaison for State College Borough Council.

By Noor Al-AhmadThe Daily Collegian

For many in the United States, the results of the 2016 election may have produced a sense of shock and disbelief.

However, for Genevievre Mill-er, they proved to be an academic and political wake-up call.

“My freshman year I was a biology major and did terribly. I was one of the two black people on my floor and we watched the election together and we heard a lot of noise and celebration in the lobby,” Miller (senior-political sci-ence and African American stud-ies) said. “We actually slept to-gether that night, we didn’t leave the room because we were too scared — and that was the day I switched my major to political science.”

Miller currently serves as the University Park Undergradu-ate Association student liaison for the State College Borough Council. Whether it be in her role as the first black woman in her UPUA position or as the only black cheerleader at her high school, Miller has displayed her firm interests in maintaining a leadership position.

By being a leader, she said she wants to push for change at Penn State.

“Unintentionally or intention-ally, I’ve always been the only

person in the room,” Miller stat-ed. “Whether it be the only per-son of color or the only woman in the room — I learned that people see me and they believe that’s how everyone thinks — when I say things, people be-lieve that’s how every woman or black person thinks. Although you can shape that narrative, think critically about when they leave this room, what will they think that someone like me thinks?”

For Miller, there is a keen sense of responsibility to rep-resent and speak up for minor-ity groups. Previously, she said she had opted to remain silent and overlook discriminatory behavior.

“Will their anger help or hurt me? Will it? And when I real-ized they genuinely don’t have the power, then why do I care what they think?” she said when discussing her internalized fear when it came to speaking up as a black woman in UPUA.

As a member of UPUA, Miller also emphasized that when she looks for policies to pass, her main focus is fairness and eq-uity. The question of whether a decision will make a change in 20 years constantly weighs on her mind.

Students Edred Richardson and Patricia Birungi, friends of Miller’s who met her through

UPUA, said she has been an enlightening mentor.

“There are not enough people like her,” Birungi (sophomore- biobehavioral health) said.

“She is the kind that plans ex-tensively, has incredible ideas and does not give up on the things she sets her mind to, but is still able to step back, reevaluate herself often, and criticize herself and her ideas.”

Richardson (junior- journal-ism and international politics) said she makes people questions their beliefs and strives to create change.

“She constantly drives to break stereotypes and biases that peo-ple have, and work to create new solutions that you’d never think about,” Richardson said. “It’s admiring.”

Miller hopes to one day work in law. She said the main driving force behind her shift in academ-ic focus was her determination to take up the helm and not merely wallow in her anger.

“I want to make the rules,” Miller said. “I could sit and wal-low and say this is unfair, but my job isn’t to sit in my anger, my job is to now fix policy.”

To email reporter: nka5170@psu.edu.Follow her on Twitter at @itsnoor665.

Borough council student liaison pushes for change

Lindsey Toomer/Collegian

Members of Penn State’s Chinese Chess Club pose for a photo at their Chinese Lunar New Year party Friday, Jan. 24.

Chinese Chess Club brings students together

By Lindsey ToomerThe Daily Collegian

After coming to Penn State as a Chinese international stu-dent, Ying Cheng searched for a Chinese Chess Club on cam-pus and was unable to find one — leading her to create the club herself.

Chinese chess is a strategic game played by many families in China, and is a major part of the culture in China.

As far as membership, Chi-nese Chess Club is open to anyone in the Penn State community, not just Chinese students.

Cheng (senior-criminology) said the club uses the Chinese online messaging app called WeChat to inform other Chinese students about the club. She said the club also hosts tables at the Involvement Fair each se-mester, and around 20 students signed up at the last fair.

“It’s more like an internation-al club, and there are a lot of in-ternational people here,” Ruby Jiang, public relations chair for Chinese Chess Club, said. “I think it’s like a big family for all people to come here together. It’s really sweet.”

The club meets every Friday night from 6 to 8 p.m. in 365 illard.

During their meetings, mem-bers will pair off to play rounds of the game. The club also hosts a tournament each semes-ter. Anyone is welcome to join, competing until a champion is named.

Members also get together for other special events, includ-ing a celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year last week.

“Penn State is mixed with so many cultures, and Chinese culture is one of the most impor-tant,” Jiang (junior-telecommu-nications) said. “…If Penn State students learn something about these Chinese games, then they will know more about Chinese culture.”

Cheng said a common mis-conception is that Chinese chess is just the traditional ver-sion of chess played by Chinese students, while it is in fact its own game.

The club is open to students

of all backgrounds, and cur-rently includes American, Japa-nese and Korean students, and even an exchange student from Australia.

“I feel like it’s not only a place and a platform for people to come together and share their interests and engage in competi-tive game – it’s also a communi-ty,” Cheng said with a smile. “So many people make new friends in our club.”

Koshihiro Makino, an interna-tional student from Japan who grew up playing Japanese chess, made the transition to Chinese chess once he learned about the club at Penn State.

Makino (sophomore-biochem-istry and molecular biology) speaks three languages — Chi-nese, Japanese and English — and said the different versions of chess are just like different languages. Some rules and con-cepts are the same across the board, while each game has its own unique concepts.

“The best strategy to win a game is not always to make the best move,” Makino said. “You need to consider, how can I make my opponents make a mistake? That’s the most interesting part.”

Tianxiang Chu serves as the student coach for the club, helping to teach new members the rules and strategies of the game. He said one round of Chi-nese chess can take anywhere from 30 minutes to two or three hours.

Chu (senior-computer sci-ence) said the concept of Chi-nese chess is similar to West-ernized chess, but has its own unique rules and ties to Chinese history. He said the hardest part is learning what each charac-ter means, because each piece has a unique Chinese symbol on it.

Ultimately, Makino said the club has given him the opportu-nity to talk to and play chess with people from different cultures.

“It’s a very nice community for people from all over the world to share their experiences,” Makino said.

To email reporter: lxt34@psu.edu.Follow her on Twitter at @lindseytoom.

LOCALThe Daily Collegian Feb. 3-5, 2020 | Page 3

The women of Penn State ROTC

South Allen businesses weigh in on ‘Summers on Allen’

Collegian creative

Melissa MannoThe Daily Collegian

Less than a century ago, wom-en’s roles in the military were limited to being laundresses, cooks, support staff or spies.

Penn State’s ROTC was estab-lished in 1916, but didn’t accept women until 1972, according to Penn State’s ROTC website.

The experience of women in the army today is different than it was years ago, as women made up 17.06 percent of active duty personnel in 2019, according to the Defense Manpower Data Center.

As the daughter of Iranian immigrants, student Aryana Dadpay said she wanted to give back to the country that gave refuge to her parents during civil unrest in Iran.

“To me, serving as an Air Force officer to protect and defend the U.S. is my way of thanking God for the wonderful blessing it is to be a citizen of this great nation,” Dadpay (sophomore-security and risk analysis) said. “I want to aid my nation as much as I can to ensure the safety and security which I have cherished all my life, for future generations.”

Dadpay is an Air Force ROTC cadet who plans on one day be-coming an intelligence officer. She said that out of the 150 cadets in the Detachment 720, about 42 members are women.

“I definitely think [women] deal with some different chal-lenges that come with cadet life, but nothing that is different from the normal differences between women and men in real life,” Dadpay said. “The Air Force takes these matters very seri-ously and our cadre would never tolerate someone being treated differently due to their gender.”

Dadpay described an atmosphere in which her

fellow cadets and cadre treat each other not only as peers, but also as siblings.

“Being in ROTC is like hav-ing a big family, and all the guys in the program are just like your brothers,” Dadpay said. “Being a woman won’t get you treated any differently — at least in my experience — from one of the guys.”

Although Dadpay said she hasn’t been treated differently due to gender within ROTC, her experiences outside of this com-munity have differed. She said many people have certain ideas of what a military woman should look like and are surprised to see someone in ROTC who doesn’t fit those stereotypes.

“I have had some people react a little weirdly when I tell them I’m in ROTC,” Dadpay said. “My family members always tell me that I don’t strike them as some-one who would want to be in the military, but I don’t pay much mind to it. Most of the girls in ROTC — across all branches — are just a normal reflection of all the types of girls on Penn State’s campus.”

Hannah Conway, a mili-tary child and Army ROTC cadet, agreed with Dadpay’s sentiments.

She said that although the topic of sexism in the military is often a hot topic, gender plays a minimal role in the Penn State ROTC ex-perience.

“There has undoubtedly been prior and even current contro-versy over the discrimination of females in the military,” Conway (sophomore-political science) said. “However, in my experience of being a female cadet, I feel that I am generally held to the same standards as male cadets, with an exception of the Army Physi-cal Fitness Test scores.”

The Army’s Physical Fitness

Test (PFT) is a three-event physical performance test

used to measure one’s physical strengths, abilities and cardio-respiratory fitness, according to Military.com. These test scores, as both Conway and Dadpay said, of-ten reflect the physical disparities between women in ROTC and their male counterparts.

Although men make up the majority in ROTC, Conway said the number of women cadets in her program is “quite impres-sive in comparison to other universities.

“The Nittany Lion Battalion has a fairly diverse community, which I believe brings a more realistic demographic to the U.S. Army as a whole,” Conway said. “In our battalion, I feel that females and males are treated equal and that leadership roles, summer training and other opportunities are chosen on a merit-based standard.”

Merit is what represents the military experience as a whole, according to Air Force ROTC cadet Olivia Olchowoj. Since

eighth grade, Olchowoj (soph-omore-cyber security) knew what she wanted to do with her life — join the army and pursue a career with computers. Her desire to both enlist and get a college education is what led to her involvement with ROTC.

She first joined Air Force Junior ROTC in high school and said her experience intensified her interest to pursue it further in college. She applied for an Army ROTC scholarship and was rewarded a three-year scholar-ship to Penn State in the cyber security major.

“ROTC is allowing me to get a college education and gain experience once I graduate and commission as a second lieuten-ant in the U.S. Army,” Olchowoj said. “Eventually, I hope to be-come a cyber officer in the Army.”

When asked about the ob-stacle’s women may face dur-ing their ROTC experiences, Olchowoj said it comes down to one basic difference of physicality.

“Of course, being a woman in ROTC there are physical

struggles,” Olchowoj said. “Being a woman, we are natu-

rally weaker than men. This just means I have to work harder to keep up with my male counter-parts.”

Olchowoj is a member of Penn State’s rugby team, which she said gives her an advantage above her female peers due to the fact that she gets even more op-portunities to train and build both her strength and endurance with her athletic team.

However, besides the physi-cal hurdles, Olchowoj described ROTC as being an environment that emphasizes equality and inclusivity amongst its members.

“Our cadre work very hard to keep our battalion inclusive toward everyone,” Olchowoj said. “After being in ROTC for a year and a half now, I know I made the right decision after seeing the integrity and respect the Nittany Lion Battalion has toward their cadre and cadets.”

To email reporter: mzm607@psu.edu.Follow her on Twitter at: @melissm8.

Michael SneffThe Daily Collegian

With the recent passing of the Summers on Allen proposal, busi-nesses on South Allen Street have mixed opinions on how the festival will impact them.

“Summers on Allen” — a festi-val that will close the 100 block of South Allen Street for two months in the summer, turning it into a pedestrian plaza — was approved by the State College Borough Council on Jan. 13 after previ-ously being defeated. Summers on Allen will turn the block into an “inviting and engaging” plaza with seating, landscaping, a play area for children, a small stage and painted crosswalks.

The festival is sponsored and run by the Centre Foundation, and it received a $135,000 grant from the Knight Foundation. The street will be closed from May 11 — the day after Penn State spring graduation — to no later than midnight on July 3.

Multiple community members spoke at the council meeting, with those for or against it presenting their opinions to the council in an effort to sway their votes one way or the other. The issues that some people and businesses have with the closure are that the space for parking on the street will be eliminated, and it could potential-ly hurt business as people would avoid downtown.

The positives, according to others, are that the summer months are usually less busy and the plaza would bring some much-needed revitalization to the town and community. Business owners have divided opinions on how the festival will impact their businesses.

Hotel State College: The Corner Room and Bill Pickle’s Tap Room

The Corner Room and Bill

Pickle’s Tap Room, located at the corner of College Avenue and South Allen Street, are both under the Hotel State College banner. Curtis Shulman, director of operations for Hotel State Col-lege, said the businesses are in full support of the plaza.

“We’re for it in the sense that summers are challenging down-town, and if you don’t try new things, you’re never going to im-prove,” Shulman said. “This is a new take on how we engage the community — get some of the lo-cals to come downtown for some-thing different.”

Shulman said while there’s “no guarantee” that it will work. To Shulman, having the grant from the Knight Foundation is comfort-ing — at least there will not be a huge loss of money for the busi-nesses themselves, he said.

The parking issue, to Shulman, is a “fallacy,” pointing out that within two blocks of the street there are three full-scale parking

garages in the Beaver, Pugh and Fraser parking garages. He said when the weather is nice in the summer, people aren’t going to mind walking an additional block or two.

“I think that if the only thing we offer downtown and our only bar-rier to success is parking spaces, then all of our businesses individ-ually need to do a lot better job,” Shulman said.

Bill Pickle’s already has an outdoor plaza seating area that is used during the warmer months.

Connecting Point Com-puters

Management of Connecting Point Computers Sales and Ser-vice Center, a computer repair shop located at 135 S. Allen St. next to Champs, is divided on its take of the festival. Owner Ste-phen Albert spoke at the Jan. 13 meeting before the vote, saying closing Allen would mean “death” for his business.

Since the approval, his opinion has not changed.

“I think it’s an atrocity. I think it’s go-ing to cost us a lot of money,” Albert said. “I oppose it as ve-hemently as I can.”

Albert cited concerns that because there would be no parking close to the area, people would not be willing to bring their heavy elec-tronic equip-ment to be repaired. How-ever, Brandon Thiel, general manager of the

store is “not so sure,” thinking it could actually be a good thing.

“I think it could benefit the walkthrough traffic. Parking has always been an issue here, so I think opening it up to a lot of foot traffic might get more people through it,” Thiel said.

Thiel said he is cautiously op-timistic, citing that it’s the first time that the town is doing some-thing like this, and said the com-munity will have to wait and see its impact.

“I think it’s going to be a good opportunity to bring a lot of the locals back downtown, obviously with the way that businesses are changing downtown, cater-ing to college students and the university,” Thiel said. “Myself being a local, I hate coming down-town anymore. But what the township is trying to do to essen-tially make part for everybody, I think it might be a good way to get people on this street.”

ConnectionsConnections, a clothing store

located at 130 S. Allen St., also approves of the plaza. The-resa Ritzmen, manager at Connections, said the summer months for the business are “so dead” so a change like this is something they “have to try.”

“June is the worst month down here, it’s just so dead,” Ritzmen said. “I don’t see it decreas-ing business, and the more foot traffic, [the better].”

She also said she supports the plaza because it’s a good spot to sit downtown for lunch, as there’s little to no outdoor seating in downtown State College.

“I think the closure will be a good thing. Not just us on Allen Street, either — I think it’ll be good for every business down-town,” Riztmen said.

Some people said they will never come downtown because of their frustrations, and Ritzmen said those com-ments are like a “punch” to every business in State College.

“We are here, and we’re try-ing something, we went out of our way to have stores here and open restaurants and what not,” Ritzmen said. “People who are stuck in their ways, it’s just a little bit insane to us.”

Other businessesRapid Transit Sports, a sport-

ing goods store located at 115 S. Allen St., expressed disapproval at council’s Jan. 13 meeting, citing concerns with the lack of programming and events planned before it was voted on.

“How are you not concerned by this lack of information, and how do we know if this money will be used correctly, if we cannot see the budget?” Matt Kisenwether said on behalf of Rapid Transit Sports, referenc-ing the $135,000 grant from the Knight Foundation. “You are voting on a project that has no plan, has no budget and is incredibly controversial.”

Geoff Brugler, owner of Appalachian Outdoors at 123 S. Allen St., expressed his support for the proposal at the meeting.

“Business is pretty challenging, and I think we need to expand our vision,” Brugler, who has owned the store in State College since 1974, said.

Brugler could not be reached for additional comment.

Woodrings Floral Gardens, located at 145 S. Allen St., opposes the plaza as well, but de-clined to comment further.

At 8 a.m. on Feb. 13, the bor-ough will hold a Summers on Al-len business brainstorm session, specifically structured for busi-nesses on Allen Street to offer feedback and ideas on potential events.

The location of this brainstorm is to be determined, and those in-terested in attending must RSVP online.

To email reporter: mbs5797@psu.edu.Follow him on Twitter at: @michaelsneff.

Lindsey Toomer/Collegian

A cyclist rides his bike past Rapid Transit Sports on Allen Street Thursday, Jan. 30 in State College.

OPINIONColsen AckroydBusiness Manager

Grace Miller Opinion Page Editor

Elena RoseEditor in Chief

Why I will not stop buying overpriced Starbucks coffee

Starbucks is a major part of many individuals’ daily routine.

I find that any coffee drinker is able to take 15 minutes out of their day to make a coffee stop, but why is the Star-bucks takeover so extensive?

When I was in high school and got Starbucks, it was more of a treat.

With a family member or friend, we would get excited for our new taste in “good coffee” and get something like a Carmel Macchiato or Pink Drink to soothe our cravings.

But, somewhere between making my own steady income and college, coffee became a necessity to my daily routine, and I am not alone.

The Starbucks line in the Pattee and Paterno Library is long at any time of the morn-ing, often extending into the library lobby.

This is comparable to the lines for Starbucks at the HUB-Robeson Center.

But what is unfathomable, is that the library Starbucks is one of four within a mile radius to campus, with a few other

locations on the outskirts of University Park.

How have that many college students gotten addicted to the taste of Starbucks coffee that we require four in one area?

And why have I succumbed to buying six- or seven-dollar iced drinks?

The answers are hidden somewhere in the taste of Starbucks espresso and my crave for caffeine as a college student — my budget’s been trapped in the large web of Starbucks that spans, well, across the world.

When I went to Peru, Starbucks kept their menu at the same price.

While I was paying signifi-cantly less for everything else in the country — $4 sandwiches and $6 Uber rides, I was still willing to spend the full $6 for a Starbucks drink.

Undeniably, Starbucks’ take-over is global, and it has come a long way since its first store opened in 1971.

Created on the principles of high-quality coffee, I believe that the taste of Starbucks coffee is certainly a factor to its success.

Is it worth $6 for my usual drink?

Most likely not, but I will

surely say it has a better taste than the coffee I brew at home.

All Starbucks drinkers could surely be spending their money in wiser ways.

“Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary told CNBC Make It that he never spends more than $2.50 on coffee.

“That is such a waste of money for something that costs 20 cents,” he said. “I never buy a frape-latte-blah-blah-blah-woof-woof-woof.”

Financially, I should not be including Starbucks as a neces-sity in my budget.

But for these four years of demanding productivity and tiredness, I’ll just have to keep asking for my birthday cash in Starbucks gift cards.

My Starbucks loyalty runs past its loyalty program, which yes, I do have to scan for every

purchase to assure I am getting my points.

But, despite being trapped in the spell of Starbucks espresso, I do believe the company is socially responsi-ble.

The company often hires military veterans and their spouses, offers a debt-free tuition program at Arizona State for their college employ-ees and supplies health insurance even to regular part-time employees.

The Starbucks ambience is another thing that draws col-lege students and people who are in need of productivity.

I’ve had countless work sessions, friend reunions and interviews that all have taken place at Starbucks.

I hope that my relationship with Starbucks ends slowly and steadily toward the end of my college career, as I become financially responsible for my debts.

But for now, I will sip my Starbucks in peace.

Cassandra Kidwell is a sophomore majoring in journalism and is a col-umnist for The Daily Collegian. Email her at cpk5276@psu.edu or follow her on Twitter at @cassiewellkid.

MY VIEW | Cassandra Kidwell

Kidwell

“Somewhere be-tween making my own steady income and college, coffee became a necessity to my daily routine, and I am not alone.”

Cassandra Kidwell

From Penn State press releases, to global head-lines, to Twitter memes, many Penn State students have recently heard of the Coronavirus.

But, what is it? How much should we, as stu-dents, realistically spend time worrying about con-tracting the virus?

The numbers are telling — the new virus, written as 2019-nCoV, has spread rapidly through China, with now more than 14,000 confirmed cases in the country.

It has also killed over 300 people in China. Cases have started to be found all over the world, and what likely started as a virus from live animal markets is now being spread through travel to and from China.

The New York Times has even published an article where experts say they foresee a “pandemic.”

Eight cases have been reported in the United States, but thus far, there has been no news of any signs in Pennsylvania, or State College, for that matter.

With a fatality rate of 2

percent, meaning approxi-mately two people will die for every 50 who contract the virus, it’s understand-able that the public would be concerned.

However, little is known about the virus, as it’s “rapidly evolving,” according to the CDC.

This is definitely an area of concern, sure, but it’s also a potential source of hope.

Scientists are rushing to find effective treat-ments, and governments and institutions alike are taking extra precautions to keep people safe.

Penn State has seem-ingly been transparent about its efforts to keep campus safe, by promoting health resources and plac-ing China on its restricted travel list.

Looking at these actions could perhaps give the situation a feeling of impending doom — what if it’s just a matter of time

before the new Coronavirus reaches Penn State students?

Of course, Penn State students and the rest of the world should be aware of the virus and the warning signs.

However, CDC Director Robert Redfield stated that “our assessment re-mains that the immediate risk to the American public is low.”

Even the aforemen-tioned New York Times article that predicts a pan-demic admits that experts aren’t entirely sure how the virus will continue to impact the world.

For example, for some-one residing in the United States, the risk of getting Coronavirus does not com-pare to the risk of getting the flu.

Every year, it’s esti-mated by the CDC that 500,000 people die from the seasonal flu. And still, the mortality rate of dying

from a seasonal flu is less than .01 percent.

The 2 percent mortality rate of the Coronavirus is certainly intimidating, but there’s also a significant difference in the number of cases between the new virus and the flu. Plus, those who have died from the virus often have weak immune systems.

There will undoubt-edly be people online who wonder, “But what about Penn State students from China?” However, immense travel restric-tions and precautions are being taken at airports around the world.

It’s also crucial to understand that the Coronavirus is not an excuse to discriminate against or look down upon students from China.

Jokes and insensitive comments about the virus have been circulating online, often targeting Chinese

communities. If a person next to you, who might be from China, coughs, it would be silly to jump to conclusions just because of their race or country of origin that you might contract the Coronavirus.

With the rapid spread of information on social media, it’s hard to know what information is trust-worthy and what isn’t. Like always, media consumers should be conscious of the credibility of information they find on the Internet.

What the CDC first rec-ommends for Coronavirus prevention is fairly simple: wash your hands.

Ultimately, Penn State students should be educated about the disease, but shouldn’t let it become a debilitating distraction.

Though it’s important to know the potential impacts of Coronavirus, citizens in State College could benefit from keeping some peace of mind before the disease reaches a point of grave concern here — if it ever does at all.

Be educated, not paranoid, about the Coronavirus

The Coronavirus is a cause for concern, but not a cause for mass hysteria

OUR VIEW

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Feb. 3-5, 2020Page 4

Sean Spencer leaves big voidThe Penn State football

program has had a long list of departures this offseason.

Cam Brown, Blake Gillikin, Steven Gonza-lez and John Reid are a few members of the talented senior class that graduated.

Justin Shorter and five other players have entered the transfer portal.

KJ Hamler and Yetur Gross-Matos are forgoing their senior season and heading to the NFL.

Three coaches -- Ricky Rahne, Matt Limegrover and Gerad Parker -- all parted ways with the program.

But this week, James Frank-lin experienced his biggest loss of the off-season — defensive line coach Sean Spencer leaving for the same position at the New York Giants.

Spencer is one of the pre-miere defensive-line coaches in the country and his departure for the NFL shouldn’t come as a surprise. Frankly, the most surprising part was that it took so long for Spencer to make the jump to the professional level.

“Coach Spencer and I are awfully good buddies,” defensive coordinator Brent Pry told the Collegian after the 2018 Blue-White game. “Spence had a lot of teams come courting him. He does a great job in our pro-gram and we wanted to make sure he stayed here.”

And likely it won’t be long until Spencer earns himself a role as a defensive coordinator in the NFL.

Just one look at the number is all it takes to see his impact on Penn State.

In 2019, Penn State had 45 team sacks, a number good enough for No. 7 in the country. In 2018, the Nittany Lions led the nation in sacks, in 2017 they were No. 7. In 2016, the Nittany Lions were No. 19 and then in 2015, Penn State once again led the country in sacks.

Spencer made Penn State’s defensive line consistently one of the best in the country — something that is much easier said than done.

Just look at some of the former players that Spencer has been able to recruit and coach at Penn State — Shareef Miller, Kevin Givens, Curtis Cothran, Carl Nassib, Austin Johnson

and Anthony Zettel.Gross-Matos is also a name

that will soon be added to this impressive list, as he is project-ed to be a first-round draft pick in the upcoming NFL draft.

All these players have found success in the NFL after Penn State and that is no coincidence.

But to fully understand Spencer’s impact on Penn State you can’t just rely on statistics and names. Spencer created a culture at Penn State.

Spencer, also known as Coach Chaos, created the “wild dogs” and started the position group nickname trend for the Nittany Lions.

He started the dog tag ceremony, where the members of the defensive line pick out a dog tag with a teammate’s name on it, bonding them together for that game.

A ceremony that honors the importance of dog tags to the United States military while also bringing his players together.

His units were known for being a tight-knit group and constantly pushing each other for greatness.

While in many ways having fun, being loose and taking after their leader.

Spencer also had weekly meals with his unit, furthering the aspect of family within the position group.

Spencer is a different, unconventional coach, but his love for his players and the game is unmatched.

And this all starts with the relationships he builds with his players.

“When you develop the relationship with them in the recruiting process and you make sure that you continue that relationship from the re-cruiting process to the coaching part,” Spencer said prior to the 2019 season. “I was crazy when I recruited them and I’m crazy when I’m coaching them now.”

And this all starts with Spencer’s desire to connect outside of the game of football, to be a father figure to his play-ers.

“I think anytime that you have a player that you recruited and the parents entrust in the lives of them that you take a great responsibility for that,” Spencer said. “I’ve always felt like I’ve had a very good knack for that. I grew up without a father and I think this is probably my gift.”

Spencer truly was gifted in

this aspect and it was something that the “wild dogs” took to heart and really respected.

“There’s a lot of coaches that I couldn’t really relate to and they ain’t bringing that energy that he had,” former Penn State defensive linemen and current member of the Philadelphia Eagles Miller told the Collegian prior to Penn State’s 2018 sea-son. “The vibe just wasn’t there. You could just tell it was a differ-ent vibe with coach Spence. And he never switched up since day one.”

The time was right for Spen-cer to move on from Penn State.

It doesn’t come without some pain from his players, as many current players took to social media to express their gratitude and love for the coach.

A coach that is a monumen-tal, irreplaceable loss for Penn State.

Franklin will hire another defensive line coach in the coming weeks.

But the Nittany Lions will never have another coach with the same impact as Spencer.

To email reporter: bcf5167@psu.edu.Follow him on Twitter at @BFerree_.

MY VIEW | BEN FERREE

Collegian file photo

Former Penn State defensive line coach Sean Spencer speaks to the defensive line prior to the Fiesta Bowl in 2017.

HockeyFrom Page 1.

Nittany Lions center Nikita Pavlychev scored early in the third period, putting an excla-mation point on a powerful offensive attack. The senior squeaked the puck by Morris from close range to tie the game at two with just under 15 min-utes to play.

Notre Dame responded with a goal from left wing Graham Slaggert, who beat Jones for the game-winning goal. The Fight-ing Irish made the score 4-2 with an empty net goal from Tory Dello with exactly one minute left in the third period.

Power play fails to push through

Much like the final score, Penn State’s power play im-proved as the game went along but could not find the net. After relinquishing the shorthanded goal in the first period, the Nit-tany Lions’ played with some fire on the man-advantage but never scored.

Penn State had a strong pow-er play in the second period and another in the third, utilizing every inch of the offensive zone.

Morris was forced to come up with some big saves, but time and time again, he shut the door.

Cale Morris being Cale Morris

Notre Dame goaltender Cale Morris appeared to be back to his old self against Penn State, after struggling earlier this season. The senior recorded 24 saves.

The 2017-18 Big Ten Player of the Year started the 2018-19 cam-paign on a rough note. However, he flashed the glove on both Fri-day and Saturday night, propel-ling Notre Dame to a productive series.

Pavlychev stays potentPavlychev entered the series

with just four goals on the sea-son, struggling to land on the scoresheet consistently.

The senior netted his second goal of the series on Saturday on a wrist shot from a tough angle.

A native of Russia, Pavlychev’s last points came against Niagara in early January. Coincidentally, that was also the last time in which he registered a point in back-to-back games.

To email reporter: mjk6111@psu.edu.Follow him on Twitter at @matt_Knaub.

SPORTSFeb. 3-5, 2020 Page 5

Lindsey Toomer/Collegian

Big weekend for Bravo-YoungBy Gianna Galli

The Daily Collegian

Roman Bravo-Young’s win by injury default over No. 2 Austin DeSanto on Friday night was memorable, but not for any obvi-ous reasons.

Less than 48 hours after Bravo-Young, the No. 3 wrestler at 133 pounds, picked up arguably his biggest win of the season, while the team dropped its second dual meet of the 2019-20 campaign, No. 2 Penn State was back in Rec Hall, where Bravo-Young was able to demonstrate the wrestler he has truly become.

The bout between Bravo-Young and DeSanto was one of the most highly anticipated on a night filled with star-studded matchups, but it wasn’t just about the win the sophomore pulled out against DeSanto that makes Bravo-Young feel a sense of ac-complishment.

For Bravo-Young, it was about the experience he had inside of Iowa’s Carver-Hawkeye Arena, a place where he had never wres-tled before and against an oppo-nent he had yet to beat.

“I was excited and 0-2 against DeSanto, so I wanted to prove something to myself and I think the team was ready to see that, but I still got room for improve-ment and a long season to make that happen,” Bravo-Young said.

But even though his bout with DeSanto ended relatively quickly — DeSanto injury defaulted after just 1:50 — the experience was eye-opening enough for Bravo-Young.

“It was pretty insane, some fans were talking smack to me and so I talked smack back to them and I was just grateful for the opportunity to be there to compete,” Bravo-Young said.

“It’s something I can tell my kids about one day.”

The quick turnaround from Iowa didn’t seem to bother Bra-vo-Young on Sunday afternoon, as he recorded a 24-9 tech fall win over the Terrapins’ King Sando-val.

After a quick victory two days earlier, Sunday was a time to show the naturalistic side to his style of wrestling, which included takedowns — lots of takedowns.

Bravo-Young recorded 11 of them in his win over Sandoval.

His win against DeSanto, al-though it was a proud moment for the young Nittany Lion, didn’t come in the fashion he wanted. Bravo-Young sees himself as a

wrestler that provides entertain-ment and would much rather compete in a match that allows him to show off his skills.

That was the case against San-doval.

“I just want to be fun to watch and let things happen so this match allowed me to just jump in and create angles,” Bravo-Young said.

“Working on it at practice helps and lets things come natu-rally for me. I just want to keep scoring points and that is what happens when I get to wrestle like today.”

To email reporter: gpg5167@psu.edu.Follow her on Twitter at @giannagalli84.

Lily LaRegina/Collegian

Roman Bravo-Young wrestles Maryland’s King Sandoval during Penn State wrestling’s meet against the University of Maryland in Rec Hall.

The Daily CollegianSportSPage 6 | Feb. 3-5, 2020

By Caleb WilfingerThe Daily Collegian

There were a number of ob-vious takeaways from Penn State’s wire-to-wire victory over

Nebraska on Saturday.

For start-ers, the Nitta-ny Lions had

never won in Lincoln since the Cornhuskers joined the Big Ten in 2011-12.

That was a major step for Pat Chambers and his team.

The victory was also Penn State’s fourth straight after a three-game losing streak in January threatened to derail its season.

Instead, the Nittany Lions are 6-4 in the Big Ten and will head into a showdown against No. 14 Michigan State with momentum.

Additionally, Lamar Stevens became just the third 2,000-point scorer in program history, ranking behind only Talor Battle (2,213 points) and Jesse Arnelle (2,138 points) on the Nittany Lions' career scoring chart.

“It's a blessing, and I'm grateful for every opportunity I get to play with these guys,” Stevens said. “I'm just glad I got to reach this accomplishment. It's just a credit to my teammates and my coaches for just believing in me.”

But the most important development from Saturday’s win was the re-emergence of two familiar faces.

Sophomore guard Myles Dread has been battling a shoot-ing slump all season long, but on Saturday, Dread took a major step toward breaking out of that rut.

Dread finished with 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting in 21 minutes of action.

He also was 4-of-10 from beyond the 3-point arc, including a pair of important 3-pointers that allowed Penn State to keep pace with Nebraska in the opening minutes.

And when the Nittany Lions opened the second half on a

30-11 run to effectively put the game away with just over nine minutes to play, Dread and Mike Watkins were instrumental in the team’s success.

“I thought that [the second-half run] was a really balanced effort from the whole team,” Stevens said.

“We got contributions from ev-erybody and when everyone can contribute, that gives us a huge boost of confidence. It was a great team win.”

Dread tallied all eight of his second-half points during Penn State’s dominant 10-minute stretch, but Watkins’ second-half performance was a revelation, pouring in eight points and pull-ing down 11 rebounds.

For a span of 6-8 minutes in the second half, Watkins was

the most dominant player on the floor, particularly on the defensive glass.

He would finish with 11 points and 17 rebounds on 5-of-12 shoot-ing in just 20 minutes.

It was easily the best in-game stretch for the senior since his 17 points on 7-of-8 shooting against Rutgers back on Jan. 7.

“For our team to be the best we can be, I have to keep pursuing rebounds,” Watkins said.

“That’s something that I’m good at, and I’m going to try to keep that [momentum] going.”

And even though it took until the final minute for Watkins to get his double-double, his emphatic dunk off a pass from Curtis Jones Jr. functioned as the exclamation point for Penn State’s dominant performance.

Watkins checked out of the game following the dunk and got a rapturous reception from his coaches and teammates on the bench.

It was a vintage effort from the big man, and he took some time to reflect on clearing 500 rebounds in the Big Ten and be-coming Penn State’s career re-bounds leader in Big Ten play in the process.

“It’s certainly an accomplish-ment and I’m proud of that,” Watkins said.

“But at the same time, I know that I’ve got a lot more to give to this team. I’m going to keep striving for greatness.”

To email reporter: cjw5768@psu.edu.Follow him on Twitter at @caleb_wilfinger.

RetuRn to foRm

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Aabha Voira/Collegian

Forward Mike Watkins (24) attempts a shot during the game against Indiana at the Bryce Jordan Center on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Penn State defeated the Hoosiers 64-49.

Myles Dread and Mike Watkins bounced back from recent struggles to help Penn State dominate Nebraska

“It’s certainly an accomplishment and I’m proud of that...I know that I’ve got a lot more to give to this team. I’m going to keep striving for greatness.”

Mike WatkinsPenn State Forward

The Daily Collegian Feb. 3-5, 2020 | Page 7

The Daily CollegianSPORTSPage 8 | Feb. 3-5, 2020

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Stars shine brightest for PSUBy Shane Connelly

The Daily Collegian

The stars were out on Saturday afternoon in Panzer Stadium.

Many of the names synony-mous with Penn State men’s la-crosse — Grant Ament, Mac O’Keefe, Gerard

Arceri — used the first game of the regular season to show that they haven’t missed a beat as they enter their final chance at a national title.

It started at the faceoff X for the Nittany Lions.

Arceri turned in a vintage per-formance in his first meaningful game action since the Final Four loss to Yale in which he struggled to best 2019 Tewaaraton finalist TD Ierlan.

Arceri couldn’t win the first draw of the game against La-fayette after a long ground ball ended in a possession for the Leopards. He proceeded to lose just one more draw in the entire game, finishing the day 19-for-21 at the faceoff X. The senior faced four different looks, includ-ing a long pole, but he continued to get the ball into the hands of his attackmen.

“You just can’t take him for granted. He does so much for us,” coach Jeff Tambroni said. “When the ball is constantly pushing into the offensive end, it’s obviously great for us on both sides.”

In the process, Arceri etched his name into Penn State history.

He became the program’s all-time leader for ground balls when he scooped up his sixth of the game, passing the previous record of 440 set by Chris Marcus in his career that spanned from 1990-93.

“I knew I was close up there, but I had no idea this game would

solidify it,” Arceri said. “Honestly, [I’ve] just got to credit all the guys I’ve worked with ever since my freshman year — people like Billy Lombardi, coach [Chris] Doctor, coach [John] Hogan, Nick McE-voy, Jake Glatz, Jack Hender-son, Jordan Donaghy and then obviously all the wings that have helped me win all these faceoffs.”

Of course, Arceri’s success helped set off the big days from Ament and O’Keefe.

Penn State’s Batman and Robin accounted for 10 of the 16 goals that the Nittany Lions reg-istered despite sitting out much of the fourth quarter as Tambroni worked backups into the lineup.

“Those guys have to lead the way, they’re seniors,” Tambroni said.

“They’ve been around this

thing for a long time, getting a lot of praise for what they’ve done in the past, but it’s about what they’re doing for us today both in practice and games, and we’re going to rely on [them].”

The NCAA’s point leader in 2019, Ament started his season strong by registering 10 points off of four goals and six assists. He extended his point streak to 49 straight games, the third longest active streak in the NCAA.

Penn State’s program leader in goals added six to his total while also notching one assist in the process.

O’Keefe and Ament also showed that their connection is alive and well when Ament flipped a behind-the-back pass to a wide open O’Keefe, who subse-quently fired a shot that extended

the Nittany Lions’ lead in the third quarter. “I don’t really think there was any rust,” Ament said. “I think the first few possessions, we were a little shaky, and once we started rolling it was good.”

As it got more comfortable and built a strong lead thanks to an eight-goal run from the first to second quarter, the offense got a chance to work in some more unique tactics.

On multiple occasions, the Nit-tany Lions tried hidden-ball tricks in which Ament would hold the ball behind the net while O’Keefe would drive toward the goal and attract at least one defender.

“I think it’s good to try that stuff out early on in the season, see what works, see what doesn’t, but just add some wrinkles to the game that it’s tougher for

defenses to pick up on,” O’Keefe said.

And while Ament was con-vinced that Penn State “could’ve put up 20,” the comfortable lead also gave Tambroni a chance to see what else he has besides the known commodities. Players like Joe White, Canyon Birch, Mitch Schaefer and others earned cov-eted experience late in the game.

“Over time, it’s going to be extremely valuable,” Tambroni said. “I’ve seen these guys, that group that went in towards that third and fourth quarter. They’ve been working really hard. We’ve seen some really good things, very,very promising future with that group.”

To email reporter: stc5243@psu.edu.Follow him on Twitter at @ShaneTConnelly.

Jonah Rosen/Collegian

Penn State faceoff specialist Gerard Arceri (40) wins a faceoff during the men’s lacrosse game against Lafayette at Panzer Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 1. The No. 2 Nittany Lions defeated the Leopards 16-9.

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