Association provides Icers with necessary lift

By JIM IOVINO
Collegian Sports Writer

The Icers have helped pave the way for several Penn State students to earn a living in the NHL with teams like the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.

But their names won't appear on any team rosters. Instead, the jobs they have been hired for are of the off-ice variety.

To get these jobs, the students never had to play a hockey game. In fact, they didn't have to be hockey fans at all. The reason they were hired was because of an organization known as the Penn State Hockey Management Association.

The HMA is the driving force behind the Icers, who will compete for the American Collegiate Hockey Association championship starting tomorrow in Tucson, Ariz.

"(Without the HMA, the Icers) would be a rag-tag group," said Paul Cohen, a 12-year member who now serves as the HMA's faculty adviser. "But because the organization is here, you can't tell that this isn't a Division I ice hockey team."

Now in its 24th year, the HMA is made up of about 50 student volunteers who handle all of the business aspects of the team.

"Things are a lot different than they were a few years ago," said Jenifer Trovato (junior-management science and information systems), director of marketing. "It seems more of the responsibility has fallen on a fewer number of people."

This responsibility includes raising 60 percent of the team's budget, which is not covered by University funds because ice hockey is a club sport at Penn State.

In order to raise the kind of cash needed to keep the team competitive, a tremendous amount of fund raising must be done. This is important because it is used to cover the cost of such things as ice time and travel expenses.

The HMA obtains the necessary funds by selling tickets to all home games, soliciting businesses to sponsor the team, selling ads that appear in the rink and the team programs, which the HMA creates.

"The selling of tickets to home games makes up the biggest part of our funding," said Cohen, who has handled a variety of tasks, including driving the team bus.

Although no one in the HMA has to do that now, their jobs are not finished once the funding is secure. They still have to coordinate every aspect of the Icers' home games.

No matter where one looks during an Icers game at the ice pavilion, there is always a member of of the HMA performing one of many important tasks to keep things running smoothly.

Members of the HMA take ticket stubs, sell programs, record both game and season statistics, organize between-period festivities, work as ushers and provide music and announcements during stoppages in play.

Icer captain John Farrall, who also serves as the HMA's executive director, has found his experience to be a great help in planning for life after college.

"(Working for the HMA) is a great experience," he said. "It really helps out when you go out job hunting."

Farrall, a finance major, already has a job lined up after college, thanks in part to his involvement with the HMA, he said.

Andy Coll (junior-industrial engineering), director of in-game entertainment, is also counting on his involvment to help him in the future.

"I'm just milking it for a reference," Coll joked.

Some of the members had no idea what the HMA was all about until they actually came to a meeting.

"A friend of mine practically dragged me to a meeting when I was a freshman," Trovato said. "My friend never came back to another one, but I'm still here."