Penn State fielded a varsity hockey team for five seasons in the 1940s (1940–44, 1946–47) before the sport was dropped due to limited facilities.

Gadowsky brought a number of transfers and recruits for the NCAA DI team to prepare for a transition from club to varsity status.

In the semifinal round, Penn State faced Oakland (MI), who were ranked as the thirteenth seed.

[17] The Icers finished the season with an overall record of 29–5, 29–4 in ACHA competition and a 6–3 loss to NCAA Division III Neumann at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia as part of the 2012 NHL Winter Classic events in front of a crowd of 6,800.

[24] On September 17, 2010, after years of speculation,[21][25] it was officially announced the program would move to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level along with the PSU women's ice hockey team starting in the 2012–13 season and the program would initially compete as an independent team until the new arena was completed in 2013.

[29] On March 26, 2015, Casey Bailey became the first Penn State player to play in the National Hockey League, debuting for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a 4–1 loss to the Florida Panthers.

Four Nittany Lions made the All-Tournament Team: Jones, forward Liam Folkes, and defensemen Vince Pedrie and Erik Autio.

This marked the first time in team history that Penn State scored more than 8 goals in a varsity game.

Prior to NCAA D1 status[8][31] The Roar Zone is the official student section for Penn State Men's Ice Hockey.

The Roar Zone became an official Penn State University club in early 2015 and is frequently featured on ESPN and Big Ten Network game coverages.

On April 25, 2011, Penn State named Guy Gadowsky as the program's first NCAA Division I men's hockey coach.