Hall of Fame Classic Roundup: Nashville Welcomes North Dakota, Penn State

A long and exciting day of hockey at Bridgestone Arena this past Saturday concluded with a bit of college action as No. 6 North Dakota battled Penn State in the annual 2021 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game. It was the Nittany Lions who pulled the upset, 6-4, despite upwards of 15,000 Fighting Hawks' fans in attendance for the special event.
Behind a pair of goals each from defenseman Clayton Phillips and forward Connor MacEachern, Penn State bested North Dakota in a high octane and entertaining showdown in the Music City.

"It's a great experience, win or lose," Penn State Head Coach Guy Gadowsky said. "Obviously when you get to pull it out against a great North Dakota team anywhere it feels really good - especially in a great venue like this with unbelievable fans and a great atmosphere. You feel like, with the help of the crowd, they could get the snowball rolling pretty quickly. So you have to give our team a lot of credit for being able to pump the brakes on that snowball. Obviously we're very fortunate to do so."
After Penn State forward Tyler Gratton got the scoring started just four minutes into the game, penalties became the story for both squads. The teams combined for 17 infractions following the first tally and Penn State immediately took advantage with Phillips' first off a 5-on-3 to make the score 2-0.
North Dakota consistently fought back in the game, but never found itself tied. The Fighting Hawks outshot the Nittany Lions 32-23, but goalie Oskar Autio was able to keep them out of the net just enough with 28 saves to secure his fourth victory of the season. Penn State ended the contest converting on an impressive 60 percent of its power plays compared to just 50 percent for the Fighting Hawks.
Forward Riese Gaber led the way for the de-facto home team with a pair of assists and a nifty goal with just two minutes remaining in the game to cut the Penn State lead to 5-4. But the Nittany Lions were able to tack on an empty-netter to put the contest away and move to 6-1-0 on their young season.
The Fighting Hawks will get another shot at victory in the Hall of Fame Classic when they head to Las Vegas in October 2022 for a battle with Arizona State.

Grimaldi Reunited with Alma Mater:

He may wear Gold and navy now, but it wasn't all that long ago that Preds forward Rocco Grimaldi was suiting up in green and black for his alma mater, North Dakota. Although, to him, seven years in professional hockey feels like a lifetime.
"That feels like a long time ago," Grimaldi said after Nashville's practice last Friday. "I feel like it was 15 years ago, honestly, but we go back to Grand Forks every summer so we've been back like five years in a row now, which is great. I've skated with the guys - especially this summer I skated with them every week. That part of it makes it feel like it hasn't been that long, but when I actually think about going to school and walking around campus, I mean the University is constantly ripped up and new buildings are going in and it's like, 'What's going on here? Where have I been?' But it's special to go back and kind of see how the city continues to evolve."
Grimaldi has nothing but fond memories of his time in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Over his three seasons, he played in 86 games, and tallied a team-high 39 points (17g-22a) during his junior year - his final in college. Although he was drafted 33rd overall just before his freshman season by the Florida Panthers, the forward enjoyed transformative years at North Dakota before making the jump to the NHL.
"It's such a great, unique community. I feel like everyone kind of knows everyone to some extent. And when I spend my summers there people are like, 'You're crazy. Why would you go to North Dakota, like you're from California, why not just stay in Nashville?' I'm like, 'You don't get it,'" Grimaldi said. "The town is awesome, the people are great. It's a small city, but it's got enough things that I want to do. I want to relax and the city is peaceful in the summer and obviously has the best rink in the world to train in, so I'm really glad to have those types of people in my life."

Three seasons on the ice for the Fighting Hawks wasn't quite enough for the 28 year old as he and his wife Abby, who he met while at North Dakota, still make Grand Forks a regular stop in their offseason schedule. Grimaldi even trained with the team this offseason.
"It's almost like I was on their team this summer because I skated with them so much - three times a week, all summer," he said. "So at some point it's almost kind of like you're part of their team even though you're not. You just see these guys every day and now to see them here it's almost like I'm back in Grand Forks."
When he heard that his former squad would be making the trip down to Nashville for this special game, Grimaldi was nothing but jittery. He greeted nearly each and every North Dakota player and coach after the Preds practice on Friday and even stayed afterwards to take in some of North Dakota's skate.
"I was super pumped," Grimaldi said. "Super excited about it, my wife is super excited about it. It's almost like it's her hometown coming in. It's funny because I try to tell our guys, try to tell people at the Preds that this is going to be crazy, like you don't understand what's coming from North Dakota and everyone's like, 'Yeah, whatever, that's college, whatever.' Just wait until you see Friday, Saturday night on Broadway it's going to be 20,000 green jerseys walking around. And no one believes me still, but I feel like now that they've seen some people here, they are starting to get the hint."
The Fighting Hawks fans did indeed show up in drothes for Saturday's game - many with 'Grimaldi' on the back of their jerseys. And despite not getting the victory, their presence was a welcome sight for No. 23, who has plenty of affection for the North Dakota faithful.
"They have supported me since day one. I came in as a freshman in 2011, had a really tough year, had knee surgery and was out of the lineup," Grimaldi recalled. "I got an outpouring of support and love that year just wishing me well and came back for two more years - wish it was longer - and they have supported me ever since. I've been with a few teams now in the NHL up and down minors, AHL, and they've traveled for the NHL games, I've had people travel to the AHL games. And it's just special."

Preds Prospect Chase McLane Graces Bridgestone Arena:

While neutral ice for most of the competitors on Saturday, Penn State forward Chase McLane graced Bridgestone Arena for the first, of potentially, many times in his hockey career. The Preds seventh-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft returned to Nashville as the resident expert for his team and this time, picked himself up a souvenir.
"We just kind of walked down Broadway, left our hotel and everybody's like, 'Where do we go?' and I was like, 'I don't really know where we're at either.' Once we got down there [on Broadway] it was pretty familiar," McLane said. "I just kind of led them around, showed them where everything was. We went to Boot Barn, I actually got a cowboy hat."
The Nittany Lions center has shown a bit of what he is capable of this season, tallying a goal in Penn State's season opener and winning around 50 percent of his faceoffs this season. He registered a plus-two in the box score against North Dakota and fully embraced the big league atmosphere in Bridgestone Arena.

"I think it's hard not to be excited in that kind of atmosphere. I think they said they had 14,000 strong or something like that," McLane said. "I like coming into hostile environments with our team and being able to get the job done."
The sophomore from Michigan is certainly making an impact on the ice, but his biggest value may just come off of it where he is a leader and a high-character figure for his club.
"He's such a character person and such a character guy. He does all the things that you want in a teammate," Gadowsky said of his centerman. "He wins battles in every inch of the ice, he's the kind of guy that you win with. I don't think he's a flashy player by any means. But I guarantee you every one of his teammates loves him for not only the person he is, but also what he does on the ice. He's that kind of guy. I think the Preds got a really great character leader."
After totaling 50 points (13g-37a) in 106 USHL games, he helped Penn State emerge as a college hockey powerhouse last year, and for the first time, got a taste of what Nashville hockey has to offer on the same ice that the Preds skated on just hours earlier.
"It was sweet. I'd never been here before. When I walked out, I walked through the tunnel...and I was like, 'Holy crap. This is really cool,'" McLane said. "I've been to Joe Louis Arena, which is Detroit's old home rink, and this place, it's just state of the art. It's pretty cool. It's exciting."