The Town of Oyster Bay will host the Supervisor’s College Hockey Challenge, a NCAA Division 1 College Hockey Showdown, at the Town of Oyster Bay Ice Skating Center on Stewart Avenue, Bethpage on Saturday, Jan. 9 at 8 p.m., according to Supervisor John Venditto.
The contest, featuring nationally ranked Penn State University and Stony Brook University, will showcase some the area’s best hockey talent. Admission is free, but those in attendance are asked to bring two cans of food to support “Hockey Fights Hunger.”
Penn State University is ranked 3rd and Stony Brook University is ranked 15th in the American Collegiate Hockey Association’s Division 1. Both the Nittany Lions and the Seawolves have impressive track records of success. Prior to the game, players from Stony Brook University will conduct a hockey clinic with participants from the town’s Ice Hockey Program. There will also be an exhibition featuring handicapped players from the Long Island Sled Hockey Association, as well as a figure skating exhibition between periods of the collegiate contest.
“Ice hockey has always been extremely popular in the town, evidenced by the many youngsters who enthusiastically participate in the town’s Ice Hockey Program,” said Venditto. “This game coming to the town’s state-of-the-art indoor rink in Bethpage represents the widespread appeal of the sport. It should be very popular with local residents, who enjoy seeing ice hockey played at a very high level.”
Venditto commended the staff of the town’s parks department for their ongoing efforts to maintain the town’s outstanding facilities like the Ice Skating Center at Bethpage. “It’s no secret in the local sports community that the town’s facilities are among the finest in the nation,” said the supervisor. “The fact that Penn State and Stony Brook are playing at our rink is testament to that fact. I feel it is truly a compliment when NCAA Division 1 athletic programs play at our facilities. They feature some of the finest athletes in the country.”
Venditto said he is looking forward to the Supervisor’s Challenge Cup on Jan. 9. “It will be an outstanding event and I’m proud to be hosting it here in the Town of Oyster Bay. I hope residents will come out and support these two outstanding schools,” he said.
