Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/90963
LIKE SONS LIKE FATHERS, BY JOE SAGER Years After Their Dads Were Olympic Teammates, Tommy Olczyk And Nate Jensen Are Skating At Penn State T 28 as part of the inaugural NCAA Division I ice hockey team at Penn State University this year. What really makes their situation unique is that they are roommates – much like their fathers, Ed and Dave H., were for Team USA at the 1986 IIHF World Championship in Moscow. "You don't realize how small the hockey he hockey world is a very big one. It's also pretty small. Just ask Nate Jensen and Tommy Olczyk. These two players wound up world is until something like that actually happens," said Tommy Olczyk, who was named first captain of the Nittany Lions. "Our dads roomed together almost 30 years ago. It's pretty crazy." The two players did not know each other well before they arrived at Penn State last year. They played against each other in the USHL, but that's about it. didn't know him coming in here. We have some mutual friends, and I heard he was a great guy," Nate Jensen said. right away. Now, we're rooming together and, hopefully, we will for the rest of our years here. "It's neat how hockey kind of binds peo- "When we both came in ... we connected ple together. You meet so many great peo- ple from the game who carry on through- out your life. We'll probably end up being friends for the rest of our lives." While the two players weren't aware of their fathers' connection, it didn't take long for the stories to come pouring out of Ed and Dave, who were also teammates on the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team. "That's the hockey world. It is very small. "I had talked to him a couple times, but I Paths cross in a lot of different eras and places. The stars aligned, so to speak, when it comes to father-father and son-son play- ing together," said the elder Olczyk. "It's fun to think about it and just to know our paths crossed way back in the '80s. Now, here we are in 2012, and the boys are playing together." The fathers can see themselves on the ice when they watch their sons play. Nate is a defenseman, just like his father, who played for the Minnesota North Stars as NOVEMBER.2012 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM PHOTOS COURTESY OF Penn State University; USA Hockey archives