In their South Carolina living room, watching the Nittany Lions celebrate a Frozen Four bid, Joe and Heidi Battista cheered and cried as they flickered through Penn State's hockey history.

Penn State hadn't had a varsity hockey team since 1947. On Thursday, the Nittany Lions will play in the Frozen Four.

There’s so many people that wanted this to happen for so long,” said Joe Battista, who coached Penn State’s club ice hockey team for almost two decades.

Photo courtesy Penn State Athletics Joe Battista is considered the “Godfather” of ice hockey at Penn State University. The Penn State hockey team will appear in its first-ever Frozen Four ...

Battista coached Penn State's club hockey team for 19 years and was instrumental in building the Nittany Lions' Division I program that is headed to its first Frozen Four. Joe Battista ...