Will Rahenkamp; Behrend Hockey Bad Ass

Imagine being a club sport that is funded entirely by sponsors and fans of the program. The players act as the business people along with the help of their coaches. The players also spend as much time practicing, traveling, and playing games as any varsity sport It truly sounds like a hard knock life for this club sports team. Is all of this hard work both on the ice and off worth it? Is having to travel off campus to practice and play every game worth the hassle? For the Penn State Behrend Lions club hockey players, it is worth every second.

Last season, I highlighted Logan Conboy who is a player who typically lights the lamp and provided the Lions with great offensive skills. However, who is responsible for leading the Lions defensive effort? Who is responsible for laying the hits and pushing the puck up the ice to the goal scorers? Like an offensive lineman in football, hockey defenseman often are overlooked and do not get the glory or their name in the newspapers. However, this is about to change as everyone begins to hear the story of Will Rahenkamp, a senior from Wexford, Pennsylvania who is studying mechanical engineering technology.

The North Allegheny High School alum was a two sport athlete in his high school days playing both hockey and lacrosse. Will has always found himself on defense in both hockey as well as lacrosse. In lacrosse, he served as the goalie for his high school team. Playing defense is not always the flashiest and the most exciting part of sports, but it truly takes a special talent to be able to keep the opposing offense from scoring goals.

At the age of 3, Will began skating and just a year later began to play the game of hockey. Hockey was a family tradition that was passed down from his father Jim to both Will and his brother. An early start playing the game has allowed will to become a college hockey player over the last four years. The chance to gain an excellent engineering degree while playing college hockey was the perfect scenario for Rahenkamp. After visiting schools like Robert Morris, West Virginia, Penn State Behrend, and Penn State University Park, Will knew Behrend provided him with the best all around opportunity to succeed both on the ice and later as an engineer. “I had a great time visiting these schools and learning about the opportunities they presented. After visiting Behrend and learning about the chance to play hockey as well as the unique mechanical engineering technology degree, I knew it was the place for me.”

Being a student athlete presents a lot of challenges, and especially those who need to schedule both lab and class time. “They key to my success has been trying to put school first as best as I could so I could then focus on hockey later. Our practices are often late at night, so I had some time usually to get my school work finished.” Rahenkamp said. While Behrend hockey had a longtime home of Mercyhurst University, the team has transitioned this season to Family First on Peach Street. The new ice rinks have been a great blessing to the team that allows them more flexibility in their game and ice times.

While playing hockey in college and throughout his life has brought Will a lot of memories, he cherishes the time he has spent with his teammates off the ice just as much. “In college, I do not have a favorite memory per se. We have so many great stories hanging out, traveling, and playing hockey in some great venues. I am thankful for the chance to have become a teammate of many great men over these last four years.” Thinking back to his high school days, Will admitted the 2013 state championship run his sophomore season along the state games he was a part of as a high school upperclassman were the moments he will never forget.

While Will’s career as a player in unfolding, he still has great ambitions to stay involved in the sport. He is looking forward to playing in adult hockey leagues and coaching youth or high school hockey at some point later in life. Will’s father has been his coach all of his life, and he admits he hopes to coach his own son in the sport some day. He is also looking forward to beginning his career in engineering this summer with plans to return home to Wexford to begin that journey.

Overall, Rahenkamp will miss the people he has met at Penn State Behrend most. Whether it be his teammates or some of his close MET friends. “I was able to create lifelong friendships both from hockey and school. There were many nights that were spent in the Burke labs completing school work with some outstanding people. I will always remember the fun times I had with both my teammates and friends.”

With just a few games left in his senior season, Rahenkamp is about to do one of the toughest things he has ever done; give up competitive hockey. Will is truly one of the toughest people to take the ice for the Behrend Lions, and his intensity will surely be missed after his career concludes.

Sports are not always about getting all the fame and attention, but rather doing your part to help the team. Will has been willing to do the dirty work in the game of hockey for many years, and although the newspapers may not say this players name, just know he has played a tremendous role in the success of Penn State Behrend hockey.