UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — With 4,209 miles separating State College and Espoo, Finland, Erik Autio has found himself worlds away from his home this year. The Finland native has not only had to transition to a new team, but he has had to immerse himself in a new culture, a new language and a new style of hockey.Deciding to make the move to the United States and to collegiate hockey was one that made perfect sense to the first-year student. Autio quickly realized choosing Penn State would offer him the opportunity to not only play a highly competitive level of hockey, but it would also allow him to work toward advancing academically."The level of play in Finland, if you want to play on the best level, you don't have time to do studying at the same time," Autio said. "Coming over here gives me the opportunity to get my education as well as play good hockey, so that's what I wanted to come here for."
To read the rest of the story, go to the official blog of Penn State Athletics at http://www.gopsusports.com/blog/2014/10/from-finland-to-penn-state-autios-journey.html.