Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1041428
A s Penn State begins its seventh sea- son of hockey, different faces will have to lead the way within Guy Gadowsky's signature high-speed, high- risk system. Gone is Andrew Sturtz, the program's all-time goals leader, as is Big Ten Defen- sive Player of the Year Trevor Hamilton. Players such as Denis Smirnov, Liam Folkes and Brandon Biro, who helped fuel Penn State's breakout as freshmen, are now upperclassmen hoping to help secure the Nittany Lions' place on the national stage. Ranked 16th in the preseason USCHO poll, Penn State opened its campaign Oct. 11-12 with a two-game sweep of Clarkson, winning the opener, 4-3, and following that with a 5-1 romp the next night. Non- conference matchups with Niagara, Princeton, Arizona State and Robert Morris are set to follow, and those games are just the prelude to a Big Ten season that will begin at home on Nov. 16 against Michigan. With the season now under way, here are five things to know about this year's team: 1 Penn State's offense could be histor- ically good. Even after the departure of Sturtz for the professional ranks, the Nittany Lions return the most goals out of any team in college hockey. Among the forwards who will likely comprise Penn State's top nine, seven finished with at least 20 points a year ago. The Nittany Lions have finished within the top three nationally in scoring in each of the past two seasons, but their offensive attack in 2018-19 could be truly special. 2 The defensive corps has serious question marks. After allowing the second-most goals of any Big Ten team a year ago, Penn State must now recover from the graduation of two of its three most productive defense- men, including the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in Hamilton. The Nit- tany Lions will get a boost when transfer Evan Bell becomes eligible in January, but they may find themselves just trying to survive until then. 3 The Big Ten is probably the best conference in college hockey. Three of the four teams to make the Frozen Four last season came from the Big Ten, and the seven-member hockey con- ference also had three teams in the top four of the USCHO preseason poll, with Notre Dame ranking second, Ohio State third and Michigan fourth. Minnesota could find itself back in elite territory with a new head coach, Wisconsin is al- ways among the most talented teams in the country, and Michigan State has one of the nation's best forward lines. There will be no easy weekends in conference play for Penn State. 4 The Nittany Lions have reworked their power play. With so many talented forwards on the roster, Penn State is making an effort to | VARSITY VIEWS LEAVE A LIGHT ON Powerful oense, suspect defense could make for a high-scoring ice hockey season GOAL ORIENTED Junior forward Nate Sucese had 31 goals and 34 assists in his first two seasons with the Nittany Lions. Photo by Ryan Snyder