Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/109500
VARSITY VIEWS TIME SHARE Skoff (above) and Musico (inset) have been splitting time in the Lions��� net. NET GAINS Goalie tandem lifts Lions in debut D-I season | Photos courtesy of Penn State Athletic Communications he goaltenders for Penn State���s men���s ice hockey team ��� freshman Matthew Skoff and sophomore PJ Musico ��� aren���t all that dissimilar physically. Both stand 6-foot-1, with Skoff weighing 186 pounds and Musico 198. ���They are surprisingly both tall and athletic,��� Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky said. ���That is a similarity.��� They���ve split time between the pipes for Penn State during its inaugural Division I season, with Skoff playing in 17 D-I games and Musico in nine. Heading into the final homestand of the season against Oklahoma, Skoff T had an 8-8-0 record, while Musico was 4-5-0. But away from the ice, the two goalies definitely won���t be mistaken for one another. They hail from the opposite ends of the country and have very different styles of play. ���My background growing up out west definitely contributes to my outgoing and laid-back personality,��� said Musico, a 23-year-old beach blonde from Orange, Calif. ���It transfers to the ice because I like to have fun when I play. I���m not the type of goalie to get really upset when something doesn���t go my way.��� Gadowsky said Musico is ���a California guy for sure. He is a goalie and from California, and that gives a double whammy on him. He is laid-back on and off the ice, but he takes what he does very seriously. He is going to work very hard at something but also is going to enjoy it.��� Musico plays a hybrid style of goaltending ��� like Jonathan Quick of the Los Angeles Kings and Ryan Miller of the Buffalo Sabers. Skoff is more methodical. A 22-yearold native of McKees Rocks, Pa., he likes to play mind games. His coach calls him ���a challenger.���