Blue White Illustrated

G uy Gadowsky can easily recall the conversation he had with his assis- tant coaching staff when they first watched junior hockey standout Clayton Phillips, then the same fast-skating, puck-moving defenseman he is now. "Oh man, that's a great player," Gad- owsky remembers saying. "He's going to be great." Gadowsky couldn't act on that impres- sion, though, with Phillips committed to play for Minnesota. After a season and a half with the Golden Gophers, Phillips is now showing off those tools in a blue and white sweater, anchoring an improved Penn State defen- sive corps and finding a system that val- ues his skill set. On Nov. 15, Phillips returned to play at Mariucci Arena for the first time since his transfer, when Penn State opened a two- game series against the Gophers. He as- sisted on a second-period goal by Alex Limoges in the Nittany Lions' 8-2 vic- tory, then scored the decisive goal in a 6- 3 win in the series finale the following night. Phillips totaled 35 games with the Go- phers, amassing nine assists and one goal during his time in Minneapolis. In 11 showings with Penn State so far this sea- son, Phillips had two goals and six assists. "We like to play fast and get up the ice, that's not a secret," Gadowsky said. "He does that extremely well. The way we de- fend has a lot to do with your feet, and he's got excellent feet and he gets up in the play." For those reasons, Gadowsky said, Phillips is a perfect fit for what the Nit- tany Lions are trying to do. It didn't take Penn State long to realize what Phillips could offer when he became available, either. Phillips said Gadowsky was one of the first coaches he heard from. "He's someone we jumped at," Gad- owsky said. "We didn't have to deliberate much." Phillips said he could feel Gadowsky's passion for the game through the phone, so the interest was mutual. But the situ- ation became less clear-cut after he picked Penn State. With Phillips already on campus and classes for the fall semester already under way, nobody knew if the NCAA would grant him a waiver to play this season. About two months after receiving the good news that he would indeed be eligi- ble, Phillips is contributing to a defensive corps that Gadowsky said is the deepest and most agile he's had at Penn State. Phillips' defensive numbers can still improve. As of mid-November, oppo- nents had scored 12 goals when he was on the ice, a team high, although one of those goals came with an empty net, and three came in an overall subpar performance for the Nittany Lions against Alaska in the second week of the season. But now, Phillips finds himself playing in a system that values his offensive out- put and considers the risks he takes to be an acceptable tradeoff. "Gadowsky is really big on playing fast, and you know that means both offensively and defensively," he said. "I just really think it fits into my game. There are a lot of great players here, so they make playing the game a lot easier, too." Through 11 games, no player had been on the ice for more Penn State goals than Phillips' 16, and he has proven valuable on special teams while quarterbacking Penn State's primary power play unit as well. Gadowsky lauded his ability to distrib- ute the puck, and also complemented his shot, noting he wishes Phillips would use it more. "I think he's been tentative to use it be- cause he really likes to distribute and he knows who he's playing with and he tends to get them the puck," the coach said. "But I think we'd like to see him be more selfish." By all accounts, the fit is as strong in the locker room as it is on the ice. M E N ' S I C E H O C K E Y A PERFECT FIT Transfer Clayton Phillips bolsters an improved Penn State defensive corps | CARRY A BIG STICK Phillips spent one and a half seasons at Min- nesota before head- ing to Penn State earlier this year. Photo by Ryan Snyder

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