Blue White Illustrated

W hen his Belleville Senators and the Milwaukee Admirals wrapped up their AHL contest on Nov. 16, Andrew Sturtz reached for his phone to continue what has been something of a weekend ritual since he stepped out of a blue and white jersey and into the pro ranks. He opened Twitter, like usual, to see how his alma mater had fared that night. He scrolled to find a 6-3 win over Minnesota, and the name of someone he men- tored at the top of Penn State's all-time goals leaderboard. Nate Sucese scored twice that night to bring his career goal total to 56, surpassing Sturtz's mark of 54. When Sturtz broke the record, Casey Bailey – its previous owner – was one of the first to reach out and express his congratula- tions, so Sturtz was sure to reciprocate with Sucese. "He was one of the first guys to reach out to me on Saturday," Sucese said. "Nothing but love for the kid." Thanks to some mutual friends and the proximity of their hometowns, the two were connected from the start of Sucese's Nittany Lion career, and they'll be con- nected in Penn State hockey history now, too. Sturtz, a sophomore when Sucese ar- rived as a freshman, is from Buffalo, while Sucese is from Rochester, N.Y. So it seems somewhat natural that Guy Gadowsky paired Sturtz with Sucese in Penn State's mentorship system. The two roomed to- gether on all of the Nittany Lions' road trips from that point forward and shared a section of Penn State's dressing room, and a bond was formed. "I think it's something that's organic, just kind of happened," Sucese said. "We both liked learning the game from each other," Sturtz said. Certainly, Sucese and Sturtz are differ- ent hockey players, but they share a will- ingness to mix things up in front of the net and score however they can – even if the goals aren't always pretty. So perhaps it's fitting that Sucese's record-breaking goal was simple. He found open space in front of the Min- nesota net and redirected a pass from the point into the back of the net, with a Go- pher defenseman arriving just a moment too late. "It's just finding a way to get to the net, and being a smaller guy, outworking the guys there and finding ways to bang home rebounds," Sucese said. "That's how I've scored a lot of my goals here, and I don't see that changing." What Gadowsky finds remarkable about Sucese's production is his consis- tency, a byproduct of that sense of grit. Only once since his freshman season has Sucese, now a senior, gone three games without a point. Watching Sucese put the puck in the back of the net felt so routine to Gad- owsky that he didn't even detect the sig- nificance of the senior's record-breaking goal at first. "I didn't know it was record-breaking," Gadowsky said. "I was obviously pumped that it went in for different reasons." So when did Gadowsky realize? "When they got the puck and I didn't know why they got the puck," he said. Gadowsky, who values mental strength from his players more than almost any- thing, finds a model in Sucese, and his ability to consistently produce. "You really have to admire and respect that," Gadowsky said. "You really do. His mental toughness to produce in any type HISTORY MAKER Nate Sucese surpasses his former roommate to become PSU's all-time leading goal-scorer | VARSITY VIEWS INSTANT OFFENSE Through the Nit- tany Lions' first 19 games, Sucese was leading the Big Ten with 24 points on eight goals and 16 as- sists. Photo by Ryan Snyder

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