Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1420595
5 0 N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 1 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Gadowsky said. "I think a lot of our culture and our mindset isn't just from what happened this summer, or what's going to happen in [the fall]. It hap- pened right from the [program's] start. ... We all have a bit of it for sure. Even the new players who come in, they cer- tainly can feel it. Not right away, but that's what happens." Looking at the Nittany Lions' ros- ter heading into the campaign, Penn State returns a stellar puck-moving defenseman in senior Clayton Phillips, a Pittsburgh Penguins draft choice. Longtime defensive stalwart Paul De- Naples, a senior who wears the "C" for this group, will pair with Phillips on the blue line. Carolina Hurricanes prospect Kevin Wall returns for his junior year after posting eight goals and 11 assists in 22 games last season. Against LIU, he played alongside fellow juniors Connor McMenamin and Connor MacEachern, the other two most productive return- ees for the Nittany Lions. That was the only line Penn State fielded in that series that included more than one upperclassman. Else- where, the Nittany Lions are looking to see continued progress from sopho- mores Christian Sarlo, Chase McLane and Xander Lamppa, who all showed promise in their debut seasons. Christian Berger and Jimmy Dowd Jr. are an exciting pair of sophomore defensemen who should be capable of joining the attack. And there are some exciting freshmen on this ros- ter, too. Danny Dzhaniyev, a 5-foot-4, 145-pound winger with a wicked shot, posted three points on opening week- end. He and his freshman linemate Ryan Kirwarn both found the back of the net in that Long Island series. Dzhaniyev is "fun to watch," Gad- owsky said. "It's not just his skill. He's going to score a lot of goals, but I really like how he hunts for pucks, and it fits us pretty well. I think he's going to be a great player for this program." The biggest question mark for the Nittany Lions this season might reside in goal, where they'll turn to senior Oskar Autio once again after he strug- gled at times during the 2020-21 sea- son, producing a save percentage of .894, well below the national average. Gadowsky and Phillips both expressed confidence in Autio during the pre- season, and Autio said he's taken mental steps to improve. This year, he said, he's "just trusting my game, not trying to do anything crazy, just knowing that I can play on this level and I can compete with everyone else in this league." Certainly, there will be programs with greater expectations than Penn State entering the new season. Michi- gan boasts four of the top five picks in the most recent NHL Draft. Minnesota brings back last season's Mike Richter Award winner in goaltender Jack La- Fontaine. Notre Dame and Wisconsin both suffered losses but return a bevy of talented players. The Nittany Lions were picked fifth in the Big Ten preseason coaches' poll, ahead of Michigan State and Ohio State, which both appear to be in the midst of rebuilding phases. There are seasons where fifth in the Big Ten is good enough to get you onto the NCAA bubble, but it's clear that the Nittany Lions will have to defy expectations to succeed — and that's a space they're perfectly comfortable occupying. Penn State has surprised plenty of people through its first nine sea- sons at this level, winning the Big Ten tournament and regular-season titles and qualifying for two NCAA tourna- ments — three if you count the pan- demic-shortened 2019-20 season. "We've accomplished a lot in the last 10 years," Gadowsky said, "a lot that we're very proud of from a milestone standpoint, but also just as an over- all program, what's happened in the stands, a lot of different areas. But we still have work to do and other goals to reach." ■ 2 0 2 1 - 2 2 M E N ' S I C E H O C K E Y S C H E D U L E Date Opponent Result/Time (ET) Oct. 3 LIU W, 3-1 Oct. 4 LIU W, 5-2 Oct. 8 Canisius L, 4-1 Oct. 9 Canisius W, 5-2 Oct. 21 Niagara 7 p.m. Oct. 22 Niagara TBA Oct. 30 North Dakota* 8 p.m. Nov. 5 at Ohio State 7 p.m. Nov. 6 at Ohio State 5 p.m. Nov. 11 Michigan (BTN) 8:30 p.m. Nov. 12 Michigan 7 p.m. Nov. 19 at Minnesota 8 p.m. Nov. 20 at Minnesota 9 p.m. Nov. 23 St. Thomas** 8 p.m. Nov. 24 St. Thomas** 8 p.m. Dec. 3 Michigan State 7 p.m. Dec. 4 Michigan State 5 p.m. Dec. 10 at Wisconsin 8 p.m. Dec. 11 at Wisconsin 7 p.m. Dec. 31 Maine TBA Jan. 1 Maine TBA Jan. 7 Notre Dame TBA Jan. 8 Notre Dame TBA Jan. 14 at Michigan 7:30 p.m. Jan. 15 at Michigan 7 p.m. Jan. 21 Wisconsin TBA Jan. 22 Wisconsin TBA Jan. 28 Ohio State TBA Jan. 29 Ohio State TBA Feb. 4 at Notre Dame TBA Feb. 5 at Notre Dame TBA Feb. 18 Minnesota (BTN) 6:30 p.m. Feb. 19 Minnesota (BTN) 6 p.m. Feb. 25 at Michigan State TBA Feb. 26 at Michigan State TBA Mar. 4-19 Big Ten Tournament TBA * at Nashville, Tenn. ** at St. Paul, Minn. Gadowsky's ice hockey squad was picked fifth in the Big Ten preseason coaches' poll entering this season. He led Penn State to the Big Ten Tournament title in 2017 and the regular-season conference championship in 2020. PHOTO BY RYAN SNYDER