Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1541990
5 0 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 6 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State men's ice hockey coach Guy Gad- owksy was so disheart- ened by his team's perfor- mance in a 7-1 home loss to second-ranked Michigan on Nov. 14 that he didn't even step into the locker room after the game. "If I'd gone in, it would have been all emotional reaction, and I want to look at things before I do," he told reporters following the loss. "We need direction right now, so I want to be very sure the next time we communicate from the coach- ing staff to the team that it's not an emotional reaction." The silence was a message in itself, and after that disastrous series opener against the high- scoring Wolverines, Penn State turned in a more characteristic performance the following night. Fresh- man forward Luke Misa, sophomore de- fenseman Nick Fascia and junior forward Dane Dowiak scored to stake PSU to a 3-0 third-period lead, while freshman goal- tender Josh Fleming stopped 32 shots, the result being a 4-2 victory for the hosts. It's been that kind of season for the Nittany Lions so far. Since opening the Big Ten campaign with a sweep of 17th- ranked Ohio State in Columbus, Penn State has fallen into an up-and-down pattern that has included series splits against the Wolverines and Minnesota. The Nittany Lions were 11-5 overall, 4-4 in Big Ten play and ranked No. 5 na- tionally heading into the holiday break. They've looked formidable on offense, just as expected with the addition of elite freshman Gavin McKenna to a corps of talented forwards that includes sopho- mores Charlie Cerrato and JJ Wiebusch. Through 16 games, all three were ranked among the Big Ten's top seven point- scorers, and they'll get a boost if junior Aiden Fink is able to return from the up- per-body injury that has kept him out of action since early November. However, there have also been some extended lulls, as in a 5-0 loss to No. 1 Michigan State on Nov. 8, which preceded the shellacking at home against Michigan. "I think we're relying on skill, and that's a really dangerous thing to do in high- quality hockey," Gadowsky said. "I don't think we give enough of ourselves to the team, and we're more focused on what's going to happen when we get the puck, not actually getting the puck." Another problem is that the Nittany Lions have struggled on defense at times. Through 16 games, they were fourth in the seven-team Big Ten with a 2.88 goals-against average. A year ago, Penn State compiled a lackluster 7-9 record prior to the holi- day break before turning its season around in January and February and riding the momentum all the way to the program's first Frozen Four appearance. This year's team hasn't exactly dug it- self a hole, but it'll need to make strides if it's going to vie for Big Ten and na- tional championships. Penn State will resume its season in up- state New York when it faces the Roches- ter Institute of Technology on Jan. 3. ■ IN FULL SWING Penn State seeks consistency after an up-and-down start to the Big Ten season M AT T H E R B | M AT T. H E R B @ O N 3 . C O M OLYMPIC SPORTS 2025-26 Ice Hockey Schedule Date Opponent Time/Result Oct. 3 at Arizona State W, 6-3 Oct. 4 at Arizona State W, 4-2 Oct. 9 CLARKSON L, 6-4 Oct. 10 CLARKSON W, 5-2 Oct. 17 LONG ISLAND W, 5-4 (OT) Oct. 18 LONG ISLAND W, 3-0 Oct. 24 STONEHILL W, 3-2 Oct. 25 STONEHILL W, 4-2 Oct. 30 at Ohio State W, 3-2 Oct. 31 at Ohio State W, 4-3 Nov. 7 at Michigan State L, 2-1 (OT) Nov. 8 at Michigan State L, 5-0 Nov. 14 MICHIGAN L, 7-1 Nov. 15 MICHIGAN W, 4-2 Nov. 21 at Minnesota L, 3-2 Nov. 22 at Minnesota W, 2-1 Jan. 3 at RIT 7 p.m. Jan. 4 RIT 5 p.m. Jan. 9 MINNESOTA 6 p.m./BTN Jan. 10 MINNESOTA 6 p.m./BTN Jan. 16 NOTRE DAME 7 p.m./B1G+ Jan. 17 NOTRE DAME 8 p.m./BTN Jan. 23 at Wisconsin 7 p.m./B1G+ Jan. 24 at Wisconsin 8:30 p.m./BTN Jan. 30 MICHIGAN STATE TBA/B1G+ Jan. 31 MICHIGAN STATE* TBA/BTN Feb. 13 at Michigan 6:30 p.m./B1G+ Feb. 14 at Michigan 5 p.m./BTN Feb. 20 OHIO STATE 8:30 p.m./BTN Feb. 21 OHIO STATE 8 p.m./BTN Feb. 27 at Notre Dame 7:05 p.m./Peacock Feb. 28 at Notre Dame TBA/Peacock Mar. 5 WISCONSIN 7 p.m./B1G+ Mar. 6 WISCONSIN 7 p.m./B1G+ Mar. 11-21 Big Ten Tournament TBA Mar. 27-Apr. 11 NCAA Tournament TBA * Game to be played at Beaver Stadium Forward Luke Misa opened the scoring with a second-period goal in Penn State's 4-2 victory over Michigan on Nov. 15. PHOTO BY KYLIE BARTON/PENN STATE ATHLETICS