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F reshman defenseman Erik Autio is 4,209 miles from home and is learn- ing his third language. A native of Espoo, Finland, he is one of the Penn State men's ice hockey team's first two European-bred players and is adjusting to life in his new home – a home in which few people speak the two languages he knows best, Finnish and Swedish. "School is way different," Autio said. "Different lan- guage, different type of teaching and bigger class- es." The hockey is different, too. "More competitive – bigger, stronger, faster guys. I'm playing against older guys, but I'm getting used to it." During the team's first Big Ten sweep, against Wisconsin Dec. 5-6, Autio had a plus-3 rating and assisted on Tommy Ol- czyk's winning goal in the second game of the two-game series. Head coach Guy Gadowsky said Autio has made the transition to American col- legiate hockey more quickly than expected. He said that back home, Autio had a rep- utation as a cerebral puck mover and he has been everything Penn State expected. Forward Curtis Loik said Autio has fit in well with the team while inspiring the older players to improve. "Autio always comes to the rink with a smile on and is ready to work," Loik said. "I've never met a kid who has that drive to improve and get better. Any opportunity to get on the ice, he's there, even if he's the only one." Before the season started, Gadowsky had not seen much of Autio in person because coaches were not allowed to have ice time with the team. However, Autio had played on the Finnish national team at the 2013 International Ice Hockey Fed- eration U-18 World Championships, and to Penn State's coaching staff, that ex- perience illustrated his potential. "For anybody to wear a letter for a na- tional team speaks a lot about talent and character," Gadowsky said. Autio will have a chance to represent his country again. He was named one of 29 members of the Finnish national team before the 2015 IIHF World Junior Cham- pionships and was scheduled to fly out on Dec. 17 and meet with the team the following day. Autio is fighting to make the final 23-man roster. The champi- onships start on Dec. 26 and conclude with a gold medal game on Jan. 5. If he's selected for the final roster, Autio will miss the Three Rivers Classic for the Nit- tany Lions. At 19 years old, Autio is the youngest player on Penn State's team. It's an un- familiar sensation, as he's the middle child in a family of three boys. His older brother, Olli, is in law school, while his younger brother, Oskar, plays in the Espoo Blues junior system. Being so far away from home has been tough on Autio. He's used to his dad watching all his games, but the only way Pekka Autio can do that now is to stay up late and watch them online. His family was in attendance on the team's opening weekend and plans to come back after the new year, but he will not get to see them for any part of the holiday. On the ice, Autio plays with Luke Juha. He said Juha, a junior defenseman, is teaching him about the game and helping him make an impact. "I'm trying to do my own thing, help out the team with what I do best," said Autio, who played in 14 of the team's first 15 games, during which he totaled four assists. Gadowsky said it's fun "to watch how his mind works. It's funny how easy he makes the game look." Gadowsky said the defense has been getting more pucks forward this year, adding that Autio does it as well as any- body on the team. Off the ice, the team has given him a lot of advice to help him get acclimated to the U.S. He is eager to continue im- proving his communication skills and will be taking English as a second language next semester. Like so many Penn State students, he has quickly embraced his new life in Happy Valley. Said Autio, "I feel like home right now." ■ V A R S I T Y V I E W S A DIFFERENT WORLD Finnish freshman makes impact for ice hockey team | WOMEN'S ICE HOCKEY Penn State sweeps No. 6 Mercyhurst Penn State earned its first College Hockey America series sweep Dec. 13- 14, topping sixth-ranked Mercyhurst, 2-1, in the opener and following up with a 5-3 victory the next day. Laura Bowman scored the second hat trick in program history, and the Nit- tany Lions put up a three-goal third period in the series finale en route to their third victory in four games. "This team is so resilient," head coach Josh Brandwene said. "Playing the No. 6 team in the country, we nev- er wavered and stuck with the game plan. That was a big-time effort from our hockey team." The 1,257 fans at Pegula Ice Arena witnessed the first sweep against Mercyhurst since 2012. "This sweep shows just how far we've come," soph- omore Amy Petersen said. "It shows that we're capable of doing anything we set our minds to, and we can if we all work together as a team." AUTIO

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