Blue White Illustrated

S enior day doesn't get much more celebratory than the sendoff the Penn State men's ice hockey team gave to its seven departing players on March 7. Playing their final home game of the season, the Nittany Lions edged Michi- gan, 4-3, as one of those seven gradu- ating players – forward Tommy Olczyk –scored what would turn out to be the win- ning goal late in the second period. But the game, played in front of the 17th sellout crowd of the season at Pegula Ice Arena, didn't just give the Lions an emotion- al lift. It also gave them a two-game sweep over the Big Ten-leading Wolverines, coming one day after a 6-4 victory in the opener. Even more significant, it assured the Lions of their first winning season since launching their varsity program in 2012. "This is something that we won't for- get," head coach Guy Gadowsky said. "I mean, anytime that you're able to sweep Michigan is huge. It feels great. I think it's something to look back on down the road and gain a lot of confi- dence from. … I feel really good about what the guys were able to accomplish in very meaningful games." As a result of its strong performances throughout the season, Penn State has some even more meaningful games com- ing up. The Nittany Lions, who improved to 18-12-4 and 10-7-1 in the Big Ten, were set to wrap up their regular season with two games at Minnesota March 13-14, and after their series against the second-place Gophers, they will head to Detroit for the Big Ten tournament March 19-21. The bad news for Penn State is that it won't have its most effective offensive line intact in the postseason. The David Goodwin-Taylor Holstrom-Casey Bailey line combined for 39 goals and 54 assists and had accounted for 93 of Penn State's 277 points heading into the Michigan series. But Holstrom, a senior, went down with a leg injury against Ohio State. Gadowsky said Holstrom's leg isn't broken, but the PSU assists leader (and Hobey Baker Award nominee) is not expected to return to action. Still, Penn State showed plenty of re- silience in its two victories against Michigan, improving its all-time record against the Wolverines to 6-3. And the season-ending series at Minnesota of- fered the Lions another opportunity to test themselves against one of the Big Ten's strongest teams. Gadowsky said he believes the scheduling will work to Penn State's advantage in the postsea- son. "What I like is that we're facing the top two teams going into playoffs," he said. "I like that. To face the best going into the playoffs I think is a positive experience. You're going to be forced to play at such a high level that I feel that can only help you going into the Big Ten tournament." While the men's team has shined this year, the Penn State women's ice hockey team also enjoyed a milestone V A R S I T Y V I E W S WARMING TREND Ice hockey teams enjoy winning seasons | "I de6nitely think this team has grown a lot over the course of the season," she said following a 62-56 loss to Wisconsin in the regular-season 6nale. "There are a lot of areas that we had to grow in, and I think we have taken big steps in some areas and have taken small steps in other areas. As the season goes on, you certainly want to take comfort knowing your team is growing and that they are getting better. "We will have the nucleus [of this team] back together next year, but at the same time, our standards are really high and I want to see big steps. I want to see more growth, and one of the things I would like to see moving forward into postseason play and into next season is a little bit more consistency. That's one of the things that experience gives you. That's one of the things I'll look forward to seeing from this team in the future – just more con- sistency on both ends of the 7oor." ■ bring breast cancer survivors and bas- ketball together, the answer is yes, be- cause all of these hundreds of survivors have said, 'Yes, we have faced adversity and we can win.' It's just an incredible energy and every year it just gets bigger and better and it doesn't lose its power and impact." – M.H. GADOWSKY

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