Blue White Illustrated

A fter Penn State wrapped up its foot- ball season with a Fiesta Bowl victory over Washington, attention shifted to the winter sports. One of the most suc- cessful of those teams in recent years has been the men's ice hockey squad, and this season has been no exception. As of mid-January, the Nittany Lions were ranked 13th in the country, with the heart of their Big Ten slate to come. Penn State started the first half of its season slowly before snapping off an eight-game unbeaten streak heading into the winter hiatus. The Lions picked up where they left off when the season resumed, earning a 5-1 victory against visiting Wiscon- sin on Jan. 5 and following it up the next night with a 1-0 shootout win after a 3-3 tie. The following week, they opened a two-game home series against No. 6 Ohio State with a 5-2 victory, but their streak finally came to an end on Jan. 13 with a 5-1 loss to the Buckeyes. Here's a primer outlining the team's biggest storylines heading into the crucial final month of the regular sea- son: WHERE THEY STAND With noncon- ference play wrapped up, the Nittany Lions find themselves in position to reach the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive season. After their split vs. Ohio State, they were 12th in the PairWise rankings and third among Big Ten teams, trailing first-place Notre Dame by 11 points and the fifth- place Buckeyes by seven. Should the Lions earn a spot in the 16-team tour- nament field, they would host a re- gional at PPL Center in Allentown. THE MVP Penn State's eight-game turnaround heading into winter break likely wouldn't have happened without Andrew Sturtz. Tied for fifth in the na- tion in scoring with 30 points through the Nittany Lions' first 24 games, the junior has become one of the premier offensive threats in the country. His 11 goals and 88 shots on goal were both team-highs, and his plus-13 rating was second. During the first half of the sea- son, he displayed an uncanny ability to wreak havoc on special teams, specifi- cally the penalty kill. Heading into a se- ries at Michigan Jan. 19-20, he was tied for the Division I lead with three short- handed goals. THE RUNNER-UP Injuries to Kevin Kerr and Erik Autio have made it tough for Penn State's defensive corps to de- velop any consistency. But Trevor Hamilton has been an exception. The senior seems right at home in Guy Gad- owsky's system, owning a plus-16 rat- ing that was third-best nationally among defenseman as of this writing. No player in the country had been on the ice for more goals. Gadowsky has also lauded Hamilton's play in the de- fensive zone. He's had a very strong season even though Penn State hasn't been able to find him a long-term de- fensive partner. THE STYLE The Nittany Lions con- tinue to play the highly entertaining brand of run-and-gun hockey that helped them break onto the national stage a season ago. Penn State's average of 4.00 goals per game was best nation- ally through 24 games. The Lions have once again wasted no time getting the puck to the net. With 40.08 shots on Challenges await as PSU braces for final month of regular season STURTZ I C E H O C K E Y | of Lee on Jan. 12 in front 4,009 fans at the Crisler Arena in Ann Arbor. With his de- cision, Lee helped PSU to a 25-12 dual meet win. He was in the lineup two days later at Michigan State, winning by technical fall, 16-1, against returning Big Ten finalist Javier Gasca. Lee's was one of nine victo- ries for PSU, all of which came with bonus points in a 48-3 thrashing of the Spar- tans. Penn State returns five national cham- pions, including Hall, none of whom have been defeated this season. But the na- tional wrestling prognosticators have been predicting that Ohio State is now the favorite to win it all in March, as it has a more evenly distributed lineup than Penn State. To defend their crown, the Lions will need to get points from other sources. That could include Cassar or Rasheed. At 141, it's now Lee. Penn State has won several NCAA championships with fewer than 10 wrestlers, but the more it can qualify, the better its chances. At the start of the new semester in January, Sanderson was looking for creative ways to improve his odds. Penn State added a graduate transfer in Carson Kuhn at the start of the spring se- mester. He officially joined the roster on Jan. 10, but it's unclear when the 125- pounder will debut in the lineup. A for- mer three-time Utah state champion from Atla High School, Kuhn wrestled four seasons for Boise State's now-de- funct program. After passing his GREs, he is enrolled in graduate school in interna- tional affairs. Kuhn was a top-100 recruit in the Class of 2009 and a freestyle national cham- pion. After spending his first year out of high school at the U.S. Olympic Training Center, he served a two-year religious mission to Chile. In his four years at Boise State, a tenure that included a redshirt in 2013-14, Kuhn compiled a 13-8 career record. His last three seasons were all shortened by in- juries. With one chance left to qualify for NCAAs, and Penn State needing help at 125, the timing aligns. ■

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