Blue White Illustrated

layers win games. That was the simple advice o7ered by Denver coach Jim Montgomery to Penn State's upstart program, just a8er his Pioneers had ousted the Nittany Lions from the NCAA tournament for the second year in a row. It seems obvious, of course. But at the time, the words were a subtle nod to the limitations of Penn State's roster, a con- 5rmation of what most knew heading into the matchup. The Nittany Lions didn't have an Olympian like Troy Terry on their roster. They didn't have a 5rst-round talent like Henrik Borgstrom. Penn State has Guy Gadowsky's cre- ative o7ensive system, but it doesn't have the speed, the size, the skill or the NHL pedigree to compete with a blue blood program like Denver when the stakes are at their highest. At least, not yet. Two trips to the national stage have yielded a pair of thrashings at the hands of the Pioneers, but the progress has also provided Gadowsky with the recruiting tools he needs to help close the gap. "Making the tournament this year was an incredible feat," Gadowsky said. "How they did it was an incredible feat. Going through that stretch was some- thing that I'll never forget. I hope it's more of a reinforcement of, 'Yeah, that wasn't just a one-o7.' So I do think there is a di7erence in which players were in- terested in us, and because of what the team accomplished this year, I expect that to continue." Those highly touted players have al- ready begun to trickle into Pegula Ice Arena. Pennsylvania native Evan Barratt is a Chicago Blackhawks third-rounder and announced his commitment in 2015, well before the program's upturn. The same can be said for NHL dra8 picks Denis Smirnov and Nikita Pavly- chev, who also have Pennsylvania ties via the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Knights of the Atlantic Youth Hockey League. But in the commitment of Wisconsin- native Cole Hults, a 58h-round pick of the Los Angeles Kings, the e7ects of Penn State's run are evident. Hults, a defenseman who had previ- ously been committed to Hockey East powerhouse Providence, gave his pledge to Gadowsky mere days a8er Penn State was eliminated from the NCAA tourna- ment in 2017. This year, he was among Penn State's most consistent blue-liners from a de- fensive standpoint and played a role on the power play as well. Aarne Talvitie, a New Jersey Devils dra8 choice, also gave his verbal pledge shortly a8er Penn State's 2017 tourna- ment run and will likely join the Nittany Lions for the upcoming season. That's the power of momentum on the ice and the national attention that comes with it. Despite a disappointing 5rst-round defeat, the Nittany Lions only helped their cause this year. "As we continue to get better and bet- ter, I think we will have more options available to us," Gadowsky said. "But at the same time, we can only control what we have here. We're very happy with what we have, and it's our responsibility to develop them as best we can. I think if we can do that with the group we have now, hopefully we'll have teams thinking about us [like they do about Denver]." One of the factors that Gadowsky can control is his team's conditioning. He felt that certain Nittany Lions didn't come into the season in the best shape possible, and he cited that as an area in which the team can improve heading into next season. That there is talk about how Penn State can elevate its program to be com- petitive with the likes of Denver is an achievement in itself. The Nittany Lions' varsity hockey program has only existed for six seasons, yet there are al- ready established expectations – and ones that Gadowsky considers valid. "It's hard to take a step back," he said. "I think now that we've done this twice, made the tournament, it's not a 6uke. I think that's fair to wonder how we're now going to get better. I think that's a fair question. It makes things more stressful for us, but I think it's fair." ■ ing Penn State. Notre Dame, another top seed and Frozen Four qualifier, needed a spectacular effort from star goaltender Cale Morris to keep the Lions at bay in February. Gadowsky's high-volume, high-speed offense has proven danger- ous, even against elite programs. But not Denver. "I thought this was an opportunity, at least for the coaching staff. ... We were really curious to see if we've learned something," Gadowsky said. "Obviously, I have to do a lot better job, we have to do a lot better job, if we're going to compete at this level. I don't know that answer. I just feel that we weren't prepared enough. We didn't do enough as a staff to prepare the team to really find out the an- swer. If we played our very best, then I feel we would have a more accurate an- swer." There were no answers to be had out on the ice, either. Penn State, which finished its season at 18-15-5, was outmatched from the moment the puck was dropped. With four seniors on their way out and junior forward Andrew Sturtz having re- cently signed a two-year entry-level con- tract with the Ottawa Senators, the path to contention on the big stage becomes more complicated. There's an entire off-season in which to find some answers, of course. But the loss to Denver is going to sting for a little while. Said Gadowsky, "We got beat. We got beat bad." ■ Pioneers got there first, but Nittany Lions know the way forward P A N A L Y S I S B Y D A V I D E C K E R T

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