With sights set on an NCAA tourney berth, Penn State men’s hockey isn’t overlooking Michigan
Take some clichés and generalizations, toss in ample praise for your opponent, some supposed media disrespect or even an us-against-them underdog theme and you have the typical recipe for Coachspeak 101.
It’s a classic, time-tested approach for coaches in any sport.
Nobody told Penn State hockey coach Guy Gadowsky, though.
Maybe it’s the no-B.S. nature of hockey, but Gadowsky routinely speaks his mind. When he talks about the competitive balance of the Big Ten Conference or the challenges of an upcoming opponent — the sixth-ranked Nittany Lions play host to Michigan this weekend — he might parse his words a bit, but it’s rare.
Penn State sits atop the conference standings (24 points) with Michigan sixth (13 points) among the seven hockey-playing schools. Still, the tradition-rich Wolverines, with nine national championships and 24 Frozen Four appearances, swept Notre Dame last weekend and seem to have rebounded from an awful stretch early in the season when they went 3-8-1.
The series looks like a good opportunity for Penn State, which split two games at Ann Arbor in early December, but making the most of that opportunity will not be easy.
“Anybody in the Big Ten you have to respect greatly. They’re one of the most successful hockey programs in NCAA history,” Gadowsky said. “Besides that, they’ve got loads of talent. Besides that, they just swept Notre Dame. If we are looking past them, we’ve got bigger issues.”
It’s not so much a matter of focus as it is consistency, though — and that’s for both teams. The top-to-bottom quality of play in the Big Ten makes piling up victories elusive.
Both Michigan and Penn State enter the weekend hoping to remain true to their “identity.” Despite familiarity and a week of planning, what decides the games this weekend might be beyond the control of the coaches on both sides.
“It’s so tough. You can play great but you can’t account for rubber pucks, referees and goalies. It’s so tough to win consistently,” Gadowsky said.
Recording victories to reach the NCAA Tournament remains the ultimate goal. In a conference where a team could play well and finish anywhere from first to last, that makes things challenging. As a hockey fan, Gadowsky appreciates that competitiveness. As a coach, it’s a little less appealing.
“A scenario where every team is loaded and you have to be at your very best to win is great for development, excitement and entertainment,” he said. “For making the tournament, those are terrible factors.”
While Penn State plans to push the tempo and take shots as usual, Michigan seems comfortable with a counterattacking approach, hoping to capitalize on missed shots to create odd-man rushes or on its forecheck to frustrate the Nittany Lions and lead to breakouts.
Plus, Michigan can do much more than counterpunch. Like Penn State, the Wolverines have seven NHL draftees on their roster. Also, Michigan goalie Strauss Mann notched 57 saves last weekend. The shutout in the first of two games against Notre Dame was the first for UM on the road since January 2018.
As always, Penn State wants to start fast, hoping to improve on a 13-1 record when scoring first and 12-0 when leading after two periods.
While Penn State players share a singular scoring focus, they bring different perspectives to their work. Nate Sucese, the program’s all-time points leader (129), knows every statistic about his play and that of the team.
Meanwhile, Alex Limoges, who has notched a point in 10 consecutive games (a career high and one shy of the program record), plays with a bit less awareness of those things, but no less success.
“We know they’re going to be good, tight games, just like they were in Michigan,” Limoges said. “We love playing at home, with the energy of the crowd. We just have to play hard to set a tone, and try to outwork them.”
OK, so not everyone avoids the clichés and coachspeak.
No. 6 Penn State (16-6, 8-4 Big Ten) vs. Michigan (9-11-2, 4-7-1)
Series: 7 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday
Radio/TV: Coverage on 103.1 FM and GoPSUsports.com, with both games streamed on BTN+ as well.
Notable: Michigan leads the series, 16-13-0, while Penn State has a 7-4 advantage at Pegula Ice Arena. … Penn State is 8-0 this season when one of its freshmen scores. … Penn State’s plus-14 goal-scoring total (46-32) in Big Ten play leads the conference. … Michigan goalie Strauss Mann stopped 25 of 26 shots last Saturday vs. No. 18 Notre Dame, completing a two-game sweep. … Michigan and Minnesota are the only conference opponents against which Penn State has not recorded a tie.
This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 7:00 AM.