Penn State men’s hockey has little room for error in upcoming series with Ohio State

From his spot at the blueline, Paul DeNaples has a good eye, and an even stronger perspective, about what happens in front of him on the ice and for the Penn State men’s hockey team in general.

While the ninth-ranked Nittany Lions men’s hockey team has struggled — going 1-3-2 in Big Ten Conference games the past three weeks — the pragmatic sophomore defenseman remains optimistic entering the team’s series this weekend at No. 13 Ohio State.

“I would’ve loved it if the past few games would’ve gone better, but we’re in a good position to finish the season strong,” DeNaples said.

Ohio State and Penn State enter the series tied atop the conference standings, with Ohio State 10th in the PairWise Rankings and Penn State 11th. That bodes well for their NCAA Tournament hopes, but they’re also just two points out of sixth place in the competitive seven-team conference.

It’s a recipe for desperation.

“We’re two or three points out of last place, it’s all desperate,” DeNaples said. “We just have to play well, play together and try to eliminate mistakes.”

A few too many mistakes (and, in fairness, relatively few by DeNaples who is plus-five in the past four games) have hampered Penn State in recent weeks.

Penn State has averaged 2.17 goals per game, while allowing 3.67, the past three weeks. In addition, opponents have slightly outshot the Nittany Lions, 38.7-38.0.

Goal and shot differential rank among the team’s most valued statistics, so those are not good numbers. Optimism remains the preferred approach, though.

Coach Guy Gadowsky criticized the team’s mentality after its home series last week against Notre Dame — when Penn State earned just one of six possible points in the conference standings. He admitted he was initially frustrated but altered his outlook.

He’s encouraged because there have been goal-scoring chances, and he’s always hopeful for better effort. Plus, the team’s 17 victories and national position put it slightly ahead of where it was at this point last season.

“I believe what I’ve been told my whole life. In hockey you only worry if you’re not getting chances,” Gadowsky said. “Eventually they will go in if you continue to work. There’s a number of guys who are getting chances, and they’re just not going in right now. So I’m optimistic.”

Penn State won its most recent game at Ohio State, a 5-1 decision last March in a Big Ten Tournament semifinal game. This season, OSU has a 9-1-2 home record.

Improving effort, specifically finding some consistency, and avoiding mistakes represent the big keys for Penn State this weekend. There’s little room for error, but plenty of room for shared optimism.

“Obviously we want to be winning a lot of these games that we’re losing close, but we have our heads in the right spot for a good weekend at OSU,” forward Alex Limoges said. “A lot of teams are hungry for wins, for home-ice advantage in the playoffs. We need all the wins we can get.”

No. 9 Penn State (17-9-1, 9-7-2 Big Ten) at No. 13 Ohio State (16-9-3, 9-7-2)

Series: 7 p.m. Friday, 5 p.m. Saturday

Radio/TV: Game coverage on 103.1 FM and GoPSUsports.com

Notable: Ohio State leads the series, 16-11-2, and 7-5-1 on its home ice. … The teams split their first series earlier this season at Pegula Ice Arena. … Goalies Tommy Nappier of Ohio State and Peyton Jones of Penn State are in the top 15 nationally with save percentages of .929 and .922, respectively. … Penn State has the nation’s sixth-best power play (a 26.3% conversion rate) and the seventh-best penalty kill (stopping opponents 86.6% of the time). … Forward Denis Smirnov is expected to return for Penn State this weekend.