Penn State men’s hockey seniors have accomplished plenty — and they’re looking for more

On Thursday nights before his team plays at home, Nate Sucese often sits in the bleachers of Pegula Ice Arena’s second rink and gets ready for the weekend by preparing his sticks and skates while watching a youth hockey practice.

Sucese, a senior on the 11th-ranked Penn State men’s hockey team, was planning to make the most of that routine this week on the eve of the final regular series for him and his nine classmates.

“You’ve got to take a little time for yourself,” Sucese said. “A couple extra minutes to think about the memories we’ve had over the four years. Hopefully they aren’t over.”

Sucese, who holds the school record for goals (60) and ranks second in career assists (77), came to Penn State “hoping to find a role and wiggle into the lineup.”

He’s done much more than that — and he’s not finished.

There’s still plenty of time for more memorable moments for Sucese and the rest of Penn State’s accomplished senior class, which will be honored Saturday night after the season’s final regular season home game, beginning with this weekend’s two-game series against No. 18 Minnesota.

The teams are tied atop the Big Ten Conference standings with 36 points, although the Golden Gophers have two games next weekend while Penn State has a week off before the conference playoffs. The Nittany Lions could get two consecutive weekends off, depending on where they finish in the final conference standings.

The what-ifs abound, even if some choose to ignore the many possibilities and practice a more singular focus.

“We’re looking at Friday night, that’s all we have. The only thing we know is if we win Friday night, it increases our chances for all the goals we have,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. “All we’re thinking about Friday night is playing our game.”

There’s little doubt it will be a different series than the last time the two teams met. Penn State swept the Golden Gophers on the road in November, outscoring them 14-5. Minnesota has improved and been strong in recent weeks, though — going 7-3-1 in its last 11 games.

“You have to give Bob Motzko and his staff a lot of credit. They’ve instilled confidence and they’re playing hard,” Gadowsky said. “We don’t see a lot of systematic changes as much as just playing together.”

Playing together often pays dividends for Penn State and its senior class members. They’ve done that since they arrived as freshmen.

In 2016, the varsity hockey program was barely four years old. Many people talked about championships and success someday. That success came sooner than some expected when Penn State won three consecutive games during the conference tournament at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

Then-freshman goalie Peyton Jones allowed five goals in the three games and classmate Liam Folkes scored the championship-clinching goal on a breakaway in the second overtime against Wisconsin.

“Everybody from the start said eventually, eventually, eventually. They were the guys that came in and took the eventually away,” Gadowsky said. “It’s been a special, gratifying and fun four years with them.”

Not surprisingly, Sucese wants more. The team has embraced the higher stakes and a bit more pressure on each shift as the season winds down and it jockeys for position in the standings to determine whether playoff games happen at home or on the road.

Sometimes that takes a creative mindset entering a two-game series.

“We just have to treat it as a best of three,” Sucese said. “And win the first two and not have to play the third.”

No. 11 Penn State (19-10-3, 11-8-3 Big Ten) vs. No. 18 Minnesota (14-11-5, 9-6-5)

Series: 8:30 p.m. Friday, 6:30 p.m. Saturday

Radio/TV: Both games on Big Ten Network, 103.1 FM and GoPSUsports.com

Notable: Minnesota leads the series, 16-13, but Penn State has a 9-1 record in the last 10 meetings, including a 6-0 mark at Pegula Ice Arena. … The teams have never skated to a tie. … Penn State is 16-1-2 when scoring first and 15-0-2 when leading after two periods. … Junior forward Scott Reedy leads Minnesota with 15 goals while teammate Sammy Walker, a sophomore forward, has a team-high 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists). … Penn State is the only program in the nation with both a top-five penalty kill (fifth, 87.2%) and power-play unit (second, 27.4%).

SENIOR SENDOFF

There are 10 members of the Penn State hockey senior class who will play their final regular season home games this weekend, and be honored after Saturday night’s game. They are:

Forwards

Brandon Biro

Liam Folkes

Blake Gober

Nikita Pavlychev

Denis Smirnov

Nate Sucese

Defensemen

James Gobetz

Kris Myllari

Goalies

Will Holtforster

Peyton Jones