Penn State men’s hockey ready to hit the ice after longer-than-usual offseason
It’s been eight months since he last played a hockey game and Paul DeNaples cannot wait to get back on the ice.
The coronavirus prematurely ended postseason play for DeNaples and his teammates in March, when Penn State was hoping to add a conference tournament crown to its regular season title. The virus then prolonged the offseason.
In the months since, DeNaples, a junior co-captain, has played a lot of golf (“Now I’m a below-average golfer instead of terrible.”) but he’s ready for hockey. Even though they’ll be playing in mostly empty arenas, he’s ready.
“It’s going to bring us back to our youth days, I think,” DeNaples said. “It will be different but I don’t think it’s going to affect us as much as people say it will.”
Tenth-ranked Penn State opens the season with a two-game series beginning Thursday at No. 12 Minnesota. They two teams were set to meet in the conference tournament at Penn State before the virus wiped out those games, and the remainder of the season.
Much changed for Penn State in terms of preparation and routine in the months since. There was a later start to preseason, two locker rooms instead of one to prevent big numbers of players from congregating together, Zoom meetings, and daily protocols and testing.
After the departure of seven players who signed pro contracts as well as the program’s first two All-America selections, there were plenty of changes on the ice, too.
Coach Guy Gadowsky knows it might take a bit of time for leaders to emerge, lines to develop and roles to finalize, but he’s excited about the talent on the team’s roster. He said lines might alter a bit more than usual as the team seeks chemistry and productivity.
No changes to his approach and expectations, though.
“Everybody that we bring to Penn State we believe has offensive capabilities,” he said. “People that come here we expect that you love to score, you want to score and you can score. So the prospects are wide open.”
Junior Oskar Autio, an Academic All-Big Ten honoree, will start the season in goal. He was 2-1-1 last season with a .930 save percentage and a 1.87 goals-against average.
The high level of competition in the Big Ten remains unchanged, too. Five conference teams are ranked this week.
BREAKOUT BOX
No. 10 Penn State at No. 12 Minnesota
Series: 8:30 p.m. Thursday, 4 p.m. Friday
Radio/TV: Coverage on Big Ten Network, 103.1 FM and GoPSUsports.com
Notable: Season opening series for both teams. … Minnesota leads the series, 16-14-1, but Penn State has a 10-1-1 record in the last dozen meetings. … Intermissions this season will last 12 minutes, not 15, with one 60-second media timeout per period. … Overtime this season begins with 3-on-3 play.