Penn State’s young men’s hockey team looking to ‘get better every week’ with Michigan on deck

Four games into the season, the Penn State men’s hockey team has dropped from No. 9 to unranked as it gets ready for the first home series of the season. And the man in charge of the program has identified a culprit: the guy in the mirror.

Specifically, his mirror.

“I have done a very poor job of coaching the way I coach with the limitations we have,” coach Guy Gadowsky said. “The answer is we have to be more innovative. We have to figure out a way to adapt so that we can coach effectively.”

Gadowsky might be grading himself a bit harshly while also shielding a comparatively inexperienced team. Although the team garnered the highest preseason ranking in program history, it was also picked by Big Ten coaches to finish last in the league.

So far, the coaches have proven prescient.

Some statistics quantify the team’s slow start. The Nittany Lions’ power play (converting one of 14 opportunities) and penalty kill (surrendering seven goals in 11 chances) rank at the bottom of the Big Ten.

Penn State has shown glimpses of its preferred approach — outshooting opponents 153-102 — but goals have been more elusive. Last season Penn State averaged 3.29 goals per game in conference play. It’s 2.25 this season.

Gadowsky said teaching concepts virtually has been one of the bigger challenges for him but stressed that his overall approach and goals have not changed. Nor has his optimistic outlook.

“Right now it’s been two weekends. There’s a lot of growth that’s going to happen,” he said. “We have the same purpose in mind, to get better every week, regardless of whether we’re 0-4 or 4-0.”

Penn State last went 0-5 in conference play during the 2013-14 season, when it lost its first nine conference games on the way to a 3-16-1 conference record.

Penn State (0-4, 0-4 Big Ten) vs. No. 5 Michigan (4-2, 2-2)

Series: 6 p.m. Wednesday, 6 p.m. Thursday

Radio/TV: Coverage on ESPNU (Wednesday), 103.1 FM and GoPSUsports.com

Notable: Penn State has a 4-3 record in home openers since joining the Big Ten Conference. … Michigan leads the overall series, 17-13-1, but Penn State has a 7-5-1 advantage at Pegula Ice Arena. … Michigan, the highest-ranked team in the conference, was swept by Notre Dame in its most recent series.