Penn State men’s hockey hopes ‘to put everything together’ in final regular season series

By some measures, it’s been a tough season for the Penn State men’s ice hockey team but not all measurements are the same — at least according to the team’s coach.

Where some see a team sitting in sixth place in the seven-team Big Ten Conference, a team that’s lost five games in a row and needs two victories to match its worst conference total in the past eight seasons, Guy Gadowsky sees a team on the brink of success.

Or at least a team with a chance to improve entering the final weekend of the regular season.

“We have one weekend to put everything together — to peak when it matters the most,” Gadowsky said. “The things we want to really improve on are without the puck, they’re defensive. So, we’re going to Michigan State to work on our defense and hopefully our offense is enough engrained in our stripes that it happens on that end.”

During its five-game losing streak, Penn State has been outscored 25-7. It has played well at times, but not often enough for any success to reflect on the scoreboard.

Part of the struggle has been a comparatively youthful team lacking a solid offensive punch and plagued by mental and physical mistakes at some of the most inopportune times. With an average age of 21 years, 9 months, Penn State ranks as the nation’s 10th-youngest Division I hockey team.

Plus, the team has not gotten many good bounces or benefited from much good luck.

None of that has deterred Gadowsky’s outlook regarding the team’s progress, though.

“There’s a lot of aspects, and not everything is the result on the scoreboard. We’re not as far behind what we call ‘loading the deck’ in our favor as you might think,” he said. “The coaches, believe it or not, are extremely optimistic and in some cases we’re farther ahead than we anticipated.”

Penn State needs two victories, a sweep at Michigan State, to match its seven-win conference total from last season — and that total was the program’s lowest since the 2013-14 season.

Michigan State provides some room for optimism. Its struggles have been even more profound. The Spartans have not won a game this calendar year — dropping 10 in a row since a 3-2 victory over Michigan Tech on Dec. 30, 2021.

That means a victory or two might be realistic for Penn State as the regular season comes to an end. Still, Gadowsky does not sound desperate for a W.

“It is nice, always. And even if you don’t play well, you want the result,” Gadowsky said. “Would it help, absolutely? Is it a necessity, I don’t think so. But it always makes life better.”

Penn State has not lost six games in a row since the 2013-14 season, when it had streaks of six, nine and six losses during an 8-26-2 campaign.

Penn State (14-17-1, 5-16-1 Big Ten) at Michigan State (11-20-1, 5-17-0)

Series: 7 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday

Radio/TV: 103.1 FM and GoPSUsports.com

Notable: Penn State team captain Paul DeNaples, a senior defenseman, plans to return next season. … Michigan State senior forward Mitchell Lewandowski returned to the lineup last weekend after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury. Even with his absence, he still ranks third on the team in goals (seven), assists (12) and points (19). … MSU’s 10.4 penalty minutes per game are the second most in the conference. … Penn State averages 7.7 minutes per game — fewer than every team except Minnesota (6.0).