Penn State men’s hockey embraces high expectations ahead of 2025-26 season

Thirteen years ago, Penn State men’s hockey was playing its first season at the Division I level. In just over a decade, the program has gone from beginners to national championship contenders, with no signs of slowing down.

Fresh off their first Frozen Four berth in program history, the Nittany Lions had their greatest offseason ever. Penn State’s ranked No. 5 in the USCHO preseason poll — its highest preseason ranking ever — and has stars like Gavin McKenna, Jackson Smith and Aiden Fink taking the ice in the blue and white this year.

Mac Gadowsky, son of head coach Guy Gadowsky, has watched the progression, which he calls “phenomenal.” Now a Nittany Lion himself, he pointed to McKenna and Smith, who are expected to make their debut on the ice when Penn State’s season starts on the road Friday in Arizona.

“It’s going to be a pretty special year to watch them as young talents grow,” Mac Gadowsky said Monday during the program’s media day. “I couldn’t be more grateful to be a part of that opportunity to hopefully get back to the Frozen Four and win the last game.”

The path to Pegula Ice Arena

For years, Penn State was fighting to get its club ice hockey team, the Icers, to the Division I level. They were playing in the Greenberg Ice Pavilion that had a capacity of just over 1,000, but the Nittany Lions consistently filled it to the brim and were awaiting the day they’d get an upgrade.

“We were kind of the best varsity team that wasn’t when I was there as a both a player and as a coach,” longtime Icers coach Joe Battista told the Centre Daily Times. “You know, the old Greenberg arena, it only had 1,100 seats, but we put 1,400 people in there, and it was loud, it was exciting, it was energized. We all kept thinking, just build a secure facility and give us the chance.”

Enter Terry and Kim Pegula. The owners of the Buffalo Sabres and Buffalo Bills provided the donation that got Penn State what it needed to reach the top tier of college athletics and also funded the construction of what is now Pegula Ice Arena.

Since it opened, the venue has been drawing good crowds, filling up “the Roar Zone” student section and selling out the big games. Last season, the Nittany Lions broke the attendance record twice as the expectations for the team grew, but 2025 is set to be a whole different story.

Single-game tickets flew off the shelves, leaving every game sold out for this season and an attendance record that’s waiting to be broken. For Battista, he always knew that would happen eventually, leaving him feeling as though he and the Pegulas’ vision has been validated.

“I’ve had more people calling me, asking me for my help to get tickets, because everything sold out so fast ... It brings a smile to your face, because it’s one of those good problems to have, right?” Battista said. “Every time I drive by Pegula Ice Arena, it just it makes me smile ear to ear. And it all starts with Terry and Kim, and you know, their vision and their passion for both Penn State and hockey, otherwise, this never happens, right?

“And so I just feel like it validated the faith that Terry and Kim had with me and with Penn State hockey that, wow, you know this dream has come true.”

Battista believed it was only a matter of time until Penn State reached the height it’s at now. He thought the 2020 team was the first to show the potential the program had. Though COVID-19 derailed any hope of that, the staff has kept the foot on their gas since then.

“We’ve always believed that it was only a matter of time,” Battista said. “I believe that this would have happened sooner, except for COVID, because that was probably the best team, the 2020 team, that they had had up to that point.

“But to see it again — the kids that were on (last season’s team), they worked so hard because remember, they started the season 0-8-1 in the Big Ten, and for them to stay together and persevere, you know, for the coaching staff to keep everything going in the right direction, I couldn’t be happier for them.”

Handling the expectations

With the expectation for a national championship comes plenty of outside noise. The Nittany Lions have had some similar standards before, but nothing to this degree, so it’s uncharted waters for head coach Guy Gadowsky and his squad.

But this is what Gadowsky has been waiting for since he was named the head coach of Penn State. He’s been working hard to build a roster that warrants such a high preseason rankings, and he finally has just that.

“I think that’s why a lot of people come to Penn State. I don’t think if you’re an athlete, you come to Penn State if that’s not what you want,” Gadowsky said Monday. “You’d much rather be in a position where you have expectations than if you don’t ... And I think it’s been starting from scratch here. Hasn’t been that long, a little over a decade. I think these are the days that we were looking forward to. I can tell you, back when there was zero expectations and the only expectation was that you were going to get killed, this is a lot better. So we’re enjoying this part.”

A lot of other head coaches would say the opposite, and preach how preseason rankings don’t mean anything. But Gadowsky and his team just seem like guys who are excited this program, that the Pegulas took a chance on, is so close to reaching its potential.

“I think that’s what we want. You want expectations because people expect you to be the best,” sophomore center Charlie Cerrato said. “So I think we’re looking forward to that, and we’re just gonna go out there and play with confidence.”

With that confidence comes responsibility for Penn State to do its job each weekend. It’s said all the time that what’s on paper may not be the on-field or on-ice product, so the Nittany Lions also know they must be careful to not get too caught up in the hype.

Junior forward Dane Dowiak, who was just recently named captain, is aware of that fact. There’s a target on Penn State’s back, and it better be sure no one hits the bullseye.

“We’re going to get every team’s best game,” Dowiak said. “But I think we’re not going to change what we got to do. We’re going to hold to our own values and what we know as a team. And I don’t think we’re looking too much at the numbers or where we’re ranked or anything. I just think we’re focused on game one at ASU.”