Penn State men’s hockey ‘sticking to our game’ as Big Ten play resumes against Minnesota
College hockey is an emotional and physical sport, but Penn State’s success this season (and in general) comes not so much from its ability to grind and hit or even speed up the ice and score.
When it’s going well, it’s the team’s steady, unflappable approach that leads to success.
“It’s just sticking to our game, playing Penn State hockey,” said senior defenseman Jarod Crespo. “It’s not always going to go in the net, but sticking to our game is what matters.”
Cliched coachspeak? Perhaps. A productive mindset for the blue and white? Usually.
The ninth-ranked Nittany Lions plan to lean into that approach as Big Ten Conference play resumes this weekend with a two-game series against Minnesota at Pegula Ice Arena.
It’ll be the second and third home games since a half dozen players competed internationally during the semester break.
Coach Guy Gadowsky and five of the players were at the Spengler Cup in Switzerland, where they finished second in the historic international tournament. Meanwhile, freshman forward Gavin McKenna earned a bronze medal with Team Canada at the World Junior Championships in Minnesota. McKenna was not with the team during its home victory Sunday against RIT.
Aiden Fink, a likely linemate with McKenna this weekend, missed about two months with a broken thumb before emerging as the leading scorer at the Spengler Cup. He was happy to be home this past weekend (scoring the game’s first goal at home Sunday vs. RIT) and appreciative of the upcoming conference schedule.
Penn State plays 10 of its next 16 games at home.
“It’ll be good to get back in that routine,” Fink, a junior forward, said. “I learned a lot from watching the game, and I’m excited to get back at it.”
Crespo scored three times in the team’s 7-3 victory over RIT. It was just the second hat trick for a defenseman in Penn State history, and the first for Crespo since he was a youth player.
It took a little bit for the scoring outburst to happen for him and the team, though.
Penn State was frustrated at times against RIT. Gadowsky said the team played better at RIT in the first game of the home-and-home series (even though it lost, 1-0). In typically unflappable fashion, though, the team did not overreact to that loss or to the same pesky opponent Sunday.
Sure, Penn State earned its visits to the penalty box, but players who bring the team’s attitude — among them the line of Charlie Cerrato, Matt DiMarsico and JJ Wiebusch, as well as freshman defenseman Jackson Smith and freshman forward Lev Katzin — remained consistent in their approach.
No. 9 Penn State (12-6, 4-4 Big Ten) vs. Minnesota (8-10-1, 4-4)
Series: 6 p.m. Friday, 6 p.m. Saturday
Audio/Radio: 93.7 FM, GoPSUsports.com
Streaming/TV: B1G Network
Notable: Minnesota leads the all-time series, 33-20-1, with a 12-11-1 advantage at Pegula Ice Arena. … Minnesota staked to a 3-3 tie with Bemidji State last Friday. … Penn State remains the nation’s most-penalized team (356 minutes). … Perhaps necessarily, Penn State’s penalty-kill unit ranks sixth nationally, stopping opponents 88.2% of the time. … Penn State linemates Charlie Cerrato (24 points), Matt DiMarsico (20) and JJ Wiebusch (20) rank among the Big Ten’s top eight points producers. … Minnesota’s Brodie Ziemer and Brody Lamb each have produced 19 points.