Penn State men’s hockey aims to get defensemen more involved in series against Notre Dame
As the Penn State men’s hockey team works to maintain its success, there’s an emphasis on an everybody-to-the-front approach, and the team’s defensemen have been challenged to contribute even more offensively.
“That’s one area that we’ve identified that we really need to step up. If we’re going to reach our potential, we have to do a better job,” Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky said. “Though discussions and watching a lot of video, that’s the way we’re going to do it — the defensemen have to be a lot more involved.”
For some offensive-minded blueliners that’s probably good news, and something the team hopes to hone even more this weekend during a two-game home series against Notre Dame.
Penn State ranks 18th nationally, averaging 3.3 goals per game. That’s the fourth-best average in the Big Ten Conference behind national leader Michigan (4.9), Wisconsin (4.2) and Michigan State (3.5).
Last season when Penn State made a run to the program’s first Frozen Four, the team averaged 3.47 goals per game. In its final six conference games before the semester break, Penn State averaged just 1.6 goals.
So, a tick or two on the average and certainly a couple more goals per game in conference play can make a difference. That’s the reason for the emphasis.
But the approach does not come without potential problems, and the opportunity to score more and any efforts to rush forward must be balanced by necessary puck control.
There were times last week against Minnesota when miscues and sloppy puck play could’ve been troublesome but were not — thanks in large part to the work of Penn State’s goaltenders.
While Kevin Reidler made 32 saves in a 5-2 victory Saturday, teammate Josh Fleming stopped 27 shots in Penn State’s first shutout against Minnesota in program history, a 3-0 decision last Friday.
Penn State’s depth has been important this season, but some recent injuries are challenging that luxury. Sophomore forward Braedon Ford sustained a long-term injury after scoring his first goal last weekend.
Injuries have also sidelined sophomore forward Charlie Cerrato (the team leader in points, 24, and assists, 18), junior defenseman Casey Aman (who has played in 19 games) and freshman forward Sea Van Olm (who has played in 18 games). All three of them could return sooner rather than later, though.
First-year Fighting Irish coach Brock Sheahan has his own depth problems.
This weekend’s visitors will be without freshman defenseman Caeden Carlisle for the first game of the series and junior defenseman Paul Fischer will miss both games. The Big Ten handed out the suspensions after penalties against Michigan last weekend.
Notre Dame dropped both games of its series against top-ranked Michigan, and the Irish have lost seven in a row, with their last victory coming Nov. 26 at Merrimack. The team is 1-13 since Oct. 31.
No. 8 Penn State (14-6, 6-4 Big Ten) vs. Notre Dame (4-15-1, 0-10)
Series: 7 p.m. Friday, 8 p.m. Saturday
Audio/Radio: GoPSusports.com, 103.7 FM
Streaming/TV: B1G+ (Friday), B1G Network (Saturday)
Notable: Notre Dame leads the all-time series 21-12-6, but Penn State went 3-0-1 vs. Notre Dame last season. … Penn State’s Aiden Fink reached the 100-point mark last week, becoming the fastest player in program history (87 games) to reach the milestone. … Injured forward Braedon Ford scored his first career goal for Penn State last weekend during its series against Minnesota. Classmate Lev Katzin scored his first in that series as well. … Seventeen different players have scored goals for Penn State this season.
