Luke Juha helps fire up Penn State hockey at both ends of ice

There has been little doubt since early in his college career Luke Juha has been an offensive threat as a defenseman.

He has a wicked shot from the point, good hands and is excellent at setting up his teammates.

“He’s got such good vision,” Penn State men’s hockey coach Guy Gadowsky said Monday. “He’s excellent at that. Not only that, he creates a lot of offense for us. If you’re a forward, you want to play with Luke Juha 5 on 5. He gets you pucks in advantageous situations.”

But as Gadowsky also pointed out, the senior has improved quite a bit in his defensive abilities.

The No. 14 Nittany Lions (12-3-3, 2-0 Big Ten) will rely on the senior quite a bit in the back as they return to conference play hosting Minnesota (8-9, 3-1) at 7 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday.

Juha’s importance shows in his stats. Yes, he has three goals and 10 assists just past the halfway point of the season. Both numbers are just off his career highs after posting four goals and 11 assists as a sophomore, and two goals and 12 assists last season.

The more impressive numbers are his team-leading 29 blocked shots and plus-15 plus-minus rating — meaning he’s on the ice a lot more when his team scores than when it gives up a goal — and zero penalty minutes taken.

“He’s always been a very gifted offensive guy,” Gadowsky said. “I think he’s underrated in terms of ‘defensive stick.’ He’s got a great stick whether it’s blocking shots, deflecting shots or taking away passing lanes. He’s matured a lot. He’s come in as a freshman that really expected not to really have to change his game much, to a guy that’s, I think, realized there are aspects that he can work on, and he’s worked hard.”

Juha can also appreciate his improvement, noting he has become better at winning puck battles in the corners and becoming much more responsible as a defenseman. He and Connor Varley are the lone seniors in the defensive corps, and they know they have to set a good example for the younger blue-liners, not to mention the added responsibility of being an alternate team captain.

“Wearing a letter, you have to be conscious every single time you’re on the ice,” Juha said. “You have to be a good example, (especially) being a senior.”

One of his biggest offensive moments came against the Golden Gophers last season, firing the game-winning goal on a power play in overtime last season.

He still needs those offensive abilities to help the team succeed. He’s a key member of a power play unit that’s third in the nation succeeding 29 percent of the time, and the offense is second in Division I scoring 4.4 goals per game.

“If I’m (5-foot-11) and I’m not offensive, I don’t think there’s a good opportunity for me to play at the next level,” said Juha, who had a goal and three assists last week. “Obviously my goal is to play after Penn State, and having that offensive side is good for ... the people who want that at the next level.”

Injury news

The Nittany Lions lost defenseman Mike Williamson late in the second period of last Monday’s 6-4 loss to Robert Morris, and Gadowsky said Williamson will remain out with an “upper body injury” this weekend against the Gophers.

The coach said a couple of other players are “day-to-day” but was unsure if anyone else would be sitting out this weekend. Erik Autio missed last Tuesday’s game and the team skated with just four healthy defensemen late against the Colonials.

He also did not have any updates on James Robinson, who stayed home during the holiday break and has been out since the season opener at Canisius.

Goodbye Pittsburgh

After falling to the Colonials and beating Clarkson 5-1 last week, the Nittany Lions will not return next season to the Three Rivers Classic at Consol Energy Center.

Gadowsky cited a number of reasons for not returning, including scheduling and finances, but hopes to keep Robert Morris on the schedule.

“There’s a lot that goes into it,” Gadowsky said. “... We love playing in Pittsburgh, we love playing in Consol and we’ve been trying to play Robert Morris more for the last few years.”

The Colonials certainly know how to beat the Nittany Lions, winning 4 of 6 meetings all time, including three of 4 in downtown Pittsburgh. Gadowsky chalked up last week’s loss to a number of reasons, mostly on the defensive end in giving up too many odd-man rushes, but he was pretty happy with the way the offense played.

Playing shorthanded

With university students still on winter break, the “roar zone” student section will instead be populated by the general public. While Pegula Ice Arena still figures to be close to or at capacity, the energy level may be a little different this week.

“Obviously if you don’t have 1,000 teenagers, 18- to 22-year-olds, in the stadium, it’s obviously a little different,” Juha said. “But you still have 6,000 faithful fans and you’re playing for them, playing for the team and playing for Penn State.”

“It’s too bad because they were a huge part of our success last year (against Minnesota),” Gadowsky said. “The State College community has been fantastic too. It’s going to be a great atmosphere anyway.”

This story was originally published January 4, 2016 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Luke Juha helps fire up Penn State hockey at both ends of ice."