{"id":151143,"date":"2025-02-06T10:00:26","date_gmt":"2025-02-06T16:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/?p=151143"},"modified":"2025-02-05T17:14:32","modified_gmt":"2025-02-05T23:14:32","slug":"this-week-in-big-ten-hockey-penn-state-just-settling-into-it-as-nittany-lions-making-late-season-push-in-conference-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp-admin.uscho.com\/2025\/02\/06\/this-week-in-big-ten-hockey-penn-state-just-settling-into-it-as-nittany-lions-making-late-season-push-in-conference-play\/","title":{"rendered":"This Week in Big Ten Hockey: Penn State \u2018just settling into it\u2019 as Nittany Lions making late-season push in conference play"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Reese Laubach has had a strong season up front for the Nittany Lions (photo: Penn State Athletics).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you need proof of how good the Big Ten is this season, look no further than sixth-place Penn State.<\/p>\n

Since the start of the calendar year, the Nittany Lions are 5-2-3, having most recently split a pair of games on the road against No. 13 Michigan. The other loss in that stretch came at home against No. 2 Michigan State Jan. 10, and Penn State rebounded the following night to tie the first-place Spartans and take the extra shootout point.<\/p>\n

Also in that span, the Nittany Lions took five of a six possible points when they hosted No. 9 Ohio State Jan. 24-25.<\/p>\n

The Nittany Lions needed a strong January after a rough first half in which they hadn\u2019t yet registered a conference win. Their second half has been fueled by the return of goaltender Arsenii Sergeev, who suffered an injury in a Nov. 16 game against Wisconsin and resumed play Jan. 3 in the Big Ten\u2019s Frozen Confines event held in Wrigley Field.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, Arsenii came back after Christmas, which is a big help,\u201d said Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky.<\/p>\n

After tying Notre Dame 3-3 in Wrigley Field, the Nittany Lions finally got their first B1G win of the season two nights later, a 3-0 shutout in South Bend in which Sergeev made 34 saves. In his 10 games back since injury, Sergeev is 5-2-3 with two shutouts and a 91.1 save percentage.<\/p>\n

\u201cArsenii coming back has made a big difference to our mentality,\u201d said Gadowsky.<\/p>\n

With six freshmen seeing significant playing time and three sophomores among Penn State\u2019s scoring leaders, Gadowsky said that there may have been some things to get used to in the first half of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re just settling into it,\u201d said Gadowsky. \u201cWe have a lot of young players playing some key roles and learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among the younger players making a significant impact for the Nittany Lions this season is sophomore Aiden Fink, whose average of 1.42 points per game is second-best in the nation. Fink had 15 goals and 19 assists in 34 games last season. Through 18 games this season, Fink has 18 goals and 18 assists. Against the Wolverines last weekend, Fink had two goals in the win and a very pretty shorthanded marker in the third period of Saturday\u2019s loss.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s game looked a lot closer than the 7-3 score would indicate. With a 3-2 lead at the start of the third, the Wolverines broke open the game with three even-strength goals scored within a span of just under two minutes and 30 seconds early in the period.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou certainly don\u2019t have to give up a lot of chances to pay for them,\u201d said Gadowsky, who added that the Nittany Lions played better in Saturday\u2019s loss than Friday\u2019s win. That Saturday loss halted Penn State\u2019s six-game unbeaten streak.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe players in this league are very skilled. They\u2019re going to find a way to finish, so I think the margin of error is a lot thinner right now because any mistake can end up on the back of your net very quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gadowsky lauds the overall depth of the Big Ten and is quick to point out that the conference has had an interleague win percentage that\u2019s topped .700 for three seasons running. There is a significant difference this year, though, from seasons past in terms of scoring.<\/p>\n

Five of the nation\u2019s top 12 points leaders play in the Big Ten. Michigan State\u2019s Isaac Howard leads the nation with an average of 1.43 ponts per game, followed immediately by Fink. Minnesota\u2019s Jimmy Snuggerud (1.37) is fifth. Notre Dame\u2019s Cole Knuble (1.23, 11th) and Wisconsin\u2019s Quinn Finley (1.21, 12th) round out that five among the top dozen.<\/p>\n

There are only three conferences represented among the top 15 points scorers nationally \u2013 Big Ten, Hockey East, NCHC \u2013 and the only players in that list whose teams are currently unranked in the USCHO Poll and not among the top 20 teams in the PairWise are Fink and Knuble.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an extremely competitive conference,\u201d said Gadowsky. \u201cIt\u2019s fantastic. Obviously, it\u2019s great for fans, it\u2019s great for development and I think it\u2019s a big reason why a lot of players come here.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery night is extremely important and going to be extremely competitive, and you have to be playing your best hockey to win. You don\u2019t win in this league by playing well. You have to play very well to win in this conference and it certainly keeps you on your toes.\u201d<\/p>\n

This weekend, the Nittany Lions travel to play No. 19 Wisconsin, another B1G team looking for a little second-half redemption. The Badgers have improved significantly as the season has progressed, but January hasn\u2019t rewarded them much for that effort. Last weekend, Wisconsin dropped two games to No. 3 Minnesota, and Wisconsin 1-4-1 in Big Ten games since Jan. 3.<\/p>\n

None of that matters, said Gadowsky.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re not going to play one game in the Big Ten that\u2019s going to be a cakewalk,\u201d he said. \u201cNot one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Nittany Lions will be looking for their first win against Wisconsin since a 6-1 home win over the Badgers Feb. 24, 2023. That\u2019s a streak of seven consecutive Wisconsin wins in this series.<\/p>\n

The Badgers are in fifth place in the Big Ten with 24 points, one behind fourth-place Michigan. In the conference playoffs, the top seed gets a first-round bye and the next three teams host a first-round series, so the Badgers have some added incentive in this series, especially since the Wolverines are playing at Michigan State Friday and against the Spartans at Little Caesars Arena Saturday.<\/p>\n

Gadowsky said that the Nittany Lions know what\u2019s in store for them this weekend in the Kohl Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe expect the same thing we get every weekend from the Big Ten,\u201d said Gadowsky. \u201cIt is very special, it\u2019s very intense, there\u2019s a lot up for grabs, and it is a lot of fun.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not great for the color of coaches\u2019 hair, but it\u2019s really good entertainment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s game begins at 7 p.m. CT with Saturday\u2019s game starting an hour earlier. Both games will be streamed online on Big Ten Plus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you need proof of how good the Big Ten is this season, look no further than sixth-place Penn State. Since the start of the calendar year, the Nittany Lions are 5-2-3, having most recently split a pair of games on the road against No. 13 Michigan. The other loss in that stretch came at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":151144,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[812],"coauthors":[802],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThis Week in Big Ten Hockey: Penn State \u2018just settling into it\u2019 as Nittany Lions making late-season push in conference play - College Hockey | USCHO.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"If you need proof of how good the Big Ten is this season, look no further than sixth-place Penn State. 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