Series Preview: Penn State Men’s Hockey vs. St. Thomas
No. 18 Penn State could not have asked for a better start.
The Nittany Lions have opened their season with consecutive sweeps over non-conference opponents Canisius and Mercyhurst to propel them to a 4-0 record.
With Big Ten play looming, they will have one final chance, at least until midseason when they face Alaska and RIT, to tune-up their play when they host St. Thomas.
Coach Guy Gadowsky, whose team has handled the beginning of the schedule by winning each game by two or more goals, does not want to overlook the importance of these early season contests.
“There’s more than just the results, it's getting your habits down,” Gadowsky said. “It’s getting habits down that are going to allow you to be successful in the future.”
The offensive habits of the Nittany Lions might not need to be refined any further before heading into the thick of the schedule.
Ture Linden, who has recorded eight points in his first four games with the program, scored in just seven seconds in the first game against Mercyhurst. That goal appears to be a metaphor for how fast of a start the Nittany Lion offense is off to.
Linden has been one of the focal points of the offense anchoring a line with Ryan Kirwan and Kevin Wall. Linden, Wall, who has recorded a goal in each of the first four contests, and Kirwan, who has produced three goals to begin his sophomore season, are propelling an offense that leads the nation with 5.5 goals per game on a nation best 44.3 shots per game.
That first line is not the only line producing, however, as the third line of the Nittany Lions produced the Big Ten First Star of the Week in Ben Schoen. The sophomore from Ohio recorded one goal and three assists against Mercyhurst.
The matchup for the blue and white offense this time out on the ice will be Aaron Trotter. Trotter, one of twelve freshmen on the St. Thomas roster, has posted a 1-2 record, .886 save percentage and 3.04 goals against average while starting three of the Tommies four games in net.
In front of him will be the defense of St. Thomas that is allowing 29.3 shots per game, an early improvement from the 35.4 that it allowed during its inaugural Division 1 campaign ago.
Last year, Penn State fired 82 shots over the course of a two-game sweep over the Tommies. If the fast start on offense this year and last year’s results are any indication of this series, the offense attack of the Nittany Lions should have the upperhand in helping secure two more victories.
If that offense does gain the upperhand, it will help further the progress that the team is making towards one of its season goals according to Christian Berger.
“For us, it’s we want to win a ton of games over the whole year,” Berger the junior defenseman said.
Berger is one of the defenseman trying to ease the task on goaltender Liam Souliere. While Souliere has allowed six goals on 79 shots for a .924 save percentage, the junior is battling an undisclosed injury.
Gadowsky is confident in the abilities of the goaltender in his first year as full-time starter to fight around the injury, but it will be something to monitor.
“It's weird because when he’s good, he’s 100%, it's really different,” Gadowsky said. “We’ll be talking about him day-to-day for quite some time.”
Whether it is Souliere or freshman Noah Grannan, who appeared one game in Souliere’s absence, it is likely that there will not be a slew of shots coming their way.
The Tommies are averaging 16.5 shots per game that has led to a lack of goals as they’re averaging 1.5 goals per game.
While three of the top-5 scorers from last year return to Rico Blasi’s team, it has been the fresh faces leading the way.
Ryan O’Neill and Lucas Wahlin are pacing the Tommies with one goal and two assists apiece. Fellow freshman Josh Eernisse netted a game-winning goal in overtime against Alaska that secured their only victory of their 1-3 season.
Luke Manning, who led the team with eight goals and 15 points, and Matthew Jennings, who tied the team lead with 10 assists while sitting second with 14 points, have combined for zero points and six shots.
The first game of the series is set for 7 p.m. puck drop on Thursday with the finale set for the same time at the same place, Pegula Ice Arena, on Friday.
Justin Ciavolella is a second-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jtc5751@psu.edu.
