UNIVERSITY PARK — For the most part, the Penn State men’s hockey team cruised through the first half of the season going 11-2-3. Over the last four games, however, they are 2-2-0 and find themselves facing their biggest test of the season.
No, it is not Wisconsin, who is Penn State’s next opponent Friday, Jan. 15, and Saturday, Jan. 16, att Pegula Ice Arena. It’s not Ohio State either, who is Penn State’s opponent for a road series Friday, Jan. 22, and Saturday, Jan. 23. It’s not even Michigan, who looks to be the cream of the crop in the Big Ten conference this season. The biggest test facing this Penn State team? Themselves.
In my eyes, the team has not truly played their system consistently since the second period of their contest with Princeton way back on Dec. 11. At the time, Penn State was forcing the play and clicking on all cylinders. They held a 4-0 lead going into the third period, and that’s when things unraveled. They gave up three quick goals, but were able to score two empty net goals to win 6-3.
They then went on to play Robert Morris at the Three Rivers Classic, where they were outplayed for the majority of that 6-4 loss. The team rebounded the following day against Clarkson for a 5-1 win, but it was hardly a runaway game as the score suggests. The team relied on Matthew Skoff to make huge saves throughout the first two periods, otherwise the outcome could have been a lot different.
Penn State’s most recent home series was against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Minnesota has a very young team, but they are, and have been, a hockey powerhouse for a long time. They reload — they don’t truly have down seasons.
The Nittany Lions won a thrilling game 3-2 Jan. 8 as Vince Pedrie scored the game-winning goal in overtime. At quick glance, it looks like a well-played win. The truth was that the game resembled the Clarkson contest from the Three Rivers Classic. For much of the first and third periods, Penn State relied on Eamon McAdam to keep them in the contest. In the second period, the Nittany Lions carried play, but again, McAdam needed to make some huge saves as the Golden Gophers had 1:45 of five-on-three power play time. Head coach Guy Gadowsky recognized how impressive McAdam was. “(Minnesota) was whipping the puck around and making great plays,” Gadowsky said. “(McAdam) was unbelievable.” Penn State was outshot for the first time all season, but as is the norm in sports, winning cures many ills.
When Penn State’s rematch with Minnesota rolled around some 17 hours later, the writing was on the wall for the ensuing result. Minnesota spent much of the afternoon on the attack, and many of those chances that McAdam found a way to stop on Friday night made their way through Matthew Skoff on Saturday afternoon. When the dust cleared, Minnesota thoroughly dominated play and had the results to show for it as they won the game 7-1.
The Nittany Lions never really had times where they sustained pressure in Minnesota’s zone. Shot generation, quality scoring chances and a dangerous power play have been staples for the Penn State team throughout the season, but not on this day. All of the chinks in the armor that had showed themselves over the past few weeks came to fruition at the same time, on the same afternoon.
Now Penn State finds itself in a bit of an uncertain situation. They are in the thick of the most important part of their season, but have not put together a complete 60-minute game since their home series against Michigan State in early December. Even teams like Wisconsin (4-8-6) or Ohio State (6-12-0), who have had down seasons thus far, will be very unforgiving if Penn State continues their current play.
Gadowsky will have his hands full this week as he tries to get his team back to playing their system well for three periods. If they can find a way to overcome their recent inconsistent play, they will be poised to make a run at a Big Ten title for the first time in program history. When the team is playing to its full potential, no one, not even Michigan, can beat them. That’s why it is so important for the team to answer its first real test of the season and regain their form they set earlier this season.
