Penn State men’s hockey looks to improve goaltending in series against Michigan
Ten games into Big Ten Conference play and the Michigan and Penn State men’s hockey teams have combined for just one victory, one for the Wolverines and none for the Nittany Lions.
They both hope to add a W or two this weekend when the puck drops Friday night to start a two-game series in Ann Arbor.
It’s the second weekend in a row for Penn State in the state of Michigan. After visiting East Lansing last weekend, when it tied and lost to Michigan State, Penn State travels about 66 miles southeast this weekend for the games at Yost Ice Arena.
No. 18 Penn State last won a game since Oct. 26. Since then it’s 0-2-3 — although it has earned extra conference points by winning two shootouts after the ties.
No. 12 Michigan last won a game Oct. 28. Since then it’s 0-3-1, getting the extra point in a shootout with Minnesota last Saturday.
“To get this program where we want it to go, where Penn State does go, we’re going to have to do better than ties,” said Penn State coach Guy Gadowsky, who has been stuck at 199 victories, seeking his 200 with the Nittany Lions, for the past 23 days.
The teams last met March 26 with a berth to the Frozen Four on the line, and Michigan eked out a 2-1 overtime victory. While the stakes are not as high this weekend, the games are important.
It’s early but Michigan and Penn State sit fourth and fifth, respectively, in the seven-team conference standings. Getting much farther behind before the month of November ends only adds to the challenge of the six-month-long hockey schedule that spans both the fall and spring semesters.
Injuries have hampered Penn State early this season, effectively forcing it to play a couple players down the past couple of weekends. In addition, the Nittany Lions need to be either more disciplined to avoid trips to the penalty box or perform better when trying to kill penalties.
Goaltending has been a struggle as well and Gadowsky admitted the team does not have a long-term plan. Nor has he determined if senior Liam Souliere (4-2-1, 3.05 goals-against average) or sophomore Noah Grannan (1-1-2, 2.23) will start Friday.
“We’ve had very good goaltending, not great goaltending,” Gadowsky said. “I think we’re probably going to need to be better to win consistently.”
No. 18 Penn State (5-3-3, 0-1-3 Big Ten) at No. 12 Michigan (5-5-1, 1-3-2)
Series: 7 p.m. Friday, 7 p.m. Saturday
Broadcast(s): 103.1 FM, GoPSUsports.com
Notable: Michigan leads the series, 26-15-1, including a 14-3 advantage on its home ice at Yost Ice Arena. … Michigan averages 4.58 goals per game and Penn State 3.27. … Michigan has the most productive power-play unit among Big Ten teams, converting 39.7% of the time. Penn State has scored on just 18.4% of opportunities with a man advantage. … Both teams have had abundant offensive balance with 16 different Penn State players scoring a goal so far, and 14 for Michigan.
