How Penn State men’s hockey’s Xander Lamppa has become an ‘identity’ guy for the team
All Xander Lamppa could do was grit his teeth and shut his mouth.
It was the biggest hockey game of his Penn State career and Lamppa was scratched, sitting with family and friends in Section 104 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville as the Nittany Lions upset North Dakota in front of 14,659 mostly green-and-white clad fans on Oct. 30, 2021.
Lamppa was high-fiving everyone around him as the final buzzer sounded — happy for his teammates but a bit more determined as a result.
Twenty-five months later, just six days ago, Lamppa was alone on the ice at Pegula Ice Arena with the puck on his stick in a shootout, hoping to help Penn State secure an extra team point after trying Notre Dame. He skated to his left toward the Roar Zone student section, offered a little deke to get the goalie moving and then put the puck in the net, bringing the 6,262 blue-and-white clad fans to their feet.
Seconds later, goalie Liam Souliere stopped Notre Dame’s last attempt and Penn State punctuated a gritty performance — appropriately led by Lamppa.
“Oh, I understood that scratch back then and I’ve been on teams where guys who get scratched complain. I just decided that was not going to be me, and that’s never been the case for guys here at Penn State,” Lamppa said.
So, Lamppa embraced gritty play, becoming a “identity” guy for the team, and kept earning more ice time and respect. This season he’s an assistant captain ready to lead 17th-ranked Penn State into a two-game weekend series as it travels to play No. 11 Michigan State.
“It’s always taken me a little bit, at any level, to do more scoring,” he said. He’s doing that so far this season (he had a goal and two assists in the team’s first game against Notre Dame) and he’s timely on-ice collaborations and physical play have been consistent pretty much since he arrived in Hockey Valley.
For a comparatively youthful team struggling with injuries early this season, Lamppa’s presence provides some important consistency and a few less things to worry about for the coaching staff.
“He’s one of those guys you look back on and take a lot of pride in his personal development,” coach Guy Gadowsky said. “He really took it on himself to be productive outside of the rink, to be a leader, to take care of his body and last year was kind of coming into his own.”
Lamppa and linemate Christian Sarlo played important roles for the team in Big Ten Conference play last season. Again, in large part of their consistency and effort — things that can rub off on teammates.
“I’m excited to see how we play this weekend,” Lamppa said, “and how we respond to the challenge.”
It’s the first of many such challenges.
“Anybody who comes to play at Penn State knows you’ll be playing in some of the toughest environments in college hockey against some of the toughest teams,” said Gaodwsky, who has 199 career victories at Penn State (a total he’s been sitting on for the past three games). “I don’t think we have to talk about it. It’s understood that’s going to happen throughout the year.”
No. 17 Penn State (5-2-2, 0-0-2 Big Ten) at No. 11 Michigan State (7-3-0, 2-0-0)
Series: 7 p.m. Friday, 4 p.m. Saturday
Broadcast(s): 103.1 FM, GoPSUsports.com
Notable: Penn State leads the series, 21-16-5, with a 9-11-2 record on the road. … Michigan State swept Ohio State on the road last weekend, winning 6-0 and 6-4. … MSU averages 4.6 goals per game, second best in the nation behind Michigan (5.0). Penn State averages 3.3 and ranks 10th nationally.
