Penn State men's hockey officially wrapped up its first half of the season. This season has been nothing short of historic for this young program. From getting out to its best start in program history at 9-0, and becoming the first team in NCAA history to upset No. 1 opponents in consecutive weeks, it is safe to say that there is something special brewing in Hockey Valley.
Before we dive into the storylines of the first half of the season, let's look at some numbers. Penn State is currently 15-5-0 overall and sits second in the Big Ten with 22 points, trailing only Minnesota with 30. In Big Ten play, the Lions are 7-4-1. Furthermore, the Nittany Lions are fifth in the PairWise rankings and the USCHO poll.
Penn State's leading scorers right now are seniors Kevin Wall and Connor McMenamin with 16 points each. Wall also leads the team with nine goals. Sophomore Ben Schoen is having a breakout season leading the Nittany Lions with 12 assists.
Junior goaltender Liam Souliere is living up to his role as a starting goaltender this season. He is currently second in the Big Ten with a .919 save percentage and second in the conference with a 2.23 goals-against average.
Now, let's break down some headlines on what made this team so dominant in 2022 and how it can carry the momentum in 2023.
Defensive structure
This is by far the biggest headline for the Nittany Lions. A question at the start of the season was how durable the defense will be because of three rookies coming onto the roster.
Well that question has been answered and the Nittany Lions' defense is holding up. It is playing with so much more structure in its own zone and has had lots of gutsy, low-scoring wins because of the strong defensive play. It has been a little lackluster as of late, but structure starts to deteriorate for all teams down the stretch. Right now, Penn State is giving up 2.5 goals per game, which is tied for second-least in the conference.
When the Nittany Lions upset then-ranked No. 1 Michigan, they held Adam Fantilli, the nation's leading scorer at the time, to zero shots and held the Wolverines to 17 shots as a whole. It was one of the best defensive displays that Penn State has ever played in its 11-year tenure as a Division I program.
Players are having their sticks in proper position, getting rid of loose pucks in the slot and sacrificing the body.
Jimmy Dowd Jr. has taken major strides into becoming a two-way defensemen. Dowd Jr. has a very high hockey IQ and is very patient with the puck. His offensive game was always strong, leading Penn State defensemen with 21 points (three goals, 18 assists) last year, but the defensive game was lacking. Last year, the junior defenseman had a plus/minus rating of minus-15. Through 20 games this season, he is a plus-10 and also has 12 blocked shots.
Christian Berger and Simon Mack have also improved significantly on the defensive side. Berger leads the team with 39 blocks and is a plus-5 and Mack has become a much stronger skater and more difficult to knock off the puck.
And we can't talk about the defensive structure without recognizing the outstanding play of Souliere. He has exceeded expectations and is becoming one of the best goaltenders in the nation. Penn State would not be where it is at now without him.
Unlikely heroes
As we know, Penn State is a program that is known to score lots of goals and throw a lot of shots on net.
We know the Penn State offense is being led by Wall, McMenamin, Schoen, Connor MacEachern and Ture Linden. But the amount of scoring that Penn State has gotten from the unlikeliest of players is unprecedented.
The 19-20 team had loads of scoring depth, but there was not one guy that really took their game to another level. Everyone on that team was so good at scoring and were offensive players to begin with.
Three guys stand out as "unlikely heroes". Christian Sarlo, Xander Lamppa and Tyler Gratton have took their game to a completely different level. None of them were known to put up offensive numbers, but they have arguably been Penn State's most productive players as of late.
Sarlo has 11 points (five goals, six assists) and is one point shy of tying his career-best 12 points he set last year. The junior also had a stretch of having nine points in his last eight games (Nov. 4-Nov. 23).
Gratton is also on pace to set career-highs. The senior forward started to shine against Michigan State, where he scored two goals in the series including the game-winner in Game 1. Gratton has been playing with more speed and is becoming a solid play-maker for the Nittany Lions.
Lamppa has been the biggest surprise. Ever since coach Guy Gadowsky moved the junior power-forward from wing to center at the end of last season, he has been a difference maker. Lamppa never played center during his junior career, but is 52.8% on draws (121-108), which is third best on the team. He has 11 points (three goals, eight assists), and was terrific against Wisconsin and Michigan, scoring three goals in both series combined.
Special teams not so special
To give Gadowsky some credit, special teams have improved significantly since the start of the season. However, it still is an important storyline as we gear towards the second half of the year.
The power play currently sits at sixth in the Big Ten at 15.9%. The Nittany Lions have scored 11 times on the man-advantage on 69 attempts. They have had two 0-for-15 streaks, and it was 1-for-8 against Notre Dame.
Gadowsky has said numerous times that the power play is an extension of the teams' mentality and it is about generating momentum and not whether or not the puck goes in. The Nittany Lions have been getting more shots on the man-advantage and more high-danger chances. Penn State will have to continue to do that in the second half of the season.
The penalty kill is also sitting at sixth in the conference at 78%, but is 9-for-11 in its last six games. It was a perfect 5-for-5 in the split against Ohio State. Penn State is the second-least penalized team in the Big Ten, taking only 3.05 penalties per game. Penalties were a problem last year along with the PK unit.
So while the special teams have been more special as of late, it was something that was hard to watch for Penn State fans in 2022.
Looking ahead to 2023
After its home-and-home series against the No. 20 RIT Tigers, Penn State will be playing Big Ten opponents for the reason of the year. Penn State starts 2023 with a road series against Michigan State.
The Lions then return home with a meeting against Notre Dame the following weekend. Then the blue and white have two straight road trips against Michigan and Ohio State, and finish off the regular season with a two-series home-stand against Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Penn State will need to get as many points as possible as it heads into the Big Ten tournament and eventually the NCAA tournament.
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