Oct. 7, 2013
By Michael Renahan, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Everywhere Guy Gadowsky has gone to coach he has set a foundation, built a winning mentality and established a bright future for the respective program.
It's becoming the coaching trademark of the Edmonton native.
Whether it was at Alaska or Princeton, Gadowsky has taken programs from the bottom of the college hockey world to the top. He took over a struggling Nanook team in 1999 and in just two seasons had them surpassing 20 wins and ranked No. 11 the nation.
He then moved to Princeton and guided the Tigers to two straight NCAA tournament appearances, including a program-record 22 win season in 2008-09.
In just his second season at the helm of the Penn State hockey program, Gadowsky is still building a foundation to establish a winning tradition for Penn State at the Division I level. A challenge he embraces to the fullest.
"We're building a foundation right now. You're not just going to jump into the Big Ten and beat these great schools," Gadowsky said. "We're very honored for the challenge of competing against these programs and the most important thing is building a foundation to ensure success in the future."
The Nittany Lions used their first Division I season to begin building the program into a contender. The team went 13-14-0, won several marquee games against Big Ten schools and started to understand what playing at the highest level of college hockey is all about.
Throughout the season, the growth and the improvement of the team became more noticeable with each drop of the puck with different players starting to fill different roles.
Tommy Olczyk emerged as the team's leader. David Glen and Casey Bailey proved they can score goals against the nation's best. Defensively, Nate Jensen set the tone for a physical backline and Matthew Skoff stood tall between the pipes.
That was the beginning of the foundation. Now, Gadowsky says, it's time to improve as a team and a coaching staff.
"I think you always have to improve," Gadowsky said. "Every year as a coaching staff, I think we're getting better and better and really evaluating not only what we do on the ice but what we do as a program. I think that's a really important part. So, if we're not improving, we're not really doing our job."
One of the keys for this year's team to be successful and compete at a high level, but the Lion's bench boss says they need to stay healthy, too. The Nittany Lions lost several key players last season to injury that he can't wait to get back on the ice this year.
"It's extremely important to have that depth," Gadowsky said. "You look at the teams were going to be playing and you certainly can't get away with playing one or two lines or, as we forced to do last year, play with just four defensemen. That's a certain recipe for disaster.
"We feel a lot better about our depth and our health coming in. Going into [the season] because of the health and our depth, we feel optimistic."
Throughout the first few months of the season, the team's captains, Olcyzk, Glen and Jensen, have been running practices. The coaching staff couldn't officially skate with the team until the Oct. 5 midnight practice, so the captains have been calling the shots.
Olcyzk, a junior forward, knows what has to be done to get ready for the season and to establish the foundation for Penn State hockey that his head coach keeps mentioning. It's one of the main reasons he is captain, according to Gadowsky.
"From day one, on his recruiting visit, he had such a complete understanding of what had to happen for this program to be successful," Gadowsky said of his captain. "He spoke of building a foundation that he would be proud of later. He has a really, really good understanding of what has to happen. His actions, not only does he speak it, but all of his actions have been congruent with that philosophy from day one.
"You look at his work ethic off the ice, not only on it. You look at his commitment to academics. He just really understands every aspect of what we have to do in this program to build a foundation to really compete against these programs in the Big Ten."
Penn State will also welcome several key incoming players that will help establish the kind of foundation Gadowsky wants. Whether it is Dylan Richard or Eamon McAdam, the incoming cast of players will help drive competition and improve the team as a whole.
"We're very excited about all the freshman and first year players that are coming in," Gadowsky said. "We feel that they all have a very good chance to contribute greatly and play a huge role."
The foundation for the Penn State hockey program is still being established.
They have a rich history as a club team and look to carry that over into the Big Ten Conference and Division I hockey, as a whole.
The roster is filled with leadership and talent, something the players are well aware. It's something they have embraced and know the challenge they have accepted.
Penn State is scheduled to open the 2013-14 season on Oct. 11 against Army at 8 p.m.