March 16, 2015
2014-15 All-Big Ten Hockey Awards
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
Penn State men's hockey head coach Guy Gadowsky earned program's first major conference award as he was named Big Ten Coach of the Year on Monday afternoon by league coaches and media members. Junior forward Casey Bailey (Anchorage, Alaska) earned a spot on the All-Big Ten First Team, grabbing PSU's first postseason conference player honor.
Joining Bailey with postseason honors was Scott Conway (Basingstoke, England) on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team.
Six Nittany Lions garnered All-Big Ten Honorable Mention: David Goodwin (Des Peres, Mo.), Taylor Holstrom (Yorba Linda, Calif.), Nate Jensen (Shorewood, Minn.), Luke Juha (Mississauga, Ontario), Patrick Koudys (Smithville, Ontario) and PJ Musico (Orange, Calif.).
Gadowsky guided the Nittany Lions to their first winning season in the Division I era in just their third overall campaign. Penn State, picked last in the preseason, exceeded all expectations by remaining in the Big Ten title chase until the final weekend of the season and defeating every team in the conference at least once.
The award is Gadowsky's third coach of the year honor, earning the 2001-02 CCHA award at Alaska and the 2007-08 ECAC Hockey accolade at Princeton. Gadowsky was a Spencer Penrose Award finalist for nation's top coach in his previous two instances as conference coach of the year.
Gadowsky's Nittany Lions more than doubled their win total from last season in just their third year as a varsity program.
Bailey's career season was recognized with an All-Big Ten First team honor. Bailey is the first Nittany Lion to garner an All-Big Ten honor as he led the league with 22 goals. He is one of only 11 players in NCAA Division I with 20 or more goals and sits five off first place.
Bailey became Penn State's first 40-point scorer this season and is the Nittany Lions' all-time leading scorer with 80.
Conway was named to the All-Big Ten Freshman Team, the first Nittany Lion to gather a freshman team nod. Conway ranks second in Big Ten freshman scoring with 10 goals and 26 points. Nationally, Conway is tied for 13th in freshman points.
Senior forward Max Gardiner (Deephaven, Minn.) was Penn State's representative of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Gardiner is Penn State's leading scholar-athlete, averaging nearly a 4.0 GPA in the classroom.
Penn State (18-14-4) earned the No. 4 seed in this week's Big Ten Tournament and will face fifth-seeded Ohio State on Thursday. The puck will drop at 4:30 p.m. inside Joe Louis Arena in Detroit for the nationally-televised game. The Penn State-Ohio State winner will face top-seeded Minnesota on Friday in the Big Ten Semifinals.