Sept. 24, 2015
By Maria Canales, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ââ'¬" In front of a full house on Wednesday afternoon, Penn State men's hockey head coach Guy Gadowsky fielded questions from the media.
Gadowsky talked about replacing high-impact players from last season, the starting goaltender situation and how the largest freshman class in program history has transitioned so far.
Here are some sights and sounds of this year's men's hockey media day.
Replacing Casey Bailey
The Nittany Lions lost their all-time leading goal scorer Casey Bailey to the NHL at the end of the 2014-15 campaign. Gadowsky and company will now take on the challenge of strengthening team unison and skill to fill the space Bailey left behind.
"Obviously we're thrilled for him," said Gadowsky. "We did lose him a year earlier than expected and certainly for this year that's not ideal but I think for our program it's extremely important and to have him play in the NHL after only three years of our program, I think it's a great testament to him, I think it's great for our program."
Gadowsky will now look toward veterans and rookies alike to work together in replacing that momentum on offense. Notably, the Nittany Lions return their second-leading goal scorer, David Goodwin.
"I think not only are we looking toward him, but I think everyone will understand that he's the guy that's gonna have to have a comparable year for us if we're going to score as many goals as we did," said Gadowsky.
Scheid Out to Start Season
The Nittany Lions will be without redshirt senior Eric Scheid to start the season. During the 2014-15 season Scheid posted career highs in goals (14), assists (15) and points (29).
"Just recently, he sustained a lower body injury that's going to have him out at least six weeks," said Gadowsky. "[It's] a real blow to us but everybody else at this point, other than minor bumps and bruises, that's the only thing that we have to report."
Scheid is expected to be back in the lineup come the middle of November.
Starting Goaltender
As for the starting goaltender spot, Gadowsky emphasized that both Matt Skoff and Eamon McAdam will get their chances to play in net to start the season. Gadowsky noted that neither goaltender, at this moment, is favored above the other.
"I'm very happy to say that both Eamon McAdam and Matt Skoff have come in in tremendous shape," said Gadowsky. "We feel very good about the work that both goaltenders have put in in the summer. They will both have an opportunity as we start the season to both play a lot of games and then we'll see what happens after that."
The Nittany Lions also added a third goaltender to the roster in freshman Chris Funkey.
"He is a tremendous teammate. We wanted a tremendous teammate that's very supportive in that role. If for some reason whether it's injuries or performance that [Skoff and McAdam] aren't getting the job done he will be asked to come in and see what he can do."
Having a third goaltender option is important for Gadowsky, but he also hopes that his two more experienced players at that position can trade off starting positions and play the majority of the season.
Freshmen Making an Impact
Gadowsky noted that with eight new players this season comes the opportunity for the class of 2019 to start making an immediate impact on the ice. Andrew Sturtz will be one of those skaters that Gadowsky will be looking toward early on. Sturtz spent that past two seasons with the Carleton Place Canadians of the CCHL, being named CCHL MVP and CJHL Player of the Year in 2013-14.
"He is someone we've been very excited about for a while now," said Gadowsky. "If you talk to his coaches and people around their junior program they said that he's a much better all-around player so he's the guy for us. We're absolutely looking for some of that offense because we know that he can do it at high levels."
Several other freshmen will be filling in the depth chart come October. Gadowsky looks to create more momentum on offense with help from several other freshmen skaters.
"We want to get a little more offensively creative from the back end and Vince Pedrie, Derian Hamilton and Kevin Kerr are exactly that," said Gadowsky. "...As we grow as a program obviously you try to get the best players you can but as you continue to grow you try to look at pieces of puzzles and we're getting there."