June 16, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Two recent Penn State men's ice hockey graduates, David Goodwin (St. Louis, Mo.) and Dylan Richard (Sherwood Park, Alb.), recently signed professional contracts and will continue their hockey careers overseas for the 2017-18 season.
Goodwin, who served as team captain this past season, will travel to Lappeenranta, Finland in August and join the Liiga-Saipa Oy of the SM-liiga or Finnish Elite League. Goodwin concluded his Penn State career as the programs all-time leading scorer with 128 points. His 147 games played and 84 assists are also program standards while his 44 goals rank second all-time.
"I am very excited to continue my hockey career in Europe playing in the SM Liiga," commented Goodwin. "I would like to thank the whole Penn State community, especially Coach Gadowsky and Sandy Barbour, for making my time in Happy Valley very special. I look forward to representing this great university, in many ways, across the pond."
Richard inked a deal with the Manglerud Star, a member of the 10-team Get Ligaen League, and will report to Oslo, Norway for camp on August 1st. Richard finished his Penn State career with 31 goals and 46 assists for 77 points in 121 games played and ranks in the top five in all three offensive categories for the Nittany Lions.
"I am confident in saying that I would not be in this position if it wasn't for my time at Penn State," mentioned Richard. "My college hockey experience over the last four years has put me in a position to succeed both on and off the ice. I look forward to the new challenges that come with this next step in my career."
Both Goodwin and Richard finish their careers as part of the first class to spend all four years inside Pegula Ice Arena. The class of 2017 graduates as the winningest class in program history with 72 victories including back-to-back 20 win seasons.