Guy Gadowsky's teams are known for putting up as many shots on net as possible. But the 2018-19 Nittany Lions are starting to add another element to their identity.
By winning every faceoff they possibly can.
Through five games, No. 6 Penn State is winning faceoffs at a 63.9 percent clip. It is the best mark in the country thus far, nearly five percent better than the next best mark at 59 percent by Denver.
Penn State won 46-of-67 faceoffs at the dot Oct. 26 against Princeton as they notched a 4-2 victory at Pegula Ice Arena.
"It is something that we struggled with all last year and we talked a lot about," Gadowsky said after Friday's game. "We finished 44th in the nation. I guess it is also hard to compare because the year before we were No. 1. I think it is the coaches and my responsibility.
"We lacked in that area and learned a lesson and it is hard to flip that switch. It is something we addressed from the start, but sort of like the same thing...and Ludvig Larsson (Malmo, Sweden) really helps the mentality of your team. He has been great and we cannot overstate that enough. He is just excellent."
Calling it great might be an understatement for Larsson's performance at the dot so far this season.
Consider this: Larsson went 20-3 at the circle against Princeton on Friday. Since Penn State's opening game against Clarkson, Larsson has yet to lose more than four faceoffs in a single game.
His season numbers are even more astounding. Through five games, Larsson has 73 faceoff wins and only 19 losses.
"Obviously you get an advantage to win the faceoff," Larsson said on Monday. "You kind of get in a groove and have this confidence when you go into the draw. You have the feeling that you're going to win, same as if you're scoring a lot of goals and you come in on a breakaway.
"We got into that groove and I know Coach takes a lot of pride in being good at faceoffs, so we take them after practice and the numbers have improved a lot since last year."
"I think its huge," Gadowsky added on Friday. "I know there's some analytics guys that would argue with me but I think it's not only a matter of winning or losing, but the mentality that comes with it. He's brought a lot of that to us."
Senior captain Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.) has also come into his own at the dot. In the last two games, Berger has combined for 19 wins and only five losses, which are some of the best single-game numbers of his career at Penn State.
Recently, Berger has been winning both on and off the ice.
Berger was named one of 15 student-athletes across the nation who have been named a candidate for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS award which was announced Oct. 30.
"Chase is the epitome of a student-athlete leader; he does a tremendous job balancing academics and athletics with community involvement," Gadowsky said.
"It's easy to understand why he was a unanimous selection for team captain, we are extremely fortunate to have someone like Chase as a representative for Penn State Hockey."
"It's the whole unit, not just the center that wins the draws," said goaltender Peyton Jones (Langhorne, Pa.) after Friday's game. Jones was recently named the Big Ten's Third Star of the Week after his third consecutive game with 30-plus saves.
"Getting the puck whether you can clear the zone or get a play on net, no matter where it is can be huge."
"When you're in the defensive zone and you're winning most of the draws, you kind of anticipate that you can run faceoff plays," said defenseman Cole Hults. (Stoughton, Wis.)
"You get a sense of where the puck will go and that's an edge over the other team, which helps our flow of the game and it's crucial for our team."
