The No. 5 Nittany Lions got exactly the boost they needed as they head into Big Ten play with this weekend's upcoming series against Michigan.
With 18 goals against Robert Morris this past weekend, Penn State exploded offensively as they rode an offensive wave to a 7-2 win on Friday at Pegula Ice Arena, and an 11-6 win in their first road game of the season in Pittsburgh.
In each game, secondary scoring was on display in full bloom. With 52 goals on the season through nine games, the Nittany Lions lead the country in that category. They head into this weekend's series averaging just under six goals per game.
Junior Liam Folkes (Scarborough, Ontario) spoke about the balance of scoring, and how that has helped to enable Penn State's offensive success this season.
"Our lines are setup for every line to succeed offensively," Folkes said. "The style of play that we have is obviously very offensive-minded. And it helps to see (Nikita) Pavlychev lead our team in points right now. Secondary scoring is going to be huge going into Big Ten play."
Pavlychev (Yaroslavl, Russia) had a massive series for Penn State over the weekend, with four goals and three assists as he was named the NCAA's First Star of the Week. He lauded his teammates for enabling the offensive success that Penn State has enjoyed so far.
"I don't think I've been on a team that has done something like that since my youth hockey days," Pavlychev said. "I think it can be very important to have four lines that can score, going forward it will be important for our success as a team.
"Even before this past weekend, every line had plenty of points and it's not something we're too concerned about."
Sharing in Pavlychev's success over the weekend was linemate Aarne Talvitie (Espoo, Finland), who notched a goal and four assists of his own. After the big weekend, Talvitie is now up to 11 points on the season.
"Well, I think it plays a huge part that all four lines are getting on the scoreboard," Talvitie said Monday. "We can't be dependent on one line and I think it's important that everyone can produce opportunities and play a good defensive game.
"We've been pretty consistent throughout the season. At the beginning of the season, I think Nate (Sucese's) line had a really good start. But I think the other three lines are picking it up and starting to really contribute."
The scoring touch seemed to percolate throughout Penn State's entire roster, as freshman Max Sauvé (Acushnet, Mass.) was also able to tally his first NCAA points with a goal and an assist in his first collegiate game.
"It was nice to get it out of the way," Sauvé said. "A lot of guys can take a couple games to get going and it is definitely good to get the first goal off my back and it felt really good to get it."
Head coach Guy Gadowsky also approved of the considerable amount of secondary scoring, but acknowledged he wants his team to continue making progress as the level of competition heats up.
"The [Barratt-Limoges-Folkes line] carried us (vs. Arizona State), and I thought they got it going for us again," Gadowsky said after Friday's game.
"After that, there was some balance. Obviously, Nikita (Pavlychev) had a really good game. We've mentioned that for us to be effective, that's how we have to play, so it was nice to see that we had balanced scoring."
Reflecting on the weekend as a whole on Monday, Gadowsky lauded the consistency that his team has played with offensively so far this season.
"It was really nice to see that we're getting multiple goals from several lines," Gadowsky said. "I think this was probably the most impressive offensive weekend we've had, but we've been fairly consistent.
"We really haven't just rode one line for quite some time. We still have a lot of work to do and a lot of learning, but we've done a lot of really good things offensively."
This weekend, the Nittany Lions will begin their conference slate with No. 16 Michigan heading to Hockey Valley for a two-game set. Both Folkes and Gadowsky know how daunting the Big Ten slate can be, but are looking forward to the challenge that faces them.
"If you look at our line chart, there's skilled guys on every line," Folkes said. "It exploded this past weekend and we'll look to keep that going into the Michigan series."
"There's something different," Gadowsky said. "It's hard to explain, but easy to feel. And I feel it when I go to other sports in the Big Ten as well, when two Big Ten teams come together.
"It can be hard to put your finger on exactly what it is, but you can feel it and the guys can feel it. Not a lot has to be said."
