In its final home series of the year, Penn State was able to dominate offensively as they put home eight goals Friday night.
With one of Penn State's top scorers in Evan Barratt (Bristol, Pa.) out of the lineup last weekend, Denis Smirnov (Moscow, Russia) tied his career high with a four-point night in Penn State's 8-2 win Friday.
While Smirnov has seen adversity from an offensive perspective this season, he came through at the right time to provide Penn State with a crucial win.
"He is working hard and that is often what happens," Guy Gadowsky said after Friday's game. "It's funny how that works in every business in sports — the harder you work, the more good things happen, and I hope it continues."
For his efforts over the weekend, Smirnov was named the Big Ten Conference Second Star of the Week. With a pair of goals, including Friday's eventual game-winner, he has hit the 20-point mark for the third straight season. Smirnov also sits at fifth on the Penn State all-time points list with 94 and sixth in goals with 41.
Gadowsky also credited the skill of Smirnov's play on both ends of the ice in recent contests.
"I think he was more aggressive all over," Gadowsky said. "With his forechecking, I think that he created more pucks that he had a 50-50 chance on. I think when he plays that way overall, good things happen."
Smirnov's linemate, Ludvig Larsson (Malmo, Sweden) has noticed a change overall in the execution that the Larsson, Smirnov and fellow linemate Nate Sucese (Fairport, N.Y.) have had on the ice in recent games.
"I think all three of us just connect very well and we work really hard," Larsson said. "We turned a lot of pucks and transitions where we were able to score. And I think our forecheck on Friday helped us capitalize. And now we're just getting ready for this weekend."
With a player of Smirnov's caliber, Larsson knew that it wouldn't be long until his teammate came through when Penn State needed it.
"I wasn't here his freshman year, but I know he tore it up," Larsson said. "I was really happy for him that he got four points on Friday. He's just a guy who is always positive in the locker room, and a great teammate. I'm just happy he got a couple pucks in the back of the net."
Smirnov was explosive his freshman year. During the 2016-17 season, he notched 47 points for the Nittany Lions en route to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history. Last season, Smirnov battled through injuries to still put up 27 points in 30 games for Penn State.
With the conference about as wide open as possible in terms of seeding for the Big Ten Tournament, Penn State knows it could finish anywhere from second in conference play to being on the road the entire tournament.
The advantage of hosting home games at Pegula in the postseason is not lost on the Lions. Penn State has won three of its last four in Hockey Valley, and sits at 13-7 on home ice this season.
"We have the best atmosphere in college hockey and the best student section in college hockey. Both are extremely valuable to having a home ice advantage," Gadowsky said.
"They were great tonight, and it really helps. We are extremely fortunate to have that. We had a question earlier about momentum, and I do really think that atmosphere plays a part in that too."
