Penn State concluded the 2018-19 season with a 22-15-2 record, good for the second-most wins in a season in program history. While they was also able to tie or set 38 different single-season and career records in the Penn State record books, there's still a feeling of unfinished business among the Nittany Lions.
"We've talked all season about how to determine success," Gadowsky said. "Even though we have the second-most wins for a season, the fact that we're not in the (NCAA) Tournament makes me disappointed. I thought we were playing our best hockey to end the year, and could have done some damage, but 22 wins is pretty good.
"I do think the way I feel is how the team feels, in that we have some unfinished business here. I get the sense guys feel like we can do something special, so that might add to the feeling guys have that we're not done yet."
Senior captain Chase Berger (St. Louis, Mo.), who recently signed with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, tied or set three program career records including shots (477), power-play goals (13), and most notably games played (154). He also leaves the Nittany Lions second all-time in goals (51), just three behind record holder Andrew Sturtz.
Penn State began the season 6-0, tops in program history, and managed to win eight of its first nine contests. In looking back on some of the best games, wins at Minnesota and at Madison Square Garden against Michigan stand out in terms of the regular season.
In the Big Ten Tournament, the Nittany Lions found themselves with their backs against the wall against Wisconsin, and a Liam Folkes (Scarborough, Ont.) overtime winner sent Penn State to the semifinals.
Many didn't give the Nittany Lions a chance to go into Columbus and win, but Penn State played its most impressive game of the season in a 5-1 win over top-seeded Ohio State. Ultimately, Penn State came up short in South Bend last weekend, but Gadowsky knows that his team was playing their best hockey when it mattered most.
"There is some motivating factor, because the team was playing really well," Gadowsky said. "We need to get better, but the ending certainly provides motivation for next season.
"I think we proved a lot to ourselves. I felt the team really committed to the areas we had to, and I thought we improved a lot defensively. We still have to play better, but we like to create our identity and include with that more consistent play on defense."
Gadowsky's staff now has the challenge of evaluating the season. While the Nittany Lions won a lot of hockey games over the last six months, they live with the reality that one more win at any point in their season could have been enough to go to their third consecutive NCAA Tournament.
"You can look at the stats for this season and say, 'Wow, that was pretty successful,'" Gadowsky said. "22 wins in the Big Ten and we didn't get in the (NCAA) Tournament. The really difficult part is that there's no bottom to this league. That makes it extremely difficult because you're fighting to get to .500 and relying on the rest in non-conference."
As Gadowsky looks ahead to the 2019-20 season, he knows that the future is still bright for his hockey team. Aside from graduating players, he expects most of the roster to remain intact for the upcoming season. As the team turns the page into offseason workouts, Gadowsky knows how dangerous they can be on a given night, evidenced by leading the nation in goals per game.
"We're pretty proud of the identity that we have," Gadowsky said. "We work hard at that, and to score a half goal more than the next closest team in the nation, you have to be really proud of that. It's a fun way to play the game, and we're very hungry to prove that's a winning way to play the game. We've definitely taken steps forward to prove this program is stronger this year."
