Nine games into his junior campaign, his first with Penn State, Clayton Phillips finally found the back of the net this past weekend vs. Michigan State. His first goal came right in front of the Nittany Lions' bench, and the Minnesota native was subsequently mobbed by his teammates.
"It definitely feels good to get the first one off my back," Phillips said. "It's a really good feeling and hopefully we can keep the momentum going."
In his short time at Penn State, Phillips has earned the respect of his teammates. Head coach Guy Gadowsky said the celebration after Phillips' goal showed how his teammates felt about him both on and off the ice.
Phillips was a player Penn State had its eyes on for a long time. The coaching staff was impressed with him when he played for both the Fargo Force and Muskegon Lumberjacks of the USHL. The Pittsburgh Penguins prospect was already committed to Minnesota at the time, so there wasn't much the Nittany Lions could do.
"He is someone we were aware of before and when he became available, he is someone we jumped at," Gadowsky said.
The Minnesota transfer joined Penn State prior to this season and Phillips has had no issue fitting right in. He is someone who fits the Nittany Lions' on-ice scheme perfectly and has fit right into the locker room as well.
"We like to play fast and get out on the ice and he does that extremely well," Gadowsky said. "The way we defend has a lot to do with his feet and he is really good with his feet and is just a great fit for what we do."
Gadowsky pointed out that Phillips does a fantastic job facilitating when on the ice, but the Penn State coach would like to see his defensemen be more selfish with the puck at times. Cole Hults was a player Gadowsky talked about as someone Phillips can model his game after.
"He's a great teammate and he wants to distribute the puck," Gadowsky said. "I think once he realizes that is what we are about, then he isn't going to feel as selfish doing his duty."
Phillips said that he is making more of an effort to get involved offensively and throw more pucks on net, like he did in last-Saturday's game against Michigan State. He added that you never know what is going to happen when throwing the puck on net and it could always find a way in.
This Friday will be the first time Phillips faces off against his former team Minnesota. He is thankful for his time with the Golden Gophers, but is also very excited about what is ahead with Penn State and what drew him to the Nittany Lions.
"A huge part of that is just the environment and culture that runs through the coaching staff and also through our locker room," Phillips said. "I've been grateful to be surrounded by great people here."
There will be a lot of familiar faces both on the ice and in the stands this weekend for Phillips and Gadowsky understands that he will be excited and also had strong praise for Phillips about how he handled the situation.
"He has always been extremely classy and has never said a bad word about the program," Gadowsky said.
Phillips is hungry and eager to prove himself but also looking forward to the opportunity to take on his former teammates and play in front of old fans.
"It will be special for sure," Phillips said. "I should have a lot of family and friends in town that'll be at the game and I think it's going to be really exciting."
But most of all, Phillips understands the task at hand and is not putting himself ahead of the team.
"It's a big weekend for our team," Phillips said. "We have to take it shift by shift and take care of our job and everything should take care of itself."
