"In other words, it's go time," exclaimed senior captain Christian Berger, on the heels of a record-breaking weekend to kick off the new year in Hockey Valley.
Through 29 days without competitive hockey, the Nittany Lions took advantage of the holiday break to rest, recover and repair for the final 15-game stretch to close out the season.
Fans found themselves reminiscent of the past as Penn State opened up 2024 in the same fashion they did in Pegula's debut, by welcoming the Black Knights of Army West Point.
On paper, the Nittany Lions put on an offensive clinic to remain undefeated over the Black Knights with a 7-6 victory, but the score does not tell the story of the grit and determination displayed throughout the matchup.
Playing a tedious and reserved game to get a feel for an unfamiliar opponent, the Nittany Lions took the backseat as the Black Knights came out firing, scoring their most goals all year in a 25-minute span, taking an early 6-2 lead.
Not long after did the Nittany Lions kick it into second gear and rev up the comeback. Late into the middle frame, forwards Reese Laubach and Ryan Kirwan found the back of the net to cut the deficit to two as they headed into the second intermission.
"After Kirwan's goal at the end of the second, I remember I turned to Coach Fisher and said 'that one was BIG.' If we didn't get that one, I don't think the comeback would've been possible," exclaimed Gadowsky. "It was right then that you started to see the doubt creep into Army's bench and our guys stood up just a little bit taller."
Cranking out comebacks throughout the stretch of the season, the Nittany Lions felt no concern after cutting Army's lead to two, as they came out blazing in the third period.
Within the first three minutes of the final period, the Nittany Lions were able to knot the score at six with back-to-back goals from Ryan Kirwan just 57 seconds apart to complete his first career hat-trick. Battling through the stretch, a timely goal from freshman phenom Aiden Fink midway through the third period put the Blue & White on top and the clock ran out on the Black Knights.
Kirwan's three consecutive goals to fuel the comeback for Penn State made him the 13th Nittany Lion in program history to score a hat trick, and the third on the season. With Kirwan's timely scoring effort in the comeback victory, the 2023-24 Nittany Lions are the first team in program history to have three different players earn hat tricks in the same season.
The DeWitt, N.Y. native now leads the team in total goals with 12, taking the reins from previous scoring leader Aiden Fink, who tallied Penn State's first hat trick of the season back in November.
In a combined effort from the defensive pairings and Liam Souliére in net, the Nittany Lions were able to hold the Black Knights scoreless through the final 34 minutes of play, and their four-goal comeback marked the largest come-from-behind victory in program history.
"It was a big comeback and a big team win, so there is confidence there and there's a strong belief throughout the locker room that we are never out of a game," says Berger. "What it comes down to is the fact that we really have to be more focused on our formula, the way we win hockey games and taking pride in the little things."
No stranger to adversity, the Blue & White have played from behind in five of ten victories on the season thus far, proving their true grit as a collective unit.
The Nittany Lions closed out their non-conference matchups with their 10th win of the season and they look towards the remainder of Big Ten competition down the final stretch of the season.
The Michigan State Spartans are making their way to Hockey Valley this Friday and Saturday night.
