Guy Gadowsky Named Spencer Penrose Award FinalistGuy Gadowsky Named Spencer Penrose Award Finalist

Guy Gadowsky Named Spencer Penrose Award Finalist

Gadowsky named a National Coach of the Year finalist for the fourth time in his career after leading Penn State to its first-ever Frozen Four

BOSTON, Mass. – Penn State Head Coach Guy Gadowsky was named a finalist for the Spencer Penrose Award presented annually to the men’s ice hockey Division I Coach of the Year as announced by the American Hockey Coaches Association on Monday afternoon.

Gadowsky, a three-time Coach of the Year, becomes a National Coach of the Year finalist for the fourth time in his career as nominees represent any coach who won or shared Coach of the Year honors in his conference over the past season, as well as coaches whose teams have advanced to the NCAA Frozen Four.

In his 13th year behind the bench for Penn State, Gadowsky guided the Nittany Lions to their first-ever Frozen Four this past weekend. PSU won the Allentown Regional by defeating Hockey East Champion and No. 3-overall seed Maine, 5-1, on Friday before a 3-2 overtime thriller against UConn on Sunday punched their ticket to St. Louis.

DSC06883 copy

The Nittany Lions have been the hottest team in college hockey during the second half of the season posting a 15-4-4 record since the calendar flipped to 2025 climbing from No. 33 in the Pairwise at the beginning of January to No. 13 by the end of the conference tournaments to earn the final at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Gadowsky has led Penn State to its sixth 20+-win season in program history as the Nittany Lions will head to St. Louis with a 22-13-4 overall record while the 15 wins from January on are the most all-time for PSU during the second half of a season.

The Bench Boss became just the 30th Division I coach all-time to eclipse the 400-win mark earlier this season after an overtime victory against No. 2 Minnesota. Gadowsky’s 404 victories rank 29th all-time and are 11th among active coaches.

Penn State has played 62 percent (24-of-29) of its games this season against ranked opponents including each of the last nine and 15 of the last 17. The Nittany Lions are 10-4-3 in their last 17 games against ranked opponents this season including a 6-3-3 mark against top-10 teams with each of those ties resulting in shootout wins.

Full AHCA Release

For more information on the 2024-25 season, visit the men's hockey ticket page at GoPSUsports.com or call 1-800-NITTANY Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.